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Posted: 9:33 AM- Utah may spend less per pupil than any state in the nation, but its students have a good chance of lifelong success, according to a report released Wednesday.
The national report card on state school systems reflected poorly on Utah last year. But this year's report dispensed with grades and focused instead on "cradle to career" educational benchmarks - from family influences to college attendance and eventual adult income - to gauge how well states succeed at educating their populaces.
"It really is a much broader view of education than just the public education system," said Christopher B. Swanson, director of the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, which compiled the report. "This year we're looking at the role of education throughout life."
Among 11 Western states, only Colorado scored higher than Utah, which ranked above the national average.
Instead of repeating past analyses on K-12 practices, this year's report compared hurdles kids face long before school-age years, as well as opportunities available as adults.
Factors such as parental education, employment, income and English fluency were considered. So were the percentage of adults statewide who hold college degrees, work full-time jobs and earn above-average incomes. School factors such as preschool and kindergarten enrollment, reading and math skills and graduation were also compared.
For each of 13 categories, states received a point for being above average, two points if they were far above par, and lost one or two points for being below average.
Utah scored well above average for home conditions kids experience before school. The state scored below average for preschool enrollment and about average for kindergarten enrollment. Elementary reading skills were above the national average and middle school math achievement was on par with the nation.
High school graduation rates were well above average, but after that, Utah's scores fell. Attendence and graduation from college were about average. But the percentage of Utah adults making average salaries and holding full-time jobs was below the national norm.
"There's a good early start and the public schools do keep pace with the rest of the nation," Swanson said. "Then the question is, if they're going to stay in Utah, what are the prospects of getting a good-paying stable job in the state? In that area, Utah tends to lag behind a bit." The report was published by the nonprofit research arm of Education Week, a news publication focusing on K-12 public education.