Summary:
Jefferson County Joint District in Rigby, Idaho, is home to two middle schools serving grades 6 through 8 with a combined enrollment of 1,549 students: Rigby Middle School (938 students) and Farnsworth Middle School (611 students).
Rigby Middle School is the clear academic leader in the district. It ranks 35th out of 174 Idaho middle schools (80th percentile, 4 stars), while Farnsworth Middle School ranks 61st (65th percentile, 3 stars). Rigby outperforms Farnsworth in all-grade ISAT proficiency: 56.6% vs. 47.2% in Math, 66.0% vs. 61.4% in English Language Arts, and 55.0% vs. 46.3% in 8th-grade Science. Rigby also has a lower free/reduced lunch rate (32.94% vs. 36.33%), slightly lower chronic absenteeism (9.1% vs. 9.6%), and a higher student-teacher ratio (17.9 vs. 16.4) — meaning Farnsworth's smaller class sizes do not translate into higher scores. Rigby has steadily improved its state rank over three years (48th to 40th to 35th), while Farnsworth fell from 41st to 61st and has plateaued.
Despite its lower overall profile, Farnsworth Middle School has a notable bright spot: its 8th-grade cohort outperforms Rigby's 8th graders in both Math (58.7% vs. 57.4%) and ELA (68.0% vs. 66.7%), and also beats the district and state averages in those subjects. In earlier grades, Rigby holds very large advantages, especially in 6th-grade Math (56.1% vs. 39.4%). Both schools exceed state averages in all tested subjects and have chronic absenteeism rates well below the state's 13.8%, making attendance a shared strength. The Jefferson County Joint District overall ranks 39th out of 101 Idaho districts (3 stars). Spending data is incomplete — only Rigby reported per-student spending ($6,249 from 2018–2019). The most interesting finding is Farnsworth's 8th-grade success; understanding what drives it could help lift the entire school.
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