Oquirrh Hills Middle

Oquirrh Hills Middle School opened its doors to a welcoming community in the fall of 1979, laying a foundation of educational excellence and community involvement.  Located approximately 15 miles south of Salt Lake City, Oquirrh Hills Middle is home to over 1,200 students from the Riverton area. The community has seen rapid growth over the years, yet the support and involvement of the parents and community have been constant throughout the history of the school.

Performing arts have a robust presence at Oquirrh Hills.  Our instrumental music programs provide opportunities for students at all skills levels. Orchestra, Band, Jazz Band, Percussion Ensemble and Symphonic Band classes are available for students. If you have always wanted to play the ukulele or piano, OHMS has a class for you.  In addition, our choral music program has opportunities for students of all abilities.  With classes in beginning, intermediate and Dance Company, our dance program is thriving. Students who enjoy theater can participate in our fall play or our spring musical, both of which draw capacity crowds for their performances.  All of our performing arts programs offer opportunities to showcase student accomplishments and talents.

Students at Oquirrh Hills are involved in many electives and after school activities.  Our elective options range from World Languages – Chinese, French and Spanish – to Career and Technical options such as Digital Design, Foods, Sewing, Technology and Engineering. Students interested in ceramics, drawing or painting can find great classes here. Our students’ artwork has been featured in numerous art shows and competitions.

Many of our after-school programs reflect our commitment to STEM activities.  For instance, we participate in a yearly Robotic Competition. Students can choose to join our Novel Society, Baking, Dungeons & Dragons, Gamer’s Guild, Pokemon, Magic the Gathering, Woodworking & Crafts, or K-Pop groups.  Our programs and electives are offered based on student need and interest.

With so many outstanding students, we enjoy celebrating their accomplishments.  Students may be chosen for a monthly Eagle in Action Award (teacher directed) or Eagle of the Quarter (nominations that go through a committee).  In addition, students can earn other recognition from teachers at the end of the year.

We know that our students will someday be the leaders in their families and communities.  With this in mind, we provide numerous leadership opportunities. Those students who wish to volunteer, can be part of our PTSA, SBO, Hope Squad, NJHS, Multicultural, Stage Krew, or SOAR leadership teams.  Anyone desiring to have a leadership opportunity can participate in some facet of leading our school and contributing to our culture and activities.

Oquirrh Hills is the home for two Special Education cluster classes.  Both classes offer students educational experiences tailored to their needs.  In addition to helping these students individually, mainstream students can volunteer to be Peer Tutors.  Peer Tutors receive training to meet the needs of their differently-abled peers, helping them enjoy school. Both our Special Education and Peer Tutoring students benefit from the chance to work together.

The Chinese Dual Language Immersion has a home in our school.  Students participating in the DLI program enjoy being fluent in a second language that will help prepare them to take the Advanced Placement test as 9th graders, and to earn college credits in high school.  Our successful DLI students will have exciting career options that will be international in scope.

Oquirrh Hills has an eight-period day, with third period serving as a Home Room.  This 35-minute period Monday through Thursday offers teachers a chance to provide interventions for students who are struggling in their classes and extension activities for those who are excelling.

Oquirrh Hills has met accreditation standards, earning full accreditation status since opening its doors. The administration, faculty and staff work diligently to meet the needs of our individual students while providing an excellent educational experience for all. Our teachers are certificated in the areas they teach and many have earned post-graduate degrees.

OHMS is a place for students who enjoy learning and associating with their peers in positive ways.  The students are respectful, the parents are involved and our faculty is professional and caring about their students and colleagues.  Oquirrh Hills Middle School is a great place to learn and teac.

Utah Aspire Plus

The Utah Aspire Plus Summative assessment is administered to students in grades 9-10 as an end-of-level assessment.  Operating under a legislative mandate, the UA+ test provides a predictive ACT score range to individual students as well as a proficiency score at the school level and for individual students in English, Math, Reading and Science as they prepare to take the ACT college entrance exam in 11th grade.  UA+ question items assess students’ capacity to think analytically, make inferences, and connect learning and concepts across subjects.  Utah Aspire Plus assessments provide information to assist in determining students’ educational progress towards being ready for college and careers upon completion of secondary school.

Test Subject	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25
Language Arts	43.7%	49.3%	56.1%	45.2%	56.4%
Mathematics	45.6%	46.2%	36.5%	51.5%	56.4%
Science	55.1%	48.8%	43.3%	49.8%	61.2%

RISE

The Readiness Improvement Success Empowerment (RISE) computer-adaptive assessments in English language arts (ELA), math and science, provide questions that assess students’ ability to apply higher-order thinking skills and better emulate real tasks students may encounter in education and in life.

Development of RISE assessments came through a joint effort of Utah teachers, parents, test development experts, and the Utah State Board of Education (USBE). The RISE assessment, together with the state’s suite of assessments in grades K-12, provide information that assists in determining students’ progress towards preparing for college and careers upon completion of secondary school.

Test Subject	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25
Language Arts	45.7%	35.6%	45.5%	50.7%	42.4%
Mathematics	38.2%	34.1%	41.6%	40.2%	53.4%
Science	48.6%	33.6%	41.1%	49.3%	45.9%

School Accountability Report Cards

The Utah State Board of Education (USBE) issues an annual School Accountability Report Card for each public school. Elementary and middle school report cards have four main grade categories: achievement, growth, English learner progress, and growth of the lowest 25%. Achievement and growth calculations come from the RISE assessment for grades 3-8 and the Utah Aspire Plus assessment for grades 9-10. The English learner progress category score derive from the annual administration of the WIDA ACCESS test, which assesses students’ academic language proficiency in English.

The state’s School Accountability Report Cards inform educators, parents, and community stakeholders about school performance as they work collaboratively to improve student outcomes. Due to the school soft closure in March 2020, scores are not available for the 2020-21 school year.

CATEGORY	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25
Achievement	N/A	22	25	27	28
Growth	N/A	31	36	32	29
ELL Progress	N/A	5	3	4	3
Growth of the Lowest 25%	N/A	14	18	17	14