Treasure Valley schools dominated U.S. News and World Report’s latest Idaho high school rankings top-ten list.
The standout schools included an even mix of traditional and non-traditional schools. Most were in urban locations, with the exception of Rockland Public School in Southeast Idaho.
U.S. News and World Report’s Top Ten Idaho High Schools
- North Star Charter, Eagle
- Coeur d’Alene Charter
- Sage International School, Boise
- Renaissance High, Meridian
- Boise High
- Timberline High, Boise
- McCall-Donnelly High
- Rockland Public School
- Century High, Pocatello
- Thomas Jefferson Charter, Caldwell
The rankings are released annually, and are based on a half-dozen criteria that assess academic performance and college readiness, including:
- State exam scores
- Four-year graduation rates
- Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exam participation and scores
The rankings also take into account underserved students’ — including those who are Black, Hispanic, or from low-income households — performance on state exams.
U.S. News and World Report evaluated 227 Idaho high schools to create its ranking list. Of those, 36 (or 16%) were charters, and four (or less than 2%) were magnets. These non-traditional schools are overrepresented among the best schools, comprising nine of the state’s top 20 schools, or 45%.
The same is true for schools nationwide. For all ranked public schools in the U.S., 11.5% were charters and 4.4% were magnets. Yet they claimed 13 of the top 20 spots, or 65% percent.
Learn more about the different types of schools in Idaho here.
To see the full results for Idaho and find out where your school landed, click here.
Read on to see a breakdown of the top non-traditional and traditional schools in the state.
Top ten non-traditional public schools (charter and magnet schools)
Six of the schools on this list are in the Treasure Valley, and only one is in a rural location (North Idaho STEM Charter Academy). The schools also tend to be smaller, with an average enrollment of about 250 students.
| School / Location | Idaho ranking | Grad rate | College readiness index* | Enrollment |
| North Star Charter / Eagle | #1 | 95% | 88.8 | 171 |
| Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy / Coeur d’Alene | #2 | 91% | 69.7 | 231 |
| Sage International School / Boise | #3 | 83% | 72.9 | 254 |
| Renaissance High / Meridian | #4 | 99% | 27.7 | 658 |
| Thomas Jefferson Charter / Caldwell | #10 | 83% | 29.8 | 104 |
| Xavier Charter / Twin Falls | #12 | 97% | 33.9 | 134 |
| North Idaho Stem Charter Academy / Rathdrum | #13 | 100% | NA | 106 |
| Compass Academy / Idaho Falls | #18 | 93% | 25 | 481 |
| Meridian Technical Charter High / Meridian | #19 | 100% | NA | 192 |
| Victory Charter / Nampa | #21 | 100% | NA | 125 |
*Based on 12th-grade student participation and performance on state-required tests and AP/IB exams. Passing an exam is worth three times more than taking an exam.
Traditional public schools
Four schools on this list are in the Treasure Valley, three in North Idaho, and two in Eastern Idaho. Rockland Public School is the only rural outlier. Enrollment is higher at these schools than the non-traditional standouts, with an average of about 1,200 students.
| School / Location | Idaho/National rank | Grad rate | College readiness score | Enrollment |
| Boise Senior High / Boise | #5 | 90% | 59 | 1,588 |
| Timberline High / Boise | #6 | 89% | 55.3 | 1,398 |
| McCall-Donnelly High / McCall | #7 | 89% | 39.6 | 429 |
| Rockland Public School / Rockland | #8 | 100% | 35 | 63 |
| Century High / Pocatello | #9 | 92% | 46 | 1,092 |
| Moscow High / Moscow | #11 | 82% | 34.7 | 769 |
| Twin Falls High / Twin Falls | #14 | 84% | 26.3 | 1,286 |
| Eagle High / Eagle | #15 | 93% | 21.2 | 1,802 |
| Coeur d’Alene High / Coeur d’Alene | #16 | 93% | 22.9 | 1,548 |
| Centennial High / Boise | #17 | 85% | 26.4 | 1,931 |
*Based on 12th-grade student participation and performance on state-required tests and AP/IB exams. Passing an exam is worth three times more than taking an exam.