The top reported proficiency rate is 54% in English language arts. The lowest is 35% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Irving Middle School
Irving Middle School is a regular public school serving grades six through eight in Pocatello, the county seat of Bannock County and the principal city of the Pocatello metropolitan area in southeastern Idaho. It operates within the Pocatello-Chubbuck School District 25, a district whose top employers, publicly reported in the city's financial documents, include Idaho State University, Portneuf Medical Center, Amy's Kitchen, ON Semiconductor, and Idaho Central Credit Union. The FBI is also building a data center in the city as part of a consolidation initiative. Pocatello's history as a railroad junction and trade center, known as the "Gate City," gave way to industrial expansion in the 1940s and a push toward high technology in the 1990s. The Portneuf River runs through the western side of the city, and a growing greenway trail system follows it.
The school's state assessment results, from Idaho's ISAT in the most recent school year, show a clear split between subjects. In English language arts, proficiency sits in the mid-fifties across all three grades, a solid result that holds steady from sixth through eighth grade. Math tells a different story. Proficiency there runs in the thirties, with eighth grade dipping below the sixth and seventh. Eighth-grade science proficiency lands in the low forties. A parent weighing Irving might see the ELA program as a relative strength, while the math results are a soft spot worth asking about. The school's average scale scores and participation rates were not reported in the data we reviewed, so we cannot add detail beyond the proficiency rates themselves.
The student body is predominantly white, with a Hispanic population that makes up the largest minority group. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school serves a sizable student body across three grades, balanced fairly evenly among them. Data on individualized education programs and English learner status was not available, so we cannot speak to how those populations are served.
Pocatello-Chubbuck School District 25 has recently adjusted elementary school attendance areas to balance enrollment and capacity, a change that affects which elementary school a child attends based on address but does not directly alter Irving's middle school boundaries. The district has also committed district-wide to Visible Learning, an approach that shifts focus from what students are learning to how they are learning, and to Restorative Practices, used to nurture relationships and build school community. These commitments shape the pedagogical environment Irving students experience.
Housing in the school's zip code is modest relative to both Idaho and national benchmarks. Home values sit below the state figure by a wide margin and below the national figure as well. Renting is substantially cheaper than carrying a mortgage at current interest rates, which may matter to families weighing where to live within the district. The area saw a slight decline in home values over the past year, while rents edged upward. National unemployment has held steady, and real median household income has risen gradually over the past several years.
Several pieces of information were not available in the data we reviewed. Irving's Title I status, discipline data, course access details, staffing ratios, and attendance figures were all absent. We looked for program offerings such as advanced coursework, electives, or extracurriculars and found none listed. Civil rights data was not provided. Locale classification, which would describe whether the school sits in an urban, suburban, or rural setting, was also missing. A neighbor comparison placing Irving against nearby schools in the county was not available. Parents wanting a fuller picture may want to ask the school directly about these areas, particularly staffing, course offerings, and how the district's Visible Learning and Restorative Practices commitments translate into day-to-day classroom experience at Irving.
See more original research from School Decision →