Salt Lake County’s east- and west-side students aren’t just separated geographically, but also by a wide academic achievement gap, according to a new study.
The report examined educational outcomes for students living west of Interstate 15 — including in Kearns, West Valley City, Taylorsville, Magna and Salt Lake City — a collective region the report refers to as the “Northwest Valley.”
The area is home to a majority-minority student population where roughly 60% of kids are considered economically disadvantaged, the report from the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute states.
Some of these west-side schools sit only a handful of miles from their east-side counterparts, but they consistently report lower academic outcomes, according to the report.
“Economic disadvantage does not fully explain differences in academic achievement,” the report states.
Here’s what the data shows.
The region at a glance
Overall, 85 schools operate in the wide, northwestern area of the county, serving approximately 53,000 students. About 70% are students of color.
Granite School District serves the majority of these students (about 70.3%) while charters enroll 20.6%. The rest attend Salt Lake City School District schools to the west of I-15.
Most students of color here are Hispanic, according to the report. Nearly one-third (30.9%) identify as English learners — almost double the county rate (16.1%) and more than triple the statewide rate (8.9%).
(Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune)
Achievement gaps
Students in this area scored lower on standardized tests than the rest of Salt Lake County.
While variations exist, their proficiency rates also trailed the state by nearly 20 percentage points across most grade levels and subject areas.
(Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune)
Students in the area also seem less prepared for kindergarten, based on their reading scores, the report states.
Last school year, roughly 30% of west-side kids started kindergarten reading at benchmark compared with 51.5% across all of Salt Lake County and 55.6% statewide.
Charter schools in the area also show near exact reading proficiency rates among early year kindergarten students.
Overall, about half of all students in the region read proficiently, which is consistent with statewide rates.
(Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune)
Absenteeism and mobility
Last school year, 32.3% of students in this area were chronically absent, meaning they missed 18 or more school days, the report states.
That exceeds the state’s absenteeism rate (23.8%) as well as the entire county’s (25.5%).
Student mobility — which refers to any time a student changes schools for a reason other than grade promotion — is also higher in the area compared to the county and state.
Nearly one in four students who attended district schools within the region experienced midyear enrollment changes last school year, according to the report.
Charter schools here saw lower chronic absenteeism (26.4%) and mobility (15.3%) than district schools, though those rates are still higher than the statewide averages.
(Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune)
College readiness
“Smaller shares” of high schoolers in the region are college-ready, the report also notes.
Last school year, the four-year graduation rate for area high schools was 80.4%, compared with 85.9% in Salt Lake County and 89.8% statewide.
About one-third of high schoolers here scored 18 or higher on the ACT, a common metric of college readiness, compared with 57.9% countywide and 62.6% statewide.
