Summary:
Zip code 83686 in Nampa, Idaho, is home to 16 schools serving approximately 9,253 students in grades PK-12, including seven elementary schools, two middle schools, four high schools, and three alternative or charter schools. Most of these schools belong to the Nampa School District, which is ranked 85th of 101 Idaho districts, but the zip code also includes several public charter schools that operate outside the district — including some of the highest-performing schools in the area.
The standout institution is Legacy Charter School, ranked 22nd of 346 elementary schools (94th percentile, 5 stars), with math proficiency of 73.7%, ELA of 83.4%, and a chronic absenteeism rate of just 2.3%. Liberty Charter School and Victory Charter School are equally impressive, posting math proficiency near 79% and chronic absenteeism around 1%. Among traditional Nampa district schools, Lake Ridge Elementary ranks highest (48th percentile) with the lowest absenteeism (2.7%), South Middle School outperforms East Valley Middle School in every subject, and Nampa Senior High School leads the traditional high schools with 8.3% chronic absenteeism and an 82.5% graduation rate.
Chronic absenteeism is the clearest dividing line between high- and low-performing schools in 83686. The lowest performers — Union High School (40.7%), Sherman Elementary (29.3%), Iowa Elementary (27.7%), and East Valley Middle School (25.3%) — all far exceed the state average of 13.8%, while top schools like Legacy Charter School, Liberty Charter School, Victory Charter School, and Lake Ridge Elementary stay below 3%. Poverty is not destiny: Gem Prep: Nampa serves a 62.8% free/reduced-price lunch population yet still posts above-average test scores, while Union High School spends the most per student ($11,522) yet ranks in the 18th percentile. Overall, charter schools in this zip code dramatically outperform traditional district schools, suggesting attendance and school model matter more than funding or class size.
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