Best High Schools in Gooding, ID

The city of Gooding, Idaho is served by two public high schools — Gooding High School and Gooding Alternative Learning Center — both part of the Gooding Joint District, which ranks 54th out of 101 Idaho districts with a 2-star rating. Both schools serve grades 9 through 12, though they differ dramatically in size and mission: Gooding High School enrolls 384 students as the district's comprehensive high school, while the Gooding Alternative Learning Center serves just 32 students in a smaller, more individualized setting.

Gooding High School is the academic anchor of the district and the only school with state test score data. It currently ranks 59th out of 122 Idaho high schools, at the 52nd percentile with 3 stars. The school outperforms the state in English Language Arts (67% proficient vs. 61.3% statewide) and math (36% vs. 33.1%), but trails in science (37.5% vs. 41.2%). Its graduation rate is 82.5%, and 44.5% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. By contrast, Gooding Alternative Learning Center has the same 82.5% graduation rate with 50% of students economically disadvantaged and a lower student–teacher ratio of 13.2 compared to 17.5 at the main high school. However, the alternative center struggles with an extremely high chronic absenteeism rate of 51.2% — nearly three times the district rate of 15.7% and 3.7 times the state rate of 13.8%. Gooding High School's chronic absenteeism rate of 17.3% also sits above state averages.

Several patterns stand out. Gooding High School's state ranking has declined from 33rd (70th percentile) in 2021–2022 to 59th (52nd percentile) in 2025–2026, and science proficiency remains a persistent weakness relative to the state. The alternative center's severe attendance challenges, despite smaller class sizes, suggest that individualized settings alone do not solve the barriers these students face. With both schools serving notable economically disadvantaged populations and no test or spending data available for the alternative center, parents should weigh the strong ELA and math performance at Gooding High School against the growing attendance concerns and declining rankings across the district.