Uintah Middle School

Uintah Middle School is a public school in Vernal, Utah, serving 579 students in grades 6–8 as part of the Uintah District. Located less than half a mile from Vernal Middle, it offers a useful nearby comparison because both schools serve the same grades and district. Uintah’s statewide ranking improved notably in 2025–2026 to 113th of 217 Utah middle schools, placing it at the 48th percentile, up from the low 30s percentile range in the previous two years.

Academic results are mixed, with science standing out as the school’s strongest subject. Sixth-grade science proficiency was 65%, above both the Utah average of 58.2% and Vernal Middle at 62.1%. Eighth-grade science and ELA were also above state averages, with eighth-grade ELA reaching 51.6% after a substantial recent increase. Mathematics is the clearest challenge: proficiency was 29% in sixth grade, 34.9% in seventh grade, and 38.4% in eighth grade. In every grade, Uintah trailed both the state and nearby Vernal Middle, which led by roughly 16 to 20 percentage points. Seventh grade is another area to watch because ELA, math, and science results all fell below state averages.

Attendance has improved, but chronic absenteeism remains high: 37.3% of Uintah students were chronically absent in 2024–2025, better than Vernal Middle at 44.4% and the district at 50.9%, but above Utah’s 23.8%. Uintah also has a slightly more favorable student-teacher ratio than its nearby comparison school—20.5 students per teacher versus 22.3. Overall, the school appears to be making genuine progress, particularly in science and eighth-grade ELA. The most important next steps are sustaining those gains, strengthening math instruction, supporting seventh-grade students, and continuing to reduce absenteeism.