Summary:
ZIP code 83631 is served by two small rural schools in the Basin School District: Basin Elementary School (grades PK–6, 173 students) and Idaho City High School (grades 7–12, 126 students). There is no standalone middle school, so students transition into a high school building at 7th grade. The district ranks in the bottom quarter of Idaho districts with a 1-star rating, and neither school exceeds a 2-star rating.
Basin Elementary School is the relative bright spot. Its 5th grade students far outperform state averages: 59.1% proficient in math (state 42.2%), 59.1% in science (state 44.0%), and 72.7% in ELA (state 55.2%). However, overall math and ELA proficiency lag the state, and the school’s chronic absenteeism rate is a startling 32.6%—more than double the state rate of 13.8% and well above the district’s 24.0%. Grade-level math scores also swing wildly, from 23.8% proficiency in 4th grade to 59.1% in 5th grade, suggesting cohort differences or uneven instruction. With 45.1% of students eligible for free/reduced lunch, the school serves a moderately economically diverse population.
Idaho City High School graduates students at exactly the state average (82.5%), but its test scores are consistently below state benchmarks: 31.0% in math (state 43.1%), 45.1% in ELA (state 54.0%), and 30.6% in science (state 42.7%). Its ranking has dropped sharply from the 53rd to the 23rd percentile in just two years, and its 1-star rating reflects that decline. Chronic absenteeism at the high school is 14.5%, much lower than the elementary school’s, even though both serve similar economic populations. Per-pupil spending is higher at the elementary level ($12,308 vs. $10,840), despite the high school having smaller class sizes. The most actionable priorities are clear: tackle elementary absenteeism, investigate 4th grade math, and reverse the high school’s proficiency slide before it falls further.
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