Uintah High

Uintah High is a large public high school in Vernal, Utah, serving 1,843 students in grades 9–12 as part of the Uintah District. Its statewide standing has improved substantially: the school ranked 46th of 139 Utah high schools in 2025–2026, placing it in the 67th percentile with a three-star rating. That is a major recovery from 2020–2021, when it ranked in the 16th percentile. The school is now generally in the upper third of Utah high schools, although its current ranking is below its four-star, 70th-percentile peak in 2022–2023.

Academically, 10th-grade performance is a clear strength. In 2025–2026, proficiency exceeded the Utah average in English language arts, math, and science: 58.1% versus 48.2% in ELA, 44.4% versus 29.4% in math, and 48.3% versus 39.3% in science. Ninth-grade results are more uneven, with math above the state but ELA and science below it. The particularly large gap between 9th- and 10th-grade ELA results suggests that freshman literacy and the transition into high school deserve attention. Graduation was 89.3% in 2024–2025, close to Utah’s 89.8% and above the district’s 86.6%. Recent subgroup effectiveness rankings were also strong, especially for students receiving special education services and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds.

Attendance is the school’s most important current concern. Chronic absenteeism rose from 19.9% in 2023–2024 to 31.6% in 2024–2025, well above Utah’s 23.8%, while the dropout rate of 8.8% was slightly higher than the state’s 8.5%. Nearby Ashley Valley Educ. Center, located 0.18 miles away, is much smaller, enrolling 287 students in grades 8–12. Uintah High’s chronic absenteeism rate was substantially lower than Ashley Valley’s 81.1%, though recent academic comparisons are unavailable because Ashley Valley lacks current test-score and ranking data. Overall, Uintah High combines strong recovery and solid upper-grade achievement with a pressing need to improve attendance and ninth-grade outcomes.