The top reported proficiency rate is 62% in English language arts. The lowest is 51% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Malad Middle School
Malad Middle School sits in Malad City, the county seat of Oneida County, Idaho, a small rural community along Interstate 15 just a short drive from the Utah border. Publicly reported accounts describe the town as founded as a Welsh Latter-day Saint settlement, and it retains that heritage. Its compact downtown clusters along Bannock Street, with City Hall, the Oneida Pioneer Museum, and the county courthouse all within a few blocks. The Oneida County Library, recognized as Idaho Library of the Year, sits in town, and the Malad City Park and Greenbelt serves as the primary community gathering space. A critical access hospital, county government, and the school district itself are among the main employers. Retail draws cross-border traffic from Utah, particularly for Idaho Lottery sales. Growth appears stable rather than booming, with the town working to renovate the historic Evans Co-op building rather than building out large new subdivisions.
The school serves grades six through eight as a regular public school in the Oneida County District. Enrollment is small, with roughly equal numbers across the three grades. The student body is almost entirely white, with a small Hispanic presence. A moderate share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on special education enrollment and English learner status was not available.
On Idaho's ISAT, the school's English language arts results are a clear strength. Proficiency rises steadily from sixth grade through eighth grade, with the oldest cohort posting strong results. A majority of seventh graders reach proficiency, and the eighth grade rate is higher still. This upward trajectory across the middle school years suggests students are building literacy skills as they move through the building. Math proficiency is more mixed, with roughly half of students reaching proficiency at each grade level, and the pattern does not show the same upward climb as ELA. Eighth grade science proficiency lands in a similar mid-range territory. Average scale scores were not reported, and participation rate data was missing, so those dimensions of performance cannot be assessed here.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. That gap reflects the grade band, not a missing result.
Housing in the area is affordable relative to both Idaho and national benchmarks. Typical home values sit below the state level and modestly below the national figure, and the estimated monthly mortgage cost is manageable against national median household income, though mortgage rates remain elevated in the current environment. Rental data was not available. For a family weighing a move to the area, the housing market is accessible compared with many Idaho communities, and the small-town setting offers a quieter pace with civic institutions and schools integrated into the community fabric rather than separated on distant campuses.
Several categories the payload tracks were empty for this school. No data was available on course access, staffing ratios, discipline, attendance, Title I status, or a locale classification from the dataset. Program offerings were not reported. The district brief did not surface any recent policy changes, curriculum shifts, or bond issues that would affect families. A parent wanting to understand the full picture of what happens inside the building day to day may want to ask the school directly about those areas.
What the available evidence shows is a small rural middle school where English language arts instruction is producing results that climb through the grade levels, math and science sit in a middling band, and the community around it is stable and affordable. The school's academic profile in literacy is the strongest signal in the data, and a family prioritizing reading and writing development in a small-town setting would find that worth exploring further.
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