Box Elder Middle

Box Elder Middle is a large public school in Brigham City, Utah, serving 1,124 students in grades 8–9 as part of the Box Elder District. The district ranks 50th out of 92 Utah districts and is rated two stars in the supplied data. The school’s academic results are a notable strength, especially in mathematics and science, although attendance is a serious concern.

In 2025–26, Box Elder Middle outperformed nearby Bear River Middle—about 16.76 miles away—in every reported subject and grade combination. Box Elder’s proficiency rates were 58.3% in eighth-grade math and 61.4% in eighth-grade science, compared with 36.3% and 51.0% at Bear River. In ninth grade, Box Elder led Bear River by 17.4 percentage points in ELA, 14.0 points in math, and 18.9 points in science. The schools have similar free- or reduced-price lunch rates and student-teacher ratios, though Box Elder is larger. Box Elder also exceeded Utah’s statewide results in five of six latest subject-grade comparisons; eighth-grade ELA was the exception, at 42.2% compared with 45.6% statewide.

Academic momentum has generally been positive. Eighth-grade math improved from 55.1% proficient in 2023–24 to 58.3% in 2025–26, while eighth-grade science rose sharply from 49.7% to 61.4%. Ninth-grade science increased from 37.1% to 54.7%, and ninth-grade ELA improved steadily. The biggest challenge is chronic absenteeism: 48.1% of students were chronically absent in 2024–25, compared with 32.0% in the district, 23.8% statewide, and 29.3% at Bear River. That rate rose 11.9 points in one year, making attendance the school’s clearest priority alongside continuing to strengthen ELA and monitoring ninth-grade math.