Anser Charter School

Anser Charter School is a pre-K through 8th-grade charter school in Garden City, ID, serving 573 students. It operates as its own single-school district, Anser Of Idaho Inc., and currently ranks 166th out of 346 Idaho schools — the 52nd percentile with 3 stars. Its all-grade proficiency rates sit near state averages: 46.2% in math versus 43.1% statewide, 52.1% in ELA versus 54.0%, and 42.9% in science versus 42.7%.

The most important pattern at Anser is the gap between elementary and middle school. Fourth graders shine, with 63.5% proficiency in math and 64.8% in ELA, well above state averages of 48.0% and 50.2%. But 6th graders fall to 33.3% in math and 37.3% in ELA, and the middle grades remain below state averages through 8th grade. That drag makes Anser look weaker than nearby elementary-only schools. By comparison, Collister Elementary School and Washington Elementary School, both low-poverty Boise schools, post math proficiency near 74% and 73% — roughly 25 points higher. Anser also shows a gender gap in outcomes: female students rank at the 65th percentile among comparable schools, while male students rank at the 38th.

Anser's chronic absenteeism rate of 17.2% exceeds the state's 13.8%, and its free/reduced lunch rate has grown from 20.9% to 32.5% over three years. The school clearly outperforms nearby high-poverty schools like Koelsch Elementary School, Taft Elementary School, Whittier Elementary School, and Morley Nelson Elementary, where free/reduced lunch rates exceed 95%. But the comparison with Future Public School, located just 0.29 miles away, is striking: Future Public serves more low-income students (46.5% versus 32.5%) yet posts higher math proficiency (51.1% versus 46.2%), higher ELA proficiency (58.7% versus 52.1%), and far better attendance (9.6% versus 17.2% chronic absenteeism).