Wallace Junior/Senior High School

Wallace Junior/Senior High School is a small combined 7–12 school in Wallace, Idaho, serving just 195 students with a very low 10-to-1 student-teacher ratio. It is the main secondary school for the Wallace District, which ranks as the 29th-best district in Idaho out of 101 districts (71st percentile, 4 stars). The comparison with its closest neighbor, Kellogg High School, is striking: Wallace outperforms Kellogg in every academic subject measured. The Kellogg Joint District ranks 73rd out of 101 districts, and Kellogg High School sits in the 29th percentile of school rankings, while Wallace earns a 55th-percentile ranking for 2025–2026. The most dramatic gaps are in science and language arts: Wallace's End-of-Course science proficiency is 50% versus Kellogg's 26.7%, and Wallace's all-grades ELA proficiency is 62% compared with Kellogg's 38.9%.

Wallace meets or exceeds the Idaho state average in English Language Arts, with proficiency rates between 59% and 62% over the past three years, and its high school science program is a real asset as well. The school is also especially effective with students from low-income backgrounds—roughly 44% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch—with low-income students ranking in the 85th percentile among comparable schools in 2022–2023. There are challenges, however. Math is the school's weakest subject, only hovering near the state average, and there is a substantial gender gap: female students ranked in the 80th percentile of school effectiveness while male students ranked in the 30th. Middle school results are mixed, with 7th and 8th grade math beating state averages but 8th grade ELA and science trailing slightly.

Chronic absenteeism has improved meaningfully, dropping from about 21% to 14.1% since 2021–2022 and nearly reaching the state average, and graduation rates have held steady at roughly 78–82%, close to Idaho's average. Because the school is so small, year-to-year test rankings should be read with caution—a single strong class can move the numbers dramatically in either direction. Still, the overall picture is encouraging: compared with nearby Kellogg High School, Wallace is doing a lot right, delivering solid academic results with limited resources.