This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Those who are paid by tax-averse special interests to persuade us that public education in Utah is not underfunded need to do more homework than they have.

It is not enough to talk about scores on standardized tests when they show more about test preparation than they do about what the educational journey should deliver.

It is not enough to talk about rising graduation rates when they say less about real improvement than they do about the pressure put on schools and standards to produce them.

And it certainly isn't enough to use Utah's position in rankings of states when international ones show all but a few states far, far down the list.

The fact is, K-12 in the United States is caught up in a downward spiral, inadequate funding provably the main culprit. In Utah, getting the best and brightest to enroll in teacher training programs is almost impossible, with better career opportunities otherwise too attractive for the best to resist.

Hiring the best among those who do graduate from our colleges of education is followed up with too little all-important mentoring, with overcrowded classrooms, with too little support for teachers in their classrooms and for their professional development, and with inadequate respect for the profession shown in myriad ways, not the least financial. Turnover rates among teachers are high as a result — costly to Utah, costlier to our youngsters.

More homework, Evelyn Everton, Connor Boyack and Christine Cooke. Spend the time before collecting those paychecks.

Ron W. Smith

Providence