That's what a reasonable person might conclude based on ACT scores over the past 20 years.

What? How can this be? Don't local media and the Utah Office of Education always tell us that our students score above the national average?

Absolutely. But what we're told often is a bit of a crock. Here's the reality:

* The vast majority of ACT test-takers in Utah are white, and data released in mid-August show that they again scored below the U.S. Caucasian average (a 22.0 composite compared with 22.1 nationally).

* Utah Caucasians have not topped their national peers in at least 20 years.

* Although the number of Utah ethnic minority students who take ACT tests is comparatively small, when local minority test-takers as a whole are compared with a similarly constituted national group, Utah's minorities consistently score below U.S. averages. (In 2008, Utah minorities scored 19.56 versus 20.03 nationally.)

Although Utah Caucasians and minorities fell only slightly below national averages in 2008, closer scrutiny reveals that the true gap is much larger. Here's why:

* Among the 26 ACT-dominant states, three of the largest - Michigan, Illinois and Colorado - require all students to take the test whether they want to or not. This deflates the national score.

* In Utah, only 68 percent of students are tested. The Beehive State's participation rate ranks 18th among the 26 ACT states. This lower rate gives Utah an advantage by weeding out lower-performing students.

* Education analysts suggest that Utah's public-school ACT scores benefit from the state's low rate of enrollment in private schools. (Note: Students at private schools such as Judge Memorial and Rowland Hall score far higher than their public-school peers.)

Also, it is interesting to note that Utah's competition - the ACT-dominant states - constitute no educational mecca. The vast majority of the nation's top institutions of higher education are in states that require SAT exams, not ACTs, for college entrance.

For local students to fall below the U.S. average is distressing for another reason: U.S. students have long fared poorly in comparisons with students in other developed countries.

When Utah media report that our students top the national average, what they're saying, in effect, is that Utah has a higher proportion of white kids than most other states. Such apples-to-oranges comparisons may foster an "all is well" attitude.

Indeed, after KSL-TV's recent glowing report that Utah students topped the national average, one proud resident responded on the station's Web site by praising Utah's "solid" ACT results.

Had he been aware that white Utah pupils haven't topped the national average in at least 20 years, perhaps he would have been less eager to post the following opinion as to why local students perform well: "Utah is a very conservative state. We tend to be Republicans and hold to conservative values. We hold the individual person responsible for their actions, and like it or not, have a lot of LDS values implemented into our culture."

If Utah media would dig in and report the real ACT facts, they'd have a compelling story to tell. Next year, maybe KSL-TV's anchors could shake up their audience by saying something like: "On the latest ACT tests, white students in Utah and Idaho scored below the national average for the umpteenth time. As you know, Utah and Idaho have the nation's highest proportion of Latter-day Saints. Folks, it looks like God gave us Mormons bad DNA."

Being a Mormonistic type myself, I'd hate to see it come to that.

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* STEVE WARREN lives in West Valley City.

Don't local media and the Utah Office of Education always tell us that our students score above the national average? Absolutely. But what we're told often is a bit of a crock.