The top reported proficiency rate is 65% in Science. The lowest is 49% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Ridgecrest School
Ridgecrest School serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Cottonwood Heights, a suburban city along the east bench of the Salt Lake Valley. The school is part of the Canyons District and sits in a community that describes itself as the “City between the canyons,” positioned between Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons in the Wasatch Mountains. Cottonwood Heights is a mix of residential neighborhoods on the ridge and commercial corridors along Fort Union Boulevard, with corporate offices for several major companies adding a business presence. The city approaches buildout, with population growth that has slowed in recent years, and the housing market reflects an area where home values sit notably above state benchmarks.
Ridgecrest is a school of roughly mid-range size for an elementary school. Its student body is majority white, with the next largest groups being Hispanic students and students identifying as two or more races, followed by smaller shares of Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, Black, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school does not have a charter or magnet designation, and data on Title I status was not provided.
On state assessments, Ridgecrest’s proficiency rates across math, English language arts, and science paint a mixed picture. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above lands above the midpoint when compared with other schools in the district’s county, and science proficiency follows a similar pattern. English language arts proficiency is lower, with fewer than half of students reaching the proficient bar in the most recent year for which data is available. A parent considering Ridgecrest may want to look into this further with the school, particularly around how reading and writing instruction is delivered and whether supports are in place for students who need them. The overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades places Ridgecrest in the top quartile relative to districts in Salt Lake County, which is a strong position, but the gap between math and science performance on one hand and ELA on the other is notable.
No data was available for chronic absenteeism, discipline, or staffing, so those areas are not part of this picture. Because Ridgecrest only serves elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report.
The Canyons District, which operates Ridgecrest, has a publicly reported recent bond measure that voters approved to rebuild and renovate aging school buildings, fund safety and security upgrades, and improve infrastructure across multiple schools. The district structured the bond to replace expiring debt service, meaning it would not increase the property tax rate. This matters for Ridgecrest families because it determines the physical condition and modernization of the schools their children attend.
Cottonwood Heights lacks a traditional downtown center. Commercial activity is spread along Fort Union Boulevard as a corridor rather than concentrated in a walkable core. The built environment is car-dependent, with single-family suburban housing on the ridge and strip-style commercial development along major roads. The city is building a multi-use trail along Big Cottonwood Creek, which adds recreational walking infrastructure, and the canyons provide direct access to Wasatch Mountain recreation including ski resorts and hiking. For a family considering Ridgecrest, the setting is one where school and daily errands require driving, but outdoor recreation is close by.
Ridgecrest fits a family looking for a neighborhood elementary school in a suburban setting with strong math and science results and a student body that reflects the area’s demographics. The ELA proficiency soft spot is real, and a parent may want to understand how the school addresses it. The school’s size, the district’s recent investment in facilities, and the community’s stable, built-out character all suggest a place where a family can expect consistency rather than rapid change.
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