Cascade District

Cascade District, a small rural district in Idaho, serves approximately 215 students across two schools: Cascade Elementary School (grades PK-5, enrollment 103) and Cascade Junior/Senior High School (grades 6-12, enrollment 112). The district overall ranks 28th out of 101 Idaho districts, placing it in the top third with a 4-star rating. Both schools exceed state averages in overall math and ELA proficiency, making this a competitively performing small-school district.

Cascade Junior/Senior High School is the district's academic standout, earning a 5-star rating and ranking in the 91st percentile statewide. Its math performance is especially notable, with 62.9% of students proficient in math and 68.8% proficient on end-of-course exams, far exceeding the state's 33.1%. ELA proficiency of 67.7% also beats the state's 54%. Meanwhile, Cascade Elementary School is the district's most improved school, rising from a 1-star rating in 2012-2013 to a 3-star rating in 2025-2026, climbing from the 17th to the 66th percentile of Idaho elementary schools. The elementary school also posts strong math results, with 64.7% of fifth graders proficient versus the state's 42.2%.

Notable challenges remain. Chronic absenteeism exceeds the state's 13.8% at both schools, reaching 20.6% at the high school and 16.5% at the elementary. Early-grade reading is a concern at the elementary, where third-grade ELA proficiency is 42.9% versus the state's 48.5%. At the high school, sixth and seventh-grade ELA scores lag state averages despite the strong overall figures, and science proficiency was 39.3% in 2024-2025, below the state's 42.6%. Spending also differs significantly between schools: the high school spends $16,644 per student versus $12,062 at the elementary, reflecting a lower student-teacher ratio of 10.4 compared to 14.1. The high school's graduation rate of 82.5% matches the state average.