Best Public Schools in Zip Code 99148

ZIP code 99148 contains two small schools in the rural Loon Lake area, both operated by the Loon Lake School District: Loon Lake Homelink Program, serving kindergarten through eighth grade, and Loon Lake Elementary School, serving prekindergarten through sixth grade.

For parents comparing the two schools, Loon Lake Homelink Program has the stronger reported academic results. In 2025–26, 50.57% of students were proficient in English Language Arts and 39.08% in math, compared with 21.15% and 15.38%, respectively, at Loon Lake Elementary School. Homelink was especially strong in sixth-grade math, where performance exceeded the state rate, and in third-grade ELA. Its overall results were close to statewide averages, although its statewide ranking has declined somewhat in recent years. Results varied by grade, with weaker math performance in fourth, fifth, and seventh grades. Several older-grade and science results were suppressed, so the available data do not provide a complete picture.

Loon Lake Elementary School faces greater academic challenges, ranking in the lower statewide range and recording a significant ELA decline from 34% proficiency in 2024–25 to 21.15% in 2025–26. Science improved substantially year over year but remained below the state rate. The school reports a much lower student-teacher ratio, 10.8 compared with 45.8 at Homelink, while its reported per-student spending is considerably higher. These figures may reflect different program and staffing structures rather than typical class sizes. Both schools are small, with a combined enrollment of 251 students, so year-to-year percentages can be affected by relatively small testing groups. Overall, Homelink appears to be the stronger academic option based on available data, while families considering either school should also examine program fit, grade-level needs, and the limitations caused by suppressed results.