Original Research by School Decision on Mountain High
Mountain High serves grades 10 through 12 in Kaysville, a family-oriented city in Davis County midway between Salt Lake City and Ogden. The school is part of the Davis District, one of the largest school systems in Utah. The enrollment is small, with most students concentrated in the senior class. The student body is predominantly white, with the largest minority group being Hispanic students. African American, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and multiracial students each make up a small share, and there are very few American Indian or Alaska Native students. More than a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that is a meaningful indicator of economic diversity in this otherwise largely middle-to-upper-income community.
This school is not a traditional comprehensive high school. It serves only the upper grades, and it is not a charter or magnet school. Its mission and academic model are not clear from the available data. State testing results are not reported in the data provided, so there is no information on how Mountain High students perform on state assessments in English, math, or science. A parent looking for this metric will find the data missing entirely. Because the school serves only grades 10 through 12, and states typically test in earlier grades as well, it is possible that the school does not participate in the standard state testing program in a way that generates comparable results, but the data does not give a specific reason. Similarly, no graduation rate is reported. The four-year graduation rate is a standard measure for high schools, but it is absent here. Without testing scores or a graduation rate, the most common measures of academic performance for a secondary school are unavailable. A parent considering this school will want to ask the school or the district directly about student outcomes, college enrollment rates, and how the school defines and measures academic success.
The lack of academic data extends to other areas. There is no information on chronic absenteeism, discipline rates, or staffing ratios. There is no list of programs offered in the data. No Advanced Placement, concurrent enrollment, career and technical education, or extracurricular programs are described. The Davis District itself shifted boundaries with the opening of Farmington High School in 2022, which changed attendance zones for the area, so a family should confirm their home address is assigned to Mountain High. The district also expanded optional full-day kindergarten in 2023, which may be relevant for families with younger children in the district.
Kaysville itself is primarily residential. A historic Main Street provides a commercial corridor, and the city maintains substantial park space and a wilderness park. The Utah State University Botanical Gardens add an institutional and recreational element, and the Davis Technical College is located in the city. Housing values in the Kaysville zip code are elevated relative to state and national benchmarks. Typical single-family homes are expensive, and monthly mortgage costs are notably higher than typical rents, which reflects a market where buying a home requires significant income. The area has a low housing vacancy rate, which suggests strong demand and limited supply. The community is well-connected by freeway access and a commuter rail line, which makes it feasible for residents to commute to Salt Lake City or Ogden.
What this all adds up to is a small upper-grades school in an affluent, family-centered suburb with a large school district, but the academic record is a blank page from the available data. A parent evaluating Mountain High for a student will need to get answers from the school or district on testing performance, graduation rates, course offerings, college and career advising, and how this school compares to the comprehensive high schools in Davis District. The housing market here is tight and expensive, which shapes who can live in the attendance area. The school itself leaves many basic questions unanswered from the public record.
See more original research from School Decision →