Compass Academy

Compass Academy is a small public high school in Idaho Falls, ID, serving 393 students in grades 9–12 as part of the Idaho Falls District. For 2025–2026, it ranks 8th out of 122 Idaho high schools — the 93rd percentile with a 5-star rating — making it the clear academic standout in a region dominated by much larger comprehensive schools like Skyline Senior High School (ranked 38th) and Hillcrest High School (52nd).

Compass delivers exceptional results that are hard to ignore. Its 81.6% English Language Arts proficiency rate on the ISAT End-of-Course exam far exceeds the district's 67.7% and the state's 61.3%, and it beats nearby Idaho Falls Senior High School by about 12 points. Science proficiency is also a standout at 64%, compared with 43.5% for the district. Graduation rates have consistently run 15–20 points above the district average, reaching 95.4% in 2022–2023. The school also benefits from a lower student–teacher ratio of 17.0, versus roughly 20–24 at neighboring high schools, which likely supports more personalized attention.

The main concerns are attendance and math. Chronic absenteeism runs at 20.9%, above the state's 13.8%, though it is far better than Emerson High School's 63.7%. Math proficiency is a relative weakness, with the most recent data showing 34.6% proficient — below the district's 37.8%. Notably, Compass achieves its strong outcomes with a comparatively high share of low-income students (about 40%), and its per-student spending is only modest compared with other schools. Its ranking has been volatile — leaping from 59th in 2023–2024 to 8th now — so it will be worth watching whether this elite performance holds in the coming years.