Summary:
Zip code 83713 in Boise, Idaho, is served by a single middle school, Lowell Scott Middle School, which enrolls 773 students in grades 6 through 8 and is part of the highly ranked Joint School District No. 2. This school is a clear standout, ranking 20th out of 174 Idaho middle schools in 2025–2026, placing it in the 89th percentile with a 4-star rating. The previous year it ranked even higher at 15th place with a 5-star rating. Academic proficiency is strong across the board: 61.4% of students are proficient in math, 74.9% in English Language Arts, and 68.4% in 8th-grade science — all well above both district and state averages.
While overall performance is excellent, there is one notable area to watch. Sixth-grade math proficiency sits at 51.5%, which is below the district average of 56.0%, while 7th- and 8th-grade math are far above state levels. This suggests a possible transition challenge for incoming 6th graders. English Language Arts is consistently strong in every grade, with 7th graders leading at 78.1% proficiency. Science is a genuine bright spot, as 8th graders outperform the state average by more than 25 percentage points. The school also maintains a chronic absenteeism rate of 12.9%, essentially matching the district and slightly better than the state rate of 13.8%.
Lowell Scott achieves these results despite a relatively high student-teacher ratio of 21.1 to 1 and a moderate free/reduced lunch rate of about 35%. This combination indicates effective teaching and strong curriculum implementation even with larger class sizes and economic diversity. The school itself is the only middle school in the zip code, so parents in this area have a single, clearly excellent choice. While spending data is only available from 2018–2019, the academic and ranking data firmly establish Lowell Scott as one of Idaho’s top-performing middle schools, with a slight step back from five stars to four stars in the most recent year but no sign of significant decline.
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