Moscow District

The Moscow District in Moscow, Idaho includes 7 schools — 4 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 2 high schools — serving approximately 2,295 students across grades PK–12, and the district as a whole is ranked 11th out of 101 Idaho districts with a 5-star rating. The strongest schools in the district are A B McDonald Elementary School and Lena Whitmore Elementary School, both rated 5 stars, with math proficiency above 72% and third-grade math scores 32–48 points above the state average. Moscow Middle School is rated 5 stars and ranks #17 of 174 Idaho middle schools, with strong math (68.4%) and ELA (68.5%) proficiency, while Moscow High School is rated 5 stars, ranked #9 of 122 Idaho high schools, with excellent ELA scores (82.9%) but notable math proficiency of just 38% — below the state average of 43.1%.

However, there is a clear two-tier system within the district. West Park Elementary School and Moscow Charter School both have math proficiency below 49%, and in 5th grade math Lena Whitmore outperforms West Park by 44 percentage points. West Park has the highest poverty rate in the district at 47.08% free/reduced lunch and a chronic absenteeism rate of 21.7%, while Moscow Charter has also declined sharply in state rankings, dropping from #108 to #186. Paradise Creek Regional High School is a very small alternative-style high school with just 21 students and a 7:1 student–teacher ratio, but it spends $21,748 per student — nearly three times the district’s lowest spender — despite having the highest chronic absenteeism rate (36.4%) and weak ELA proficiency (53.8%).

Poverty and absenteeism clearly track with lower performance at the elementary level, while the highest-performing schools like A B McDonald and Lena Whitmore have lower poverty rates, lower absenteeism, and the strongest test scores. Spending does not predict success: Paradise Creek spends the most but struggles academically, while the top elementary schools spend a moderate ~$11,400 per student. West Park and Moscow Charter have both dropped significantly in statewide rankings over the past year, and A B McDonald slipped from #8 to #23, though it remains excellent. The district’s overall 5-star rating is driven largely by four strong schools, while nearly a third of its schools are average or below average relative to the state — a gap parents will want to examine closely when choosing a school.