The top reported proficiency rate is 39% in Math. The lowest is 22% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Sherman Elementary
Sherman Elementary sits on East Sherman Avenue in Nampa, a city that grew from railroad and irrigation roots into Idaho's third most populous community. Nampa retains strong food-processing, agribusiness, and manufacturing sectors, with employers like Amalgamated Sugar, Sorrento-Lactalis, and Amazon shaping the local economy. The Boise-Nampa metro ranks among the fastest-growing in the nation, and downtown Nampa has been undergoing revitalization with zoning changes, facade grants, and streetscape work. The walkable core around Library Square holds the public library, Lloyd Square Park, and the train depot museum, while the broader built environment is car-oriented, served by Interstate 84 and ValleyRide bus lines. Housing in the school's zip code sits below the state benchmark and modestly above the national one, with rents that compare favorably to mortgage costs for families weighing whether to rent or buy.
Sherman is a regular public school in the Nampa School District, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. The enrollment is mid-sized for an elementary building. The student body reflects Nampa's blended identity: roughly half white and a large Hispanic share, with small representations of other backgrounds. A very high proportion of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, which places Sherman among the schools serving communities with concentrated economic need. Data on English learners and special education enrollment was not available in the sources reviewed, so those figures are left out rather than estimated.
On state assessments, the picture is sobering. Third-grade math proficiency was reported at a level well below what most families would hope to see. Fifth-grade science was lower still. Several other grade-level results were suppressed or reported only as ranges, including fourth-grade math, fifth-grade math, third-grade ELA, and fourth-grade ELA, with ranges that sit low across the board. Fifth-grade ELA showed a reported range that reaches into the upper thirties on the optimistic end. Average scale scores and participation rates were missing across the board. A parent looking at these results may want to ask the school directly what supports are in place for reading and math growth, and how the school tracks progress for students who arrive below grade level. The data available does not show a strong upward trend, and trend comparability was flagged as unknown, so it would be premature to read direction into it.
The Nampa School District has gone through a stretch of change that directly affects families. In 2024 the district shifted to a four-day school week, making it the largest in Idaho to do so. That same year, the district moved from semesters to a trimester system, reworking how courses are organized and credited. The prior year brought budget-driven closure deliberations, including a proposal to close Central Elementary that the school board ultimately rejected. Publicly reported accounts described it as a difficult period of hard decisions. For a family considering Sherman, the four-day week is the most immediate scheduling factor, and it is worth understanding how the district structures child care, intervention time, and teacher planning on the off day.
What Sherman offers is a neighborhood elementary serving a community where many families face economic pressure, in a district actively reorganizing itself. The academic results as reported are a concern, and the suppressed results make it hard to see the full picture from the outside. The school's identity is tied to a city in transition, growing and diversifying, with industrial roots and a revitalizing downtown. Families for whom proximity, a known peer community, and a public-school pathway matter most may find Sherman fits, particularly if they are prepared to engage directly with staff about academic support.
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