Best Middle Schools in Zip Code 83605

Zip code 83605 contains three middle schools serving a combined 2,309 students across grades 5–8 in the Caldwell, Idaho area, spread across two districts: Vallivue School District and Caldwell District. The schools include Summitvue Middle School (grades 6–8, 836 students), Jefferson Middle School (grades 5–6, 778 students), and Syringa Middle School (grades 7–8, 695 students). All three schools serve predominantly low-income populations, with free/reduced-price lunch eligibility ranging from 58% to 77%.

Summitvue Middle School is the clear standout, with the highest math proficiency (23.5%), highest ELA proficiency (40.3%), and lowest chronic absenteeism (28.6%) among the group. It also has the lowest poverty rate at 58.4%. Syringa Middle School is notable for being the only school that exceeds its district average in any subject, beating the Caldwell District ELA average by 5.1 percentage points (35.1% vs. 30.0%), though its math proficiency is the lowest at 15.3%. Jefferson Middle School shows the most concerning ELA results at 27.3%, ranking in the bottom 10% of Idaho middle schools in every reported year.

All three schools remain far below Idaho state averages in every subject, with math the weakest area across the board — no school reaches even 24% proficiency compared to the state average of 43.1%. Chronic absenteeism is more than double the state rate of 13.8% at every school, ranging from 28.6% at Summitvue to 36.6% at Syringa. School rankings have declined recently for both Summitvue and Syringa, while Jefferson has consistently ranked in the bottom 8th percentile or below. The Caldwell District schools form a feeder pattern that suggests math proficiency declines between Jefferson's 5th–6th grade and Syringa's 7th–8th grade, with no significant improvement in student trajectories.