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Backman School

Public, Magnet Grades PK, KG-6

544^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 547 Utah Elementary Schools

Better than 1% of Utah elementary schools

Summary

Backman School is an elementary school located in Salt Lake City, Utah, serving grades PK-6 with 345 students. It is a public magnet school within the Salt Lake District, which is ranked 55 out of 93 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger. Backman School has consistently ranked in the bottom 10-20% of Utah elementary schools over the past decade, with a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger for most years.

Backman School significantly underperforms compared to the Salt Lake District and state averages across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in 2024-2025, only 12.2% of 3rd graders were proficient or better in RISE Mathematics, compared to 50% for the district and 48.6% for the state. The school also has extremely high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 23.8% to 37.2% over the past few years, which is much higher than the district and state averages. Additionally, Backman School has a very high percentage of students from low-socioeconomic status backgrounds, with 83.48% to 87.36% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch over the past few years.

The nearby schools, such as Edison, Escalante, and Meadowlark, generally perform better than Backman School across academic metrics, with higher proficiency rates and higher SchoolDigger rankings. However, they also have higher percentages of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, suggesting that Backman School may be serving an even more disadvantaged population. Despite these challenges, Backman School's performance has remained consistently poor over the past decade, with no significant improvement in its statewide ranking or SchoolDigger rating, indicating that the school may be facing systemic challenges that have not been adequately addressed.

396

Students ?

13.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$11,562

Per pupil spending ?

98.2%

Free/discounted lunch ?

601 N 1500 W
Salt Lake City, UT 84116

(801) 578-8100

District: Salt Lake District

Students who attend Backman School usually attend:

Middle:	Northwest Middle
High:	Innovations Early College High School
	West High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

60.6%

White:

14.4%

African American:

11.9%

See top rated Utah elementary schools

Compare Backman School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 7th percentile in 2015 → 1st in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Utah average (14% vs 48% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (1st percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (33% vs 24% Utah)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school14%

District avg45%

Utah avg48%

544^th of 547

Utah public elementary schools ?

Bottom 1%▼ down 7 pts since 2015

From bottom 7% (2015) to bottom 1% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Utah Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

23^rd of 23Elementary Schools in the Salt Lake District

55^th of 93Salt Lake District among Utah districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Utah percentile	Rating
2025	3.5	544 of 547	0.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	2.6	559 of 561	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	4.8	548 of 561	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	6.5	529 of 551	4.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	6.3	534 of 559	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	20.9	466 of 572	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	18.1	447 of 528	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	11.1	482 of 526	8.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	11.7	483 of 533	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	9.0	498 of 537	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	10.9	464 of 509	8.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	9.8	550 of 576	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	13.0	546 of 579	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	7.3	551 of 563	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	8.7	503 of 518	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	9.9	490 of 509	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	6.3	485 of 498	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Utah percentile	Rating
2022	28.0	21 of 26	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Utah percentile	Rating
2022	24.8	36 of 44	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Utah percentile	Rating
2025	20.8	94 of 109	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	13.3	154 of 162	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	9.4	130 of 132	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	24.1	94 of 111	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

English Language Learner (2022)19th percentile+15 vs school

Hispanic (2022)18th percentile+14 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)14th percentile+13 vs school

By subject vs Utah (2024-2025) ?

Science15%-37 vs state

Mathematics13%-32 vs state

★

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Schools Near Backman School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				RISE Mathematics (2025)					RISE Science (2025)				Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	RISE Mathematics 3rd Grade	RISE Mathematics 4th Grade	RISE Mathematics 5th Grade	RISE Mathematics 6th Grade	RISE Mathematics 8th Grade	RISE Science 4th Grade	RISE Science 5th Grade	RISE Science 6th Grade	RISE Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Backman School	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-6	601 N 1500 W	Salt Lake City	84116	Salt Lake County	Salt Lake District	No	Yes	No	Yes	(801) 578-8100	396	29	13.6	98.2%	57 (14.4%)	47 (11.9%)	240 (60.6%)	13 (3.3%)	7 (1.8%)	17 (4.3%)	15 (3.8%)	3.5	544^th of 547 public elementary schools	0.5%		2.6	559^th of 561 public elementary schools	0.4%	15	12.2	25.5	14.5	0.0		23.0	10.0	13.2		$11,562	$1,664	$9,898
Escalante School	Public	PK, KG-6	1810 W 900 N	Salt Lake City	84116	Salt Lake County	Salt Lake District	No	No	No	Yes	(801) 578-8496	352	20	17.8	80.7%	43 (12.2%)	16 (4.5%)	240 (68.2%)	7 (2.0%)	7 (2.0%)	21 (6.0%)	18 (5.1%)	13.7	479^th of 547 public elementary schools	12.4%		14.9	481^st of 561 public elementary schools	14.3%	2	30.8	26.2	12.5	26.7		28.6	18.7	44.4		$11,030	$1,491	$9,539
Meadowlark School	Public	PK, KG-6	497 N Morton Dr	Salt Lake City	84116	Salt Lake County	Salt Lake District	No	No	No	Yes	(801) 578-8529	434	25	17.3	99.1%	38 (8.8%)	30 (6.9%)	298 (68.7%)	30 (6.9%)	2 (0.5%)	26 (6.0%)	10 (2.3%)	4.7	536^th of 547 public elementary schools	2.0%		9.1	522^nd of 561 public elementary schools	7.0%	14		9.0	21.9	14.3		13.2	20.0	22.4		$12,398	$1,743	$10,656
Pacific Heritage Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	1755 W 1100 N	Salt Lake City	84116	Salt Lake County	Pacific Heritage Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(801) 363-1892	327	16	20.4	41.9%	38 (11.6%)	11 (3.4%)	153 (46.8%)	24 (7.3%)	1 (0.3%)	82 (25.1%)	18 (5.5%)								(n/a)					17.1				31.8	$7,244	$996	$6,248
Rose Park School	Public	PK, KG-6	1105 W 1000 N	Salt Lake City	84116	Salt Lake County	Salt Lake District	No	No	No	Yes	(801) 578-8554	358	21	17.2	99.4%	50 (14.0%)	31 (8.7%)	234 (65.4%)	7 (2.0%)	9 (2.5%)	21 (5.9%)	6 (1.7%)	5.6	529^th of 547 public elementary schools	3.3%		10.4	508^th of 561 public elementary schools	9.4%	21		8.0		18.7		11.5		30.7		$12,584	$1,707	$10,877
Newman School	Public	PK, KG-6	1269 N Colorado St	Salt Lake City	84116	Salt Lake County	Salt Lake District	No	No	No	Yes	(801) 578-8537	405	28	14.4	63.2%	94 (23.2%)	7 (1.7%)	263 (64.9%)	5 (1.2%)	2 (0.5%)	19 (4.7%)	15 (3.7%)	22.4	425^th of 547 public elementary schools	22.3%					(n/a)		39.3	15.6	28.6		42.3	26.7	45.9		$11,774	$1,184	$10,590
Guadalupe School	Public, Magnet, Charter	PK, KG-6	1385 N 1200 W	Salt Lake City	84116	Salt Lake County	Guadalupe School	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	(801) 531-6100	390	12	32.5	89.5%	11 (2.8%)	8 (2.1%)	361 (92.6%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.0%)	3 (0.8%)								(n/a)							17.1			$10,171	$1,819	$8,353
Franklin School	Public	PK, KG-6	1115 W 300 S	Salt Lake City	84104	Salt Lake County	Salt Lake District	No	No	No	Yes	(801) 578-8158	325	26	12.7	99.4%	45 (13.8%)	18 (5.5%)	209 (64.3%)	16 (4.9%)	5 (1.5%)	21 (6.5%)	11 (3.4%)	5.2	532^nd of 547 public elementary schools	2.7%		8.1	528^th of 561 public elementary schools	5.9%	4	15.5		15.6	15.6		10.0	17.7	33.3		$11,896	$1,493	$10,402
Edison School	Public	PK, KG-6	466 Cheyenne	Salt Lake City	84104	Salt Lake County	Salt Lake District	No	No	No	Yes	(801) 974-8300	459	25	18.7	99.6%	63 (13.7%)	15 (3.3%)	296 (64.5%)	31 (6.8%)	5 (1.1%)	40 (8.7%)	9 (2.0%)	7.7	515^th of 547 public elementary schools	5.9%		7.6	534^th of 561 public elementary schools	4.8%	19	31.3	21.9	17.0			19.2	22.7			$11,280	$1,472	$9,808
North Star School	Public	PK, KG-6	1545 N Morton Dr	Salt Lake City	84116	Salt Lake County	Salt Lake District	No	No	No	Yes	(801) 578-8448	336	22	15.2	81.8%	29 (8.6%)	25 (7.4%)	216 (64.3%)	12 (3.6%)	3 (0.9%)	40 (11.9%)	11 (3.3%)	5.9	528^th of 547 public elementary schools	3.5%		3.4	554^th of 561 public elementary schools	1.2%	26	31.3	15.0	8.7	12.2			8.8	28.6		$11,165	$1,560	$9,605

Frequently Asked Questions about Backman School

Is Backman School a good school?

Backman School ranks in the bottom 0.5% of Utah elementary schools.

What schools do graduates of Backman School attend?

Students who attend Backman School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Northwest Middle
High : Innovations Early College High School
High : West High

What is the racial makeup of Backman School?

Students at Backman School are 61% Hispanic, 14% White, 12% African American, 4% Pacific Islander, 4% Two or more races, 3% Asian, 2% American Indian.

How many students attend Backman School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 396 students attended Backman School.

What district is Backman School in?

Salt Lake District

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Utah State Board of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.