Best Middle Schools in Zip Code 83638

Zip code 83638 is served by a single middle school, Payette Lakes Middle School, which enrolls 331 students in grades 6 through 8 in the McCall, Idaho area. This school is part of the highly ranked McCall-Donnelly Joint School District, which places 4th out of 101 Idaho districts and holds a 5-star rating. Payette Lakes Middle School has consistently ranked among the top middle schools in Idaho, landing in the 86th percentile (24th of 174 schools) for 2025-26, the 93rd percentile (11th of 166) for 2024-25, and the 80th percentile (33rd of 164) for 2023-24.

Academically, Payette Lakes Middle School significantly outperforms Idaho state averages across all subjects. In the 2025-26 school year, 57.6% of students were proficient in math compared to 43.1% statewide, while 74.3% were proficient in English Language Arts versus 54.0% statewide. Science proficiency for 8th graders reached 61.9%, well above the state's 42.9%. The school's ELA program is a clear strength, with proficiency rising from 69.9% in 6th grade to 79.8% in 8th grade. However, math tells a different story: proficiency drops sharply from 64.7% in 7th grade to 47.6% in 8th grade, signaling a potential area for targeted support. While the school generally aligns with its district, in 2025-26 it scored below the district in all-grades math (57.6% vs. 60.5%), even though it outperformed the district in both math and ELA the previous year.

One notable concern is chronic absenteeism. Payette Lakes Middle School reports 25.6% of students chronically absent, nearly double Idaho's 13.8% average and higher than the district's 21.3%. This is especially noteworthy given the school's strong test scores. On a positive note, the school maintains a low student-teacher ratio of 14.4 to 1, and about one-quarter of students (25.08%) qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The combination of high state rankings, strong ELA outcomes, and low class sizes makes Payette Lakes Middle School an attractive option, but families should be aware of the 8th-grade math slide and elevated absenteeism as areas to watch closely.