Mountain View Elementary

Mountain View Elementary is a PK–6 school in Burley, Idaho, serving 471 students in the Cassia County Joint District. The school is currently one of the lowest-performing elementary schools in the state, ranking 335th out of 346 Idaho elementary schools in 2025–2026 — the 3rd percentile with a zero-star rating. That is the lowest ranking among Cassia County elementary schools, and it is not a recent dip: Mountain View has been stuck near the bottom for five consecutive years, falling from the 87th percentile in 2010–2011 to the 2nd–9th percentile range since 2021–2022. Today, it trails every other elementary school in its own district on state rankings.

Academic proficiency is far below district and state averages. On the 2025–2026 ISAT tests, only 25.6% of Mountain View students were proficient in math, compared to 37.1% for the district and 43.1% for the state. In English language arts, 28.9% were proficient versus 44.6% districtwide and 54.0% statewide. Science proficiency is also low. Chronic absenteeism is a notable concern: 19.6% of students miss enough school to be considered chronically absent, well above the district rate of 12.5% and the state rate of 13.8%. The share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch has risen steadily to 62.9%, yet the school’s difficulties go beyond economic need.

The most telling contrast is with Dworshak Elementary, just 0.79 miles away in the same district. Dworshak serves a similar population — its free/reduced-price lunch rate is actually slightly higher at 65.4% — but its outcomes are dramatically better: 45.4% math proficiency, 58.7% ELA proficiency, and an 8.5% chronic absenteeism rate. Mountain View’s per-student spending is also in line with nearby schools, so funding alone does not explain the gap. The comparison suggests that focused work on attendance and instructional quality could meaningful change Mountain View’s trajectory, much as nearby schools with similar demographics have achieved stronger results.