The top reported proficiency rate is 35% in English language arts. The lowest is 28% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Jefferson Elementary School
JeffersonElementary sits on South Latah Street in Boise, part of the Boise Independent District, serving students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. It is a regular public school, neither a charter nor a magnet, and its enrollment is small for its grade band. The school's student body is distinctive in one respect that shapes nearly everything else about its profile: nearly every child qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. That places Jefferson among the highest-poverty elementary schools in its district, and a parent reading this profile should hold that context close when weighing the academic numbers.
The racial and ethnic mix is more varied than many Boise schools. Just over half the students are white, with the rest split among Black, Hispanic, Asian, multiracial, and a small number of American Indian or Alaska Native students. The school does not report its special education or English learner counts, so those gaps stand as gaps. A parent whose child receives special education services or is learning English may want to ask the school directly about staffing and program models.
On Idaho's state assessments, the most recent results tell a mixed story, and the picture is incomplete because several grade-level results were suppressed or reported only as ranges. In math, fourth grade landed below a third proficient, and fifth grade came in lower still. Several other math and ELA grade levels appear as wide ranges rather than point estimates, which reflects small testing populations and the privacy protections that follow from them. In ELA, fifth grade reached roughly a third proficient. Science was reported only as a range for fifth grade. Average scale scores were missing across the board, and participation rates were not reported. Taken together, the available results are modest, and a parent may want to look into this further with the school, especially given how much of the data was suppressed rather than reported. The school's near-universal poverty rate is relevant context here, since concentrated economic disadvantage correlates with lower aggregate test scores, but it does not change what the numbers show.
No graduation rate applies, since Jefferson does not serve high school grades. No discipline, course access, staffing, or attendance data was provided. No program offerings were listed. Title I status was not reported, though a school with this free-or-reduced-price-lunch profile would typically qualify.
The housing market around Jefferson's zip code tells its own story. Home values sit below the Idaho state benchmark and above the national one, with values having dipped slightly over the past year. Rents, by contrast, have risen at a faster clip than the broader market, and renting costs considerably less per month than carrying a mortgage at current rates. The price-to-income ratio is elevated relative to the national figure, meaning local wages stretch less far against purchase prices than in many parts of the country. For a family considering the neighborhood, renting may be the more accessible entry point.
Boise itself frames the school's setting. As Idaho's capital and largest city, it carries the weight of state government, a major university, and a technology sector anchored by companies like Micron. The downtown core is compact and walkable, with the Boise River Greenbelt threading through parks and neighborhoods. The Treasure Valley metro has grown substantially through in-migration, and that pressure shows in housing demand and school enrollment patterns across the district. Jefferson sits within this broader growth context, in an established residential part of the city rather than a new foothills subdivision.
The district brief turned up little on recent parent-relevant changes, so there is nothing to report there beyond the fact that the search came back thin.
What this school appears to be is a small, high-poverty neighborhood elementary in a growing capital city, with a diverse student body and academic results that sit below where most families would want them. The strengths are harder to find in the available data than the challenges. For a parent weighing Jefferson, the most productive next step is likely a direct conversation with the school about instruction, support services, and how it serves children from economically disadvantaged households.
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