Surprise! Meridian Doesn’t Have Idaho’s Best Schools

When I first came to the Treasure Valley, schools weren't of great importance to me. My kids were pretty much done with high school, so we didn't base our home search on the best school districts like we had done in the past. Then, out of nowhere, a baby! Now, school districts matter again.

The common belief is that Meridian schools are the best in the Treasure Valley; however, I found that to be false upon doing some research. Neighborhood Scout takes data from test scores from the Idaho Department of Education, gets spending reports from the National Center for Education Statistics and other information from the U.S. Census Bureau to give each city a score. Their findings were surprising, especially when they ranked Meridian's schools seventh in the state.

Here are the top cities in Idaho, when ranked by schools according to Neighborhood Scout:

#1 - McCall
The McCall Donnelly Joint School District is better than 93.2% of all school districts in America. Reading and Math scores are 20% better here than the state average. McCall Donnelly also spends over $2,000 more per student on instructional expenditures than the state average.

#2 - Dalton Gardens
Dalton Gardens is in Northern Idaho near Spokane. It is part of the Coeur D'Alene School District, but its schools rank far above the rest of the district.

#3 - Eagle
Eagle is the top school system in the Treasure Valley, according to Neighborhood Scout. That said, Eagle doesn't have its own school district. Its schools are split between the Boise Independent School District and West Ada in Meridian.

#4 - Star
While Star is part of Meridian Joint School District 2, the schools attended mainly by the residents of Star rank slightly higher than the rest of the district.

#5 - Hayden
Hayden is part of the Couer D'alene School District. It is next to the number two ranked city of Dalton Gardens. Its schools rank slightly above the rest of the district.

#6 - Moscow
The Moscow School District has considered better than 94.2% of other Idaho schools. The district itself is better than 88.1% of school districts in America. Their Math and Reading scores are 12% better than the state average.

#7 - Meridian
Oh, there you are! According to Neighborhood Scout, Meridian's West Ada School District is better than 91.1% of other Idaho school districts and better than 87.5% of school districts across the country. Its test scores are 13% higher in Reading and Math than the Idaho average.

#8 - Troy
Troy is another Northern Idaho city near Lewiston. Troy schools are served by four different districts: Moscow, Genesee, Troy, and Whitepine.

#9 - Athol
Athol is a Northern Idaho city that is part of the Cour D'alene and Lakeland Districts.

#10 - Chubbuck
Chubbuck is located near Pocatello at I-15 and I-86. It is part of the Pocatello School District, but its schools rank slightly higher than the rest of the district.