Best Public Schools in Melba, ID

Melba, Idaho, is served by two schools—Melba Elementary School (grades PK–6, 430 students) and Melba High School (grades 7–12, 394 students)—both part of the Melba Joint District, which currently ranks 70th out of 101 Idaho districts. With no standalone middle school, the high school spans six grades, which likely shapes its academic profile. The elementary school is the clear standout: its math proficiency is 54.4%, well above both the district (44.0%) and state (43.1%), while its ELA performance (51.4%) trails the state slightly but beats the district. The high school, by contrast, lags in every tested subject—math proficiency is just 31.0%, and science is alarmingly low at 20.3% versus the state’s 42.7%, with 8th-grade science barely reaching 9.7%.

Attendance is a bright spot for both schools: chronic absenteeism is 7.7% at the elementary and 6.7% at the high school, roughly half the statewide rate of 13.8%. The high school’s graduation rate of 82.5% exactly matches Idaho’s average. However, the academic gap between the two schools is striking. As students move from the elementary campus to the 7–12 high school, math proficiency drops by more than 23 points, and ELA falls as well. Grade-level data shows particular trouble in 7th and 8th grades—8th-grade ELA is 35.5% and 8th-grade math is 25.4%, both far below state averages. The high school also spends more per student ($8,218 vs. $6,750) and has a lower student–teacher ratio (15.7 vs. 19.5), yet outcomes are worse, suggesting resources alone aren’t driving improvement.

For parents, the takeaway is that Melba Elementary is a dependable, above-average school, while Melba High School struggles especially in middle-grades science and math. The high school’s ranking has been volatile—falling from the 62nd percentile in 2023–24 to the 11th percentile in 2024–25 before recovering to the 30th percentile this year—which may reflect small cohorts and inconsistent performance across grades. Science is a district-wide weakness, from 5th grade (30.3% proficiency) through high school. The elementary school’s strong math results show that local students can meet or beat state averages; the biggest opportunity for improvement lies in the middle/high school transition and in building a stronger science curriculum at every level. If you’re choosing between the two, the elementary school is the academic anchor, while the high school offers good attendance and moderate graduation rates but clear room for growth in core subjects.