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What do students at Desert Hills Middle actually talk about outside of class?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
909
High
DISTRICT 943 · STATE 980
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WASHINGTON DISTRICT·NCES 490114001226
Desert Hills Middle
936 E DESERT HILLS DRIVE, SAINT GEORGE, UT 84790 · (435) 628-0001 · Washington County
GRADES 08–09HIGH41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL909 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 92% of Utah public high schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ABeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Utah public high schools
Student : Teacher
24.1:1
38 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 21.6:1 · STATE 21.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
16%
147 students
DISTRICT 36% · STATE 33%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 8 | 492 | 54% |
| Grade 9 | 417 | 46% |
Student demographics
30%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 41% · STATE 47% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
RISE / Utah Aspire+ 2024-25 . % Proficient + Highly ProficientEnglish Language Arts
57.2%
UT avg 41.4% . -4.8pp since 2023
Math
57.3%
UT avg 41.8% . -0.8pp since 2023
What this means: On the RISE / Utah Aspire+, Utah's statewide test, about 57 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 57 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Utah schools, those numbers are about 41 and 42. Reading and writing scores are down about 5 points since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
RISE / Utah Aspire+ results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 57.2% | 57.3% |
| 2023-24 | 62.0% | 58.1% |
% Proficient + Highly Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: RISE / Utah Aspire+. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
60.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
51.9%
based on UT schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+8.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 60% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 52% typical for Utah schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Utah's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Desert Hills Middle
Desert Hills Middle's state test result (60.0% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desert Hills Middle this school | 909 | 16.2% | 60.0% |
| Oak Canyon Jr High LINDON | 1,295 | 14.4% | 53.6% |
| Grantsville High GRANTSVILLE | 1,094 | 13.2% | 33.6% |
| West Field High School OGDEN | 1,257 | 18.1% | N/A |
| Desert Hills High SAINT GEORGE | 1,241 | 12.2% | 52.0% |
| Juab High NEPHI | 897 | 17.7% | 27.0% |
Matched among Utah high schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Desert Hills Middle ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Utah | In Washington County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 60.0% | #12 of 149 | #3 of 14 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 57.3% | #10 of 42 ▼ 1 | #3 of 8 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 57.2% | #7 of 42 ▼ 2 | #2 of 8 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 909 | #84 of 189 | #7 of 15 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 24.1:1 | #88 of 145 | #9 of 14 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 29.9% | #111 of 145 | #9 of 14 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 16.2% | #131 of 169 | #11 of 15 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -17.1% | #13 of 51 | #4 of 6 |
Ranked against other public high schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
909
+197 (+28%) vs 2020
+26% since 2010-11, when it was 722
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 909 | 37.7 | 24.1:1 | 16% (147) |
| 2023-24 | 875 | 36.8 | 23.8:1 | 18% (154) |
| 2022-23 | 895 | 38 | 23.6:1 | 17% (150) |
| 2020-21 | 712 | N/A | N/A | 17% (118) |
| 2017-18 | 1,097 | N/A | N/A | 20% (216) |
| 2015-16 | 941 | N/A | N/A | 19% (183) |
| 2010-11 | 722 | 30 | 24.1:1 | 31% (222) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Desert Hills Middle.
About Desert Hills Middle
SAINT GEORGE, Utah, is home to Desert Hills Middle, a medium-sized high school. Its 909 students are spread across grades 8 through 9.
Washington District enrolls 37,102 students in 54 schools, including Desert Hills Middle.
White students make up 83% of enrollment at Desert Hills Middle. Smaller groups are 10% Hispanic and 3% multiracial. For comparison, Washington County is about 85% White. The school's diversity index is 30%, meaning two students picked at random have a 30% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
The count of teachers at Desert Hills Middle is 37.7 full-time equivalents, for a ratio of 24.1:1. That is 3.0 students per teacher above the 21.1:1 average for high schools in Utah. Around 16% of the school's students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. On average, public schools in Washington County report 29%.
Desert Hills Middle is graded A by allk12, scoring above 92% of Utah public high schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
The model predicts 51.9% for a school in Utah with Desert Hills Middle's free or reduced-price lunch share. Desert Hills Middle posts 60.0%.
County data help place the school in context: in Washington County, the median household income is $80,632, roughly 35% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Washington County is home to 65 public schools and about 41,356 public school students.
The shortest distance from Desert Hills Middle to another public school is about 0.2 miles, to Washington Preschool. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Of the 7 nearby schools with scores, including this one, Desert Hills Middle is 1st on average proficiency.
The NCES locale for Desert Hills Middle is Rural: Fringe, which covers schools in rural territory close to an urban area.
The school enrolled 909 students in 2024-25, 197 more than the 712 it had in 2020-21.
Discussion on this page can cover science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Washington County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
196,431
Census ACS
Median income
$80,632
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
35%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
65
41,356 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Washington District
- Utah Online K8Elementary · 2,693 students
- Utah Online 7-12High · 1,547 students
- Crimson Cliffs HighHigh · 1,401 students
- Snow Canyon HighHigh · 1,324 students
- Dixie HighHigh · 1,263 students
- Desert Hills HighHigh · 1,241 students
Other schools in SAINT GEORGE
- Utah Online 7-12High · 1,547 students
- Desert Hills HighHigh · 1,241 students
- Sunrise Ridge IntermediateMiddle · 802 students
- Desert Canyons ElementaryElementary · 670 students
- Tonaquint IntermediateMiddle · 653 students
- South Mesa ElementaryElementary · 595 students
Other Desert Hills Middle schools
One other US public school is named Desert Hills Middle. Desert Hills Middle is the largest of the 2.
- Desert Hills Middle SchoolKENNEWICK, WA · 906 students
Nearby schools
- Washington Preschool0.2 mi · 552
- Desert Hills High0.2 mi · 1,241
- Bloomington Hills School0.3 mi · 448
- Southern Utah School of the Deaf0.3 mi · 13
- Little Valley School1.5 mi · 552
- Bloomington School1.6 mi · 553
Frequently asked questions
About Desert Hills MiddleWhat is the total enrollment at Desert Hills Middle?
Desert Hills Middle enrolls approximately 909 students in grades 08-09.
What grades does Desert Hills Middle serve?
Desert Hills Middle serves grades 08-09.
How many students per teacher at Desert Hills Middle?
Approximately 24.1:1 students per teacher at Desert Hills Middle.
What is the student diversity at Desert Hills Middle?
Student demographics at Desert Hills Middle are roughly 83% White, 10% Hispanic, 0% Black, 1% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is Desert Hills Middle public or private?
Desert Hills Middle is a public K-12 school, overseen by Washington District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.