The top reported proficiency rate is 40% in Math. The lowest is 34% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on South Davis Jr High
South Davis Jr High, located in Bountiful, serves students in grades seven through nine as part of the larger Davis District. This is a junior high school that sits within a mainly residential suburb of Salt Lake City, a city that grew rapidly in the mid-20th century and is now characterized by single-family homes on gridded streets that climb from the valley floor into the Wasatch foothills. The city’s population has seen a slight decline since the 2020 census, and its housing market reflects that of an established suburb: home values and rents are above the national median, and the area remains largely owner-occupied. The school itself draws from a community where a significant share of households likely commute to Salt Lake City for work, and the civic life of the city is anchored along the Main Street corridor rather than clustered around the school campus.
The student body at South Davis Jr High is predominantly White, with a Hispanic or Latino population making up a notable share. The school qualifies a substantial portion of its students for free or reduced-price lunch, which gives some indication of the economic diversity within the community. The school is not a charter school, and no Title I status was reported.
Academically, the data paints a mixed but clear picture. South Davis Jr High’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades sits below the midpoint when compared to other districts in Davis County, a county with many districts that show stronger aggregate results. In math, about two out of every five students scored at a proficient level or above on the state’s RISE assessment. In English language arts, that proportion was roughly one in three, and in science it was similar, at about one in three as well. The most recent year of data available for English language arts came from a different school year than the math and science results, which makes direct year-to-year comparisons across subjects imperfect. The school’s participation rates for these assessments were not reported in the data, so it is not possible to confirm whether all students were tested. A parent may want to ask the school directly about testing participation and about any efforts underway to improve proficiency in literacy and science, where the numbers lag behind what some comparable schools in the county report.
Because this is a junior high school, there is no four-year graduation rate to report, as that metric applies only to high schools. Similarly, data on chronic absenteeism, special education populations, English learner populations, discipline rates, and staffing levels were not available in the dataset used here. A parent interested in these areas would need to inquire with the school or the Davis District central office for that information.
Program offerings at the school were also not detailed in the data. The district brief notes that Davis District has opened a new high school in recent years to address overcrowding, which may affect future feeder patterns for South Davis students. The district also offers free full-day kindergarten across its elementary schools, a relatively recent expansion that may influence the readiness of incoming seventh-graders in the years to come.
For a family considering this school, the central takeaway is straightforward. South Davis Jr High serves a predominantly White, economically mixed student body in a stable suburban community where housing is expensive relative to national averages. Its academic performance, as measured by state assessments, is below the county average across math, reading, and science. This is not a school that posts top-tier test scores, and a parent focused on high proficiency rates will want to understand the school’s approach to raising achievement. At the same time, the school operates within a large district that has recently invested in new facilities and expanded early education, and the community itself offers the amenities of an established Salt Lake City suburb, including a historic downtown, regional transit access, and a range of civic anchors. The school’s size, its grade configuration, and its location in a family-oriented suburb will appeal to many families. The test score data is the main variable that a careful parent will want to investigate further with the school.
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