A W Johnson Elementary School

A W Johnson Elementary School, a PK–4 school in Firth, Idaho, serves 256 students and belongs to the Firth District, which ranks 23rd out of 101 Idaho districts with a 4-star rating. For the 2025–26 school year, the school ranked 108th out of 346 Idaho elementary schools (69th percentile, 3 stars) — a dramatic jump from the prior year, when it ranked 225th of 337 schools. This places it among the stronger elementary schools in the region and marks a clear upward trajectory.

Academically, A W Johnson outperforms both the state and most nearby schools. In 2025–26, math proficiency reached 52.6% (state: 43.1%) and English Language Arts reached 60.8% (state: 54.0%). The ELA result is especially notable because the school had trailed the state by roughly 8–10 points for several years; the 2025–26 gain of nearly 15 points represents a genuine turnaround. Among nearby schools, only Riverview Elementary School in the Shelley district scores higher, and schools in the Blackfoot District generally post much lower proficiency rates, often in the 20s and 30s.

The school also stands out for its remarkably low chronic absenteeism rate of 4.0%, compared to the state average of 13.8%, and a student-teacher ratio of 16:1 that is lower than most nearby schools. It achieves these results while spending only $5,642 per pupil — less than nearly all comparable schools — and despite a moderate free/reduced-price lunch rate of about 49%. In short, A W Johnson is a high-performing, efficient school that has become an academic outlier in its region. The main question is sustainability: whether the 2025–26 gains, especially in ELA, reflect lasting improvement or a single strong cohort.