Camas County Elementary/Junior High School

Camas County Elementary/Junior High School, located in Fairfield, Idaho, serves 105 students across grades PK-8 and is the only school in the Camas County District; in fact, there are no other schools within 20 miles. The school operates with a very low student–teacher ratio of 10.3, and about 34% of students are eligible for free/reduced lunch, reflecting a moderate level of economic need in this rural community.

The school's most noticeable academic pattern is that math proficiency is stronger than English Language Arts (ELA). Math meets or beats the state average in most grades — 3rd grade is 55.6% vs. 50.9% statewide, and 8th grade is 50.0% vs. 41.4% — while only 7th grade math (38.5%) trails the state (43.7%). ELA, however, lags the state in every grade, with the largest gap in 7th grade (46.2% vs. 56.8%). Since the school's test scores align almost exactly with the district's, Camas County District and Camas County Elementary/Junior High School essentially function as one system.

Camas County has made significant long-term gains, recovering from a 15th-percentile ranking in 2010–2011 to near the statewide median (49th percentile) today. Still, 7th grade appears to be a weak point, possibly reflecting the transition into junior-high coursework. Chronic absenteeism data is limited, but the most recent school-level figure (18.7% in 2020–2021) was slightly better than the district's rate. Given the tiny cohort sizes — roughly 10–12 students per grade — a single student's test result can shift proficiency rates by several points, so the data should be viewed as a snapshot, not the whole story.