Utah last year fared poorly on Education Week's national report card on state school systems. But this year's analysis dispensed with grades and focused instead on "cradle to career" educational benchmarks - such as family influences, college attendance and eventual adult income - to gauge how well states succeed at educating their residents.

"It really is a much broader view of education than just the public education system," said Christopher Swanson, director of the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, which compiled the report for Education Week. "This year, we're looking at the role of education throughout life."

Among 11 Western states, only Colorado scored higher than Utah, which ranked 20th in the nation.

In addition to analyzing K-12 practices, this year's report compared challenges kids face long before school-age years, as well as opportunities available to them 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, hold full-time jobs and earn above-average incomes. School factors such as preschool and kindergarten enrollment, reading and math skills, and graduation also were compared.

For each of 13 categories, states received a point for being above average and two points if they were far above par, and they 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.

Those dings were no surprise for state education officials, who have already taken steps to boost preschool enrollment and middle school math scores.

"That we didn't score well in middle school math isn't a surprise," said Patti Harrington, state schools superintendent.

"I disagree we should be marked down because not all our kids are enrolled in preschool," she said, noting that stay-at-home parents can accomplish as much as preschools if they understand what kids should know by kindergarten.

Utah's high school graduation rates were well above average, but after that, state scores fell. Attendance 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."

But the adult benchmarks didn't consider Utah's unique demographics, said Mark Knold, chief economist at the Utah Department of Workforce Services.

"We're the youngest state in the nation," Knold said. "It's the natural Utah problem."

The nation's average income is dominated by baby boomers, but Utah's is based more on people younger than 45, which lowers average state salaries, he said. Similarly, a large percentage of women in their child-bearing years could push down the number of full-time adult workers.

Knold said studies such as this one often must use broad brush strokes to paint a nationwide picture. But Utah's average salary and full-time employment numbers are roughly where they need to be, he said.

nstricker@sltrib.com

* View Education Week's "Chance for Success" report online at www.edweek.org/go/qc07.