Summary:
Zip code 83612 in Council, Idaho, contains 2 schools within the Council District: Council Elementary School serving grades PK-6 with 165 students, and Council Junior/Senior High School serving grades 7-12 with 117 students, for a combined rural student population of roughly 282 students. The district as a whole ranks 36th out of 101 Idaho districts (64th percentile, 3 stars), but that overall rating masks a dramatic divide between its two schools.
Council Junior/Senior High School is the clear standout, earning a 2025-2026 state rank of 10th out of 122 high schools (92nd percentile, 5 stars) after being ranked last in 2022-2023. Its End of Course exam results are exceptional, with 62.5% proficiency in both math and science versus state averages of 33.1% and 41.2%. Council Elementary School, by contrast, ranks 292nd out of 346 elementary schools (16th percentile, 1 star), with just 24.7% of students proficient in English Language Arts compared to the state's 54%. The high school also benefits from a lower student-teacher ratio (11.5 vs. 19.5) and higher per-student spending ($12,736 vs. $8,678).
Both schools serve a similar share of economically disadvantaged students (42-45% free/reduced lunch), and the high school's graduation rate of 82.5% matches the state average. However, chronic absenteeism was a concern in 2023-2024, with school-level rates of 20.6% at the elementary school and 17.9% at the high school, above the current state average of 13.8%. The sharp contrast between the two schools suggests the district's secondary program is outperforming its elementary program significantly, and the elementary school's low early-grade reading proficiency (25% of 3rd graders) may be an underlying issue worth attention.
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