Summary:
Payson, Utah, has five public elementary schools serving prekindergarten through sixth grade in the Nebo District, with 2,224 students across the area. The schools vary widely in academic results, attendance, and student economic indicators, so families may want to consider both overall performance and grade-specific strengths.
Spring Lake School and Park View School are the strongest overall choices based on the available data. Spring Lake has the best current statewide ranking, at 160th of 563 schools, while Park View is close behind at 169th and has the highest average test performance. Park View also has the lowest chronic absenteeism rate in Payson, at 21.0%, and particularly strong fourth-grade math and science results. Spring Lake has the lowest free/reduced-price lunch share and performs above the district in seven of eight current subject-grade comparisons. Both schools have improved substantially in statewide rankings in recent years.
Taylor School shows notable math strengths, especially in third grade, but has weaker ELA and science results and the city’s highest chronic absenteeism rate, at 33.9%. Barnett School has reasonably strong third-grade results but much weaker fourth- and fifth-grade performance, along with high absenteeism. Wilson School has made the largest kind of progress in statewide standing, rising from the 12th to the 32nd percentile, but still records the lowest overall current test average, especially in fifth-grade math and ELA. Across Payson, fifth grade is the main academic concern, while third- and fourth-grade math and fourth-grade science are relative strengths.
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