Utah’s State Highlights

Summary of Grades

Utah earns an above-average grade in only one of the four graded policy categories in Quality Counts.

The state’s score for standards and accountability falls just below average. Utah earns high marks for its academic standards but shows room for improvement in both assessments and school accountability. While the state has assessments aligned with its standards in three of the four core subjects, its tests rely heavily on multiple-choice items. In addition, the state does not sanction or provide assistance to all of its low-performing schools nor does it reward its high-performing or improving schools.

Utah’s teacher quality score is also below average, in part, because it is one of only three states that do not require aspiring teachers to pass any type of written test to earn an initial license. The state also falls behind on efforts to hold schools and teacher-training programs accountable for teacher quality. For example, the state includes limited information about teacher quality on school report cards.

The state also earns a below-average grade in school climate. Utah does well on indicators of school choice, class size, and facilities, but loses points for school size and student engagement.

Utah’s best showing comes in resource equity, where it ranks near the top of the nation. Its wealth-neutrality score shows that Utah’s poorer districts tend to have higher per-pupil funding levels than its wealthier districts, a pattern found in only 10 states.

Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding.