Cecil D Andrus Elementary

Cecil D Andrus Elementary is a PK-5 elementary school in Boise, ID, serving 377 students as part of Joint School District No. 2, a district rated 4 stars and ranked 12th out of 101 districts in Idaho. Andrus has a long history of elite performance: from 2015-16 through 2024-25, it consistently ranked in the 83rd–96th percentile statewide and earned 5-star ratings in most years. In 2025-26, however, it slipped to the 83rd percentile (60th of 346) with a 4-star rating — still comfortably above average, but a meaningful step down from its previous status while nearby schools have held steady or surged ahead.

Academically, the school remains strong in English Language Arts and science. In 2025-26, 72% of Andrus students were proficient in ELA, above the district's 69.1% and well above the state's 54%. Fifth-grade science proficiency reached 68.5%, far exceeding the district (57.7%) and state (44%). The clear concern is math: schoolwide math proficiency fell from 75% in 2023-24 to just 56.8% in 2025-26. The most striking data point is 3rd-grade math, where only 48.1% of students were proficient — below both the district (64.6%) and state (50.9%). Since Andrus's 4th- and 5th-grade math scores sit much closer to district averages, this could be a cohort-specific issue, but it is worth monitoring closely in the coming years.

Compared to nearby schools, Andrus serves a lower-poverty population (21.5% free/reduced lunch) than most neighbors, yet it does not consistently outperform similar peers. Pioneer School Of The Arts, with nearly identical poverty (21.3%), posts higher results in math (70.5% vs. 56.8%), ELA (74% vs. 72%), science (77.4% vs. 68.5%), and has a much lower chronic absenteeism rate (7.8% vs. 13.5%). Prospect Elementary School and Summerwind Stem Academy also rank in the 92nd–96th percentile with 5-star ratings. Andrus does beat its closest neighbor, Joplin Elementary School, by wide margins. The school has also cut chronic absenteeism dramatically, from 26% in 2021-22 to 13.5%, though that remains slightly above the district average (12.7%) and higher than its strongest peers. With a history of excellent results across student subgroups and efficient use of moderate per-pupil spending ($6,957), Andrus has the capacity to reverse the recent dip — but the math trend and ranking slide deserve close attention.