Best High Schools in Zip Code 83522

Zip code 83522 in Idaho is served by a single high school, Prairie Junior/Senior High School, a small rural school in Cottonwood serving grades 7 through 12 with 204 students. The school is part of the highly regarded Cottonwood Joint District, which ranks 7th out of 101 Idaho districts (93rd percentile, 5 stars). Prairie itself ranks 19th out of 122 Idaho high schools (84th percentile, 4 stars), making it a strong performer overall. Enrollment is small, and the student-teacher ratio is a moderate 14.6, which supports personalized attention.

Academically, Prairie outperforms Idaho state averages in most subjects. On the 2025–2026 ISAT, 58% of students were proficient in math versus 43.1% statewide, 71.7% in English Language Arts versus 54.0%, and 49.3% in science versus 42.7%. The school also has exceptionally low chronic absenteeism at 4.7%, compared to 13.8% statewide, and a low free/reduced lunch rate of 21.57%. However, there are areas of concern. The 8th-grade cohort is a notable weak spot: 8th-grade science proficiency (40.0%) falls below the state average (42.9%), and 8th-grade math (45.7%) is only slightly above the state. Additionally, the school’s all-grades math and science scores trail its own district (58% vs. 66.3% in math; 49.3% vs. 52.9% in science), even though they lead the state. The graduation rate is 82.5%, identical to the district and state, meaning about one in six students does not graduate on time.

Prairie’s state ranking has been volatile, dropping to 42nd in 2024–2025 before rebounding to 19th in 2025–2026, likely due to small cohort sizes. The 8th-grade dip in science and math may point to a transition-year challenge or a specific cohort effect worth monitoring. Overall, Prairie Junior/Senior High School is a solid, above-average rural school with strong core instruction in ELA and math, very low absenteeism, and a supportive district. Parents should note the school’s small size, its combined middle/high school structure, and the 8th-grade performance gap as areas to watch, while recognizing the school’s clear strengths relative to Idaho state averages.