Recent achievement test results for Idaho schools showed a marked difference between the Whitepine School District and a learning academy under the district's umbrella.

"We are extremely proud and excited about how well our schools did this year compared to the state average," said Darrah Eggers, Deary High School principal.

Preliminary results of the state ISAT test included the Idaho Distance Education Academy in the district results, lowering the average in nearly every category.

IDEA is a virtual home-based charter school that allows parents to choose their own curriculums and design individual learning programs at home with the use of the Internet.

In third-grade reading, the combined average was 74.8 percent proficiency while the Deary/Bovill students showed 100 percent proficiency.

The same was true for third-grade math, where the scores including the digital academy showed 84.4 percent proficiency while the Deary/Bovill third-graders were 100 percent proficient.

All Deary/Bovill elementary scores in reading, math, language and science were higher than the averages with the digital academy.

The same did not hold true as the classes advanced. At 10th grade, the reading scores with the digital academy showed 93.6 percent proficiency while Deary alone showed 91.7 percent. Language skills, which included grammar and spelling, saw the biggest difference with Deary 10th-graders performing at 66.7 percent proficient. That increased to 78.2 percent when the digital academy was added in.

Eggers said the district is working with the state to remove the Idaho Distance Education Academy from the Whitepine umbrella.

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Walker may be contacted at jodiw@lmtribune.com or (208) 743-9600, ext. 275.