Blaine County District

Blaine County District serves 3,102 students across 8 schools in grades PK–12, ranging from small alternative schools to a large traditional high school. The district overall is ranked 47th out of 101 Idaho districts, with a 3-star rating, but performance varies widely between schools.

The clear academic leaders are Ernest Hemingway Steam School and Carey Public School. Hemingway, a PK–8 STEAM school, posts the district's highest proficiency rates in math (53.4%), ELA (58.9%), and science (46.3%), all above state averages, while also having the lowest free/reduced lunch rate at 23.9%. Carey, an alternative PK–12 school, also beats district and state averages in every subject, with particularly strong middle-grade math. Meanwhile, Wood River High School, the largest school with 922 students, is a solid performer and improved to the 53rd percentile; it excels in ELA and science but lags in math. Bellevue Elementary School made the biggest one-year leap, jumping from the 30th to 52nd percentile, with stellar 5th-grade math and ELA scores of 60%.

On the other end, Alturas Elementary School and Hailey Elementary School are below district and state averages, and Alturas has a serious early literacy problem — just 20.9% of its 3rd-graders are proficient in ELA. Wood River Middle School is another weak spot, ranking in the bottom 20th percentile of Idaho middle schools with 6th-grade math proficiency of only 28.3%. The biggest concern is Silver Creek High School, a small 51-student school with a 42% chronic absenteeism rate and no reported test scores. Notably, higher spending does not guarantee better results: Bellevue and Hailey spend around $19,000–$20,000 per student but lag behind Hemingway, which spends under $15,000. Overall, the district's middle-of-the-pack rating masks a two-tier system where targeted help in early literacy, middle school math, and attendance at Silver Creek would likely drive the biggest gains.