The top reported proficiency rate is 35% in Science. The lowest is 17% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Sunset School
Sunset School is a pre-kindergarten through sixth-grade elementary school in Sunset, Utah, part of the larger Davis School District. For a family considering this school, the picture starts with the town itself. Sunset is a small, built-out residential community in northern Davis County, tightly hemmed between Hill Air Force Base to the east and neighboring cities. The city has very little open land left and a population that is stable to slightly declining. This is a place of post-WWII subdivisions and family homes, not a growth hub. The major employer shaping the area is Hill Air Force Base, which largely drove the city’s development decades ago. High school students attend Northridge High School outside Sunset, and the junior high school that serves the area also draws students from neighboring towns, so the elementary years at Sunset School are the most local point of the educational journey.
The student body at Sunset School is just under three hundred children, a small enrollment that gives the school an intimate feel. The racial and ethnic makeup is predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic population and smaller shares of students who are Asian, Black, or of two or more races. Just over half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that places the school in a moderate-income context within the district. The school serves grades PK through six, so families with younger children will find an early childhood entry point here, including a pre-kindergarten program, but the school does not extend into middle school grades.
On state assessments, the school’s performance sits well below the midpoint of other Davis County districts and schools, placing in the bottom quartile for overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. In math, roughly one in six students scored proficient. In English language arts, about one in three students met that bar. In science, the rate was just over one in three. These are the most recent results available, and they represent a clear soft spot. A parent considering this school would want to look into this further with the school to understand what academic supports are in place and how the school is working to move these numbers.
There is no graduation rate reported because the school only serves through sixth grade, so that measure does not apply. Similarly, data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, and staff qualifications were not available in the provided materials, so a parent may wish to ask the school directly about these aspects of the learning environment. The school is a traditional public school, not a charter or magnet, and its Title I status was not specified in the data.
The Davis School District, which runs Sunset School, has made some recent changes that affect families district-wide. A new comprehensive high school, Farmington High School, opened in 2022, which shifted boundaries and feeder patterns in the Farmington and Kaysville area. Utah also expanded optional full-day kindergarten statewide starting in the 2023-24 school year, which gave families at Sunset School access to that option through the district.
Housing in the area reflects a moderately priced market. Home values in the zip code are a bit below the state average, and rents are a bit above the national figure relative to income, but the overall affordability picture is mixed. A mortgage on a typical home here would cost more than the median rent, suggesting that buying is a stretch for renters. The local unemployment rate is moderate, and real median household income nationally has been around the mid-eighties in recent years, so the economic context is not one of high stress but also not of abundance.
Sunset School sits in a fully developed, quiet suburb with little new construction and a residential feel. The academic numbers are low relative to peers in the county. That is the central tension a parent would be weighing. The school is small, the community is stable, and the district offers the full-day kindergarten and eventual high school pathways that come with being part of Davis District. But the proficiency results are a clear point to explore further before enrolling.
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