NCES CCD 2024-25 79 schools ID

Best-Resourced Schools in Boise, ID

79 public K-12 schools in Boise from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.

79
Schools
35,510
Students
41.5/100
Avg Resource Index
16.4:1
Avg Student-Teacher Ratio

National city placement

Large, fragmented school market

According to NCES CCD 2024-25, Boise has more public-school enrollment than 97% of the 4,487 US cities in this directory. Boise is among the largest city school systems in this directory by enrollment, but its campuses are divided among 13 districts. That combination matters: citywide averages blend separate budgets, staffing policies, attendance boundaries, and program rules. For a family comparing schools here, the district column is as important as the city average; two nearby campuses may answer to different boards and draw on different F-33 funding pools.

Combined-grade campuses shape the local portfolio

65 of Boise's 79 listed schools use NCES's combined or “other” grade-level classification. Citywide averages therefore blend campuses serving unusually broad or nonstandard grade spans with conventional elementary, middle, and high schools. Grade configuration is a first-order comparison here, not a minor label.

Campus spread matters more than the city mean

The 72-point gap between Boise Online School - Elementary and Isucceed Virtual High School shows the range hidden by Boise's average Resource Investment Index. The city figure is useful for national placement, but families ultimately choose among campuses with different grade spans, enrollment, district affiliations, and reported support fields. Start with schools serving the relevant grade level, then compare the index components rather than assuming the city average describes any one classroom.

City enrollment
Top 3%
School count
Top 2%
Resource Index average
53rd percentile
Teacher staffing
39th percentile

Boise school enrollment varies 581× across entities

Boise school enrollment ranges from 3 students (lowest) to 1,743 students (highest), a spread of 1,740 students. That ratio is an extreme outlier spread — among the widest gaps observed anywhere in this dataset. Per-school staffing and program breadth can differ sharply at opposite ends of that enrollment range, so the city average should not be treated as a typical campus.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Boise operates 13 school districts — one of the single most fragmented governance structures in the country

Each school district has independent budgeting, hiring, and service delivery authority, and the sheer count here puts it in the extreme tail of fragmentation nationally. The fragmentation reflects historical patterns of inter-municipal boundary lines that pre-date modern city growth, students in different parts of the same city can attend different districts with different per-pupil spending, calendars, and graduation requirements. Per-region variation is largest in fragmented systems because each school district sets its own budget, contracts, and priorities without higher-level coordination above the regulatory floor.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Boise student-teacher ratio is 16.4:1 — near the typical range (US average ~15.7) — citywide staffing is neither unusually lean nor unusually crowded by this measure

student-teacher ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE classroom teachers against total enrollment, push-in specialists, English-language aides, special-education co-teachers, and counselors are not included in most reporting Variation between sub-units within Boise is typically wider than the Boise-aggregate figure suggests.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, Public School Universe

11 of Boise's 79 listed schools are charters

14% of the city's listed public-school campuses are reported as charter schools in NCES CCD. Charter status identifies a different governance arrangement; it does not establish admissions availability, academic quality, or the share of city students enrolled in those campuses. Open each school record to compare enrollment and staffing directly.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

# School Score
1. Boise Online School - Elementary 82
2. Minidoka Junior High Alternative 64
3. Riverside Elementary School 58
4. Frontier Elementary School 58
5. Cardinal Academy 58
6. Frank Church High School 57
7. Jefferson Elementary School 56
8. Adams Elementary School 56
9. Monroe Elementary School 55
10. Hawthorne Elementary School 52
11. Lake Hazel Elementary School 51
12. Garfield Elementary School 51
13. Mountain View Elementary School 50
14. Amity Elementary School 49
15. Taft Elementary School 49
16. Hillcrest Elementary School 49
17. Longfellow Elementary School 49
18. Rolling Hills Public Charter 49
19. South Junior High School 47
20. Cecil D Andrus Elementary 47
21. Mcmillan Elementary 47
22. Peace Valley Charter School 47
23. Summerwind Stem Academy 46
24. Lowell Elementary School 46
25. Collister Elementary School 46
26. Silver Sage Elementary School 46
27. Centennial High School 45
28. Valley View Elementary School 45
29. Madison Early Childhood School 45
30. Washington Elementary School 44
31. Fairmont Junior High School 43
32. Ustick Elementary School 43
33. Roosevelt Elementary School 43
34. Joplin Elementary School 43
35. Ada County Juvenile Center 43
36. Lake Hazel Middle School 42
37. Whittier Elementary School 42
38. Desert Sage Elementary School 42
39. Maple Grove Elementary School 42
40. Inspire Virtual Charter School 41
41. Horizon Elementary School 41
42. Shadow Hills Elementary 41
43. Owyhee Elementary School 41
44. West Junior High 40
45. Grace Jordan Elementary 40
46. Capital Senior High School 39
47. Lowell Scott Middle School 39
48. Village Leadership Academy 39
49. Idaho Connects Online Alternative School 39
50. Borah Senior High School 38

Showing top 50 of 79 schools.

Most racially and ethnically mixed schools in Boise

Ranked by the Simpson student-body diversity index (0-100) from NCES race and ethnicity data, where higher means a more evenly mixed student body. It measures mix, not quality.

  1. 1 Desert Sage Elementary School 69.3/100
  2. 2 Morley Nelson Elementary 67.3/100
  3. 3 Garfield Elementary School 67.3/100
  4. 4 Taft Elementary School 66.9/100
  5. 5 Koelsch Elementary School 65.4/100

What do families ask about schools in Boise?

Which Boise school has the highest Resource Investment Index?

Boise Online School - Elementary has the highest Resource Investment Index among the Boise schools in this federal-data comparison at 82/100. The index summarizes reported staffing, counseling, gifted-program, and attendance inputs; it is not an academic rating.

How many schools are in Boise, ID?

Boise has 79 public schools with a total enrollment of 35,510 students. 11 are charter schools. Average student-teacher ratio: 16.4:1.

Other Cities in Idaho

Side-by-side: Compare any two schools or districts in Idaho →

Data from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22. The Resource Investment Index uses reported student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance; it is not an academic rating. Cities must include at least five schools to be listed. This public-data comparison is for informational purposes: verify current enrollment, attendance boundaries, and programs with the school district before acting. See the guide to understanding NCES data.