The top reported proficiency rate is 42% in Science. The lowest is 20% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Salt Lake Center for Science Education
Salt Lake Center for Science Education is a single-school independent charter district serving grades six through twelve. It operates one school in Salt Lake County. The district draws its student body from families who choose to apply, and its size is on the smaller side for a secondary-grade district.
The student population is split nearly evenly between students who identify as Hispanic and students who identify as White, with small shares of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals, the share of students with an individualized education plan, and the share who are English learners were not available. A parent interested in the range of student support services would need to ask the school directly about those figures.
State testing data is available for the 2020-21 school year, when the state administered the RISE assessment in grades three through eight. Because Salt Lake Center for Science Education enrolls very few students in those tested grades—its enrollment is concentrated in grades nine through twelve, with a handful in grade eight at most—the testing results reflect a small group of students rather than the full secondary school. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above was below the state average. In English language arts and in science, the share scoring proficient or above fell near the middle of the range. The district’s overall proficiency rate across tested subjects and grades placed it below the midpoint among Salt Lake County’s districts. A parent should be aware that the scores come from a limited number of test-takers in a single year, and they may not represent the academic performance of the high school as a whole. The school’s graduation rate was not available in the data, so it cannot be assessed here.
Chronic absenteeism, reported at a rate that puts the district in the top quartile among the county’s districts, meaning a lower share of students are chronically absent compared to most districts in the county. That is a positive signal for attendance patterns. Per-pupil current spending is in the upper range among the county’s districts, indicating the charter district allocates a relatively high level of funding per student compared to its peers.
A search for recent district-wide changes, such as referendums, curriculum overhauls, or property-tax shifts, did not find any lasting parent-relevant developments. The district appears to have operated without major public-facing shifts in recent years.
For a family considering this school, the key takeaway is that it is a small charter secondary district with a student body that is roughly half Hispanic and half White, and with a comparatively low rate of chronic absenteeism. State test results from 2021 are limited in scope and show a mixed picture, with math weaker than reading and science. The school’s high school grades are its main body, so a parent would want to learn about course offerings, extracurriculars, and postsecondary preparation directly from the school. The district’s spending is high relative to its county peers, but what that spending translates into in terms of programs, staffing, or facilities is information the data does not provide. Without graduation or college-going data, a parent evaluating academic outcomes for high schoolers would need to ask the school for those figures.
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