Best Public Schools in Zip Code 83338

Zip code 83338, serving the Jerome, Idaho area, contains 8 schools within two districts: 5 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 2 high schools, enrolling about 4,170 students. The area is largely low-income, with roughly 61% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals. Most schools fall in the bottom quartile of Idaho schools, and every school lags state averages in math and English language arts, with math gaps being especially wide. Seven schools belong to the Jerome Joint District, while Heritage Academy is part of the Heritage Academy Inc. charter district.

Standout schools include Jerome High School, the largest school with 1,140 students, which posts the highest ELA proficiency in the area at 45.8%, near the state average, despite lower math scores. Jefferson Elementary has the lowest chronic absenteeism at 6.4% and strong 2024–2025 outcomes. Heritage Academy offers the lowest student-teacher ratio (14.9) and highest per-student spending, yet its math proficiency remains similar to schools spending far less. Horizon Elementary showed the most improvement, rising from the 2nd to 10th percentile. In contrast, Summit Elementary and Frontier Elementary rank near the bottom of Idaho, with Summit facing the highest poverty rate (75%) and absenteeism (20.7%).

Attendance and poverty correlate with outcomes: schools like Summit with high absenteeism and poverty rank lowest, while Jefferson and Heritage with lower absenteeism post better results. More resources do not guarantee higher scores, as Jefferson outperforms Heritage in math despite a larger class size and lower spending. Jerome Middle School and Falls City Academy also show mixed data, with Falls City lacking proficiency data. District averages hide significant school-level differences, particularly at 5th grade where Horizon's science proficiency is more than 20 points above Summit's. The data limitations, including older spending figures and missing test scores, should be considered when interpreting these findings.