| Vital Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Public schools | 664 |
| Public school teachers | 14,049 |
| Pre-K-12 students | 252,120 |
| Annual pre-K-12 expenditures | $1.5 billion |
| Minority students | 15.9% |
| Children in poverty | 20% |
| Students with disabilities | 11.4% |
| English-language learners | 7.8% |
Summary of Grades
Idaho’s performance across the graded policy categories of Quality Counts is quite mixed. The state scores at or above the national average in two areas and far below average in the other two categories.
Idaho fares well in standards and accountability, where it scores just above average and has a strong showing on school accountability indicators. For example, the state sanctions and provides assistance to all low-performing schools.
But Idaho struggles in teacher quality, scoring near the bottom of the nation. The state falters on the teacher-assessment indicators. It does not require teachers to pass basic-skills or subject-specific pedagogy tests for initial licenses. Nor does Idaho require veteran teachers to undergo performance assessments to qualify for a more advanced stage of certification.
The state fares better in school climate. Idaho gains points on the school safety indicators by having policies related to student harassment. But the state loses points on the school choice and autonomy indicators because the strength of its charter school law is not highly-rated by the Center for Education Reform.
Idaho ranks last in the nation for resource equity. The state scores especially poorly on the wealth-neutrality measure, indicating that perpupil funding is considerably higher in its wealthier districts than in its poorer districts.
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| Quality Counts Grading Breakdown | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding.
