The top reported proficiency rate is 25% in Science. The lowest is 19% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on James E. Moss School
James E. Moss School is an elementary school serving pre-kindergarten through sixth grade in Salt Lake City, part of the Granite District. It is a conventional public school, not a charter or magnet, and it operates in a neighborhood within the city’s south-central area. The school is large enough to have a full grade band but small enough that a family can get to know the staff and the community around it.
The student body is diverse. White students make up the largest single group, followed by a substantial Hispanic population, a notable Asian contingent, and smaller shares of Black students, students of two or more races, Native American and Pacific Islander students. More than half of the students come from families with low enough incomes to qualify for free or reduced-price meals. This gives the school a clear economic-priority profile, and the diversity reflects the broader Salt Lake Valley mix.
State testing results are available for the school’s tested grades in math, English language arts, and science. Across those subjects, the combined proficiency rate places James E. Moss in the bottom quartile among elementary and middle schools in Salt Lake County districts. The share of students meeting state proficiency benchmarks is lower than the county median. A parent looking at these scores will want to understand what academic supports the school is able to provide and how the school is working to move those numbers. Because the school only goes through sixth grade, there is no graduation rate to evaluate, and no data on chronic absenteeism was available in the current record.
The school’s housing market context gives a picture of the neighborhood. Home values in the zip code are in line with the state average, though a bit below it, and they have seen modest appreciation. Rental costs have edged down slightly over the past year. The area is part of a larger metropolitan housing market where the typical monthly mortgage payment, after a standard down payment, is substantially higher than the typical rent, so renting is the more financially feasible route for many households. This is consistent with a school that serves a community with significant economic diversity.
No data was reported on course access, staffing ratios, or discipline incidents for this school. Likewise, there is no information on the school’s Title I status or its specific program offerings, so those are gaps a parent would need to fill by contacting the school directly. The district brief query yielded no results, so there is no published information about recent district-level referenda or bond measures to incorporate here.
James E. Moss is an urban elementary school in a large district with a diverse, lower-income student population. Its state test results suggest room for growth in academic achievement compared to peers across the county. Families considering this school will want to ask about the specific interventions and enrichment offerings in place, especially given the school’s size and the range of needs its students bring. The setting is a Salt Lake City neighborhood with housing costs that reflect a typical suburban-inflection of the metro area, and the school itself is a standard public elementary option within the Granite system.
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