Cottonwood Joint District

Cottonwood Joint District is a small, two-school district in Idaho serving 426 students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, with Prairie Elementary School enrolling 222 students in grades PK–6 and Prairie Junior/Senior High School enrolling 204 students in grades 7–12, ranking 7th out of 101 Idaho districts (93rd percentile) with a 5-star rating.

Prairie Elementary School is the clear academic standout, ranking in the 89th percentile of Idaho elementary schools with notably strong math performance (72.1% proficient vs. 43.1% statewide) and strong ELA scores (70.5% vs. 54.0%). The elementary school also posts remarkably low chronic absenteeism at just 2.3% compared to the state average of 13.8%. Prairie Junior/Senior High School is also solid, ranking in the 84th percentile of Idaho high schools with strong ELA proficiency (71.7% vs. 54.0% statewide) and excellent attendance (4.7% chronic absenteeism). The high school improved significantly in ELA year-over-year, rising from 60.4% to 71.7%, and its End-of-Course science proficiency is robust at 59.4%.

Comparing the two schools, the elementary school leads in math by a wide margin (72.1% vs. 58.0% for the high school), and it achieves these results while serving a higher proportion of economically disadvantaged students (32.88% free/reduced lunch eligibility vs. 21.57% at the high school). However, 8th-grade math and science are relative weak points in the high school, with math at 45.7% (barely above the 41.2% state rate) and science at 40.0% (below the 42.9% state rate). The district's graduation rate of 82.5% matches the state average exactly. Interestingly, the high school spends more per student ($11,930 vs. $9,603) yet has a larger student-teacher ratio (14.6:1 vs. 12.9:1). Families should also note that elementary test scores declined from the prior year in both math (80.3% to 72.1%) and ELA (78.8% to 70.5%), a trend worth monitoring despite the school's continued high performance.