The top reported proficiency rate is 59% in Math. The lowest is 53% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Rulon M Ellis Elementary School
Rulon M. Ellis Elementary sits in Chubbuck, a residential suburb just north of Pocatello in Bannock County. The school serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as part of the Pocatello-Chubbuck School District, and its enrollment is moderate for an elementary in this area. The student body is predominantly white, with a Hispanic population that makes up the next largest group, and small numbers of American Indian or Alaska Native students and children of two or more races. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Information on English learners and students with individualized education programs was not available, so those populations could not be characterized here. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and no Title I status was reported.
On Idaho's ISAT, the most recent results paint a mixed but generally steady picture. Math proficiency starts strong in third grade, slips a bit in fourth, and dips to roughly half of tested students by fifth grade. English language arts follows a different arc: third grade sits near the midpoint, then rises noticeably in fourth and stays there in fifth. Science, tested only in fifth grade, lands around half proficient. No average scale scores or participation rates were reported, and the multi-year trend data the state provided appeared incomplete, so a reliable year-over-year comparison could not be drawn. Taken together, the school looks strongest in upper-elementary literacy, while fifth-grade math is the clearest soft spot, and a parent may want to look into how the school supports that transition year.
Chubbuck itself is a compact, nearly entirely urban community with a suburban feel. Publicly reported descriptions characterize it as a primarily residential suburb of Pocatello with a significant commercial corridor along Yellowstone Avenue, where civic facilities like the fire station and public works yard are located. The city has a young, family-oriented population and has maintained a distinct civic identity, having turned down several consolidation proposals with Pocatello over the decades. There is no traditional downtown core, and civic functions are dispersed rather than clustered. No walkability scores or pedestrian-infrastructure details were found in available sources. The city has grown rapidly over a long period, and housing vacancy rates are reported as very low, pointing to tight supply and ongoing demand.
Housing in the school's zip code sits below the Idaho state benchmark and modestly above the national one. Renting is meaningfully cheaper than carrying a mortgage at current rates, which may matter for families weighing a move into the attendance area. The district has recently adjusted elementary school attendance zones to balance enrollment and capacity across schools, and a family considering a home here should confirm the current boundary, since redistricting can shift which building a child is assigned to even within a short distance.
The district has made a public commitment to two frameworks that shape classroom life. Visible Learning shifts instructional focus toward how students learn rather than only what they learn, and Restorative Practices are used across the district to build relationships and address behavior without leaning on exclusionary discipline. No discipline data, staffing figures, attendance rates, or program offerings were available for this school, so the texture of those areas could not be assessed. For a parent reading this account, the available evidence points to a neighborhood elementary with solid upper-grade reading results, a math dip worth asking about, and a community context of steady growth and tight housing in a suburb that has kept its own identity next to a larger neighbor.
See more original research from School Decision →