High Schools in Blaine County District

Blaine County District serves two high schools in Hailey, Idaho — Wood River High School and Silver Creek High School — both covering grades 9 through 12. The district ranks 47th out of 101 Idaho districts with a 3-star rating. Wood River High School is a large comprehensive school with 922 students, making it 18 times larger than Silver Creek High School, which serves only 51 students. A key structural difference is the availability of data: Wood River has standardized test scores, ranking history, and detailed economic and staffing data, while Silver Creek has no reported test scores or ranking history, limiting direct academic comparisons.

Wood River High School is clearly the district's flagship academic institution. It ranks 57th out of 122 Idaho high schools and outperforms the state in science, with 50.2% proficiency versus the state's 41.2%, while matching the state average in ELA at 61.9%. Its main academic weakness is math, where only 30.5% of students are proficient, below the state rate of 33.1%. Silver Creek High School, meanwhile, faces far greater challenges: 49% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, and chronic absenteeism stands at 42% — triple the district and state rates. Despite these hurdles, Silver Creek graduates 82.5% of its students, identical to the district and state averages, suggesting its smaller learning environment with a 10.2-to-1 student-teacher ratio may be helping at-risk students persist.

Several findings stand out for parents. Wood River's ranking has been volatile — swinging from a 3-star ranking in 2023–2024 to a 1-star ranking in 2024–2025, then back to 3 stars in 2025–2026 — so any single year should not be over-interpreted. Chronic absenteeism at Silver Creek is the most concerning metric in the district, and the absence of standardized test data there means parents cannot fully assess academic proficiency at that school. Additionally, Silver Creek spends less per student ($12,952) than Wood River ($15,917) despite its smaller size, which is unusual and worth investigating. Enrollment is also heavily imbalanced: Wood River likely offers a wider range of courses and extracurriculars, while Silver Creek provides a more intimate, personalized setting.