Education
Future Central District outshines State in academic performance
Rob Shelton | Lehi Free Press
Alpine School District students continue to outperform their counterparts across Utah in core academic subjects, according to a comprehensive legislative audit released April 15. The timely report arrives as schools across the state complete their annual spring assessments, providing valuable benchmarks for educators and parents.
The district’s 51% proficiency rate in English language arts surpasses both the statewide average of 44% and comparable peer districts that reported rates of 48 and 44%. This seven-percentage-point advantage over the state average demonstrates Alpine’s consistent academic leadership since emerging from pandemic-era learning disruptions.
“The district has led its peers in performance on the RISE/UA+ assessments since 2021,” the audit states, marking a significant turnaround from pre-pandemic years when ASD performed “the same or below peers.”
Mathematics and science results tell a similar story of academic strength, with ASD students consistently achieving higher proficiency rates than their peer district counterparts. Despite this success, all three subject areas remain 12 to 15% below legislative targets, highlighting room for continued growth.
The district’s post-pandemic achievement trajectory points upward, though math proficiency still lags five percent below 2017 rates, and science shows a two percent gap over the same period. English language arts scores have fully rebounded to pre-pandemic levels.
A closer examination of the four flagship high schools that will anchor the future Central district—Skyridge, American Fork, Lehi and Lone Peak—reveals notable performance patterns. According to data compiled from multiple educational rating services—including Utah School Report Card, U.S. News & World Report, and Public School Review—these schools demonstrate varying strengths while maintaining strong graduation rates.
Skyridge High School, the newest of the four, shows the strongest academic metrics with math proficiency rates near one of the 40% range and reading proficiency exceeding 60%. American Fork High School reports math proficiency of approximately 30% and reading proficiency of 49%, while maintaining a 92% graduation rate and 38% AP course participation. Lehi High School demonstrates slightly stronger math performance at 36% proficiency but slightly lower reading proficiency at 47%, with comparable graduation rates to American Fork at 92% and an AP participation rate of 27%.
The comparative analysis shows Skyridge outperforming its Central District counterparts in core academic metrics, though all four schools maintain graduation rates well above state averages. This disparity within even the highest-performing future district highlights the challenges administrators will face in standardizing educational outcomes across newly formed districts.
Parents and community members seeking more detailed performance data can access comprehensive reports through the Utah School Report Card website at reportcard.schools.utah.gov, where information on academic performance, graduation rates and college readiness is regularly updated.
Several individual schools within ASD have already met or exceeded the Legislature’s ambitious proficiency targets of more than 60% in each subject area. More importantly, even the district’s lowest-performing schools maintain proficiency rates that match or exceed the lowest performers in peer districts.
“Professional learning communities appear to be functioning well in many ASD schools, which is likely due to the district’s work to prioritize them,” the audit notes, attributing much of the academic success to these collaborative teaching structures. Approximately 90% of surveyed teachers reported their PLCs effectively use student data to guide instruction.
The audit’s analysis identifies a significant number of high-performing teachers who have successfully moved struggling students to proficiency. Over 500 ASD teachers have demonstrated the ability to elevate below-proficient students in mathematics over the past three years.
School-by-school analysis reveals the impending district split will create three entities with dramatically different academic profiles. The future Central District, comprising Lehi, Alpine, Highland, American Fork, Cedar Hills and part of Draper, substantially outperforms its future counterparts with average proficiency rates between 55 and 61% across all subjects.
By contrast, the future South District, which will include Orem, Vineyard, Lindon and Pleasant Grove, currently shows the lowest mathematics proficiency at 44% —a full 11% below the Central District. The West District (Cedar Fort, Fairfield, Eagle Mountain and Saratoga Springs) performs slightly better in mathematics at 47% but falls significantly behind in science with a 54% proficiency rate compared to Central’s 61%.
These disparities raise important questions about resource allocation and instructional strategies as the three new districts prepare for independence. While all three future entities contain both high- and low-performing schools, the Central District’s consistent advantages across all subject areas suggest structural advantages that education officials will need to address during the transition.
Achievement gaps persist as a significant challenge, with some schools showing disparities of up to 40% between racial minority and non-minority students. The audit recommends focused intervention strategies and broader implementation of successful teaching methods from high-performing classrooms to address these inequities.
As ASD prepares for its 2027 division, the audit provides crucial baseline data for future academic planning. The district’s administrators have agreed to implement all recommendations, including better utilization of their high-performing teachers to spread effective instructional strategies.
“By identifying high-performing PLC teams and implementing their best practices throughout the district, Alpine has an opportunity to further strengthen its academic performance before the upcoming split,” the audit concludes.
