Education

BACKGROUND As students seek further education to improve their career and earning potential, understanding the long-term value of investment is essential. Determining the return on investment, due to various factors, is not always straightforward. The cost of attendance, student debt, graduation rates, and earnings all influence return on investment, and their impact varies across institutions and programs. To support informed decision-making, tools such as the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard provide valuable insights.[1] These … Continued

Good news for Utah teachers. A new National Council on Teacher Quality study finds that “Between 2019 and 2025, housing costs increased by 47–51% on average, far outpacing the average 24% growth in beginning teacher salaries.”* How is that good news? Well, the study’s two Utah school districts, Jordan and Granite, seem to be doing a bit better than the nation. While Utah’s home price growth and rents outpace the national average, so do teacher … Continued

It is fairly common knowledge that Utah has, for decades, been near the bottom in per-pupil spending on K-12 education. The U.S. Census Bureau shows that Utah had pulled into the second-lowest, ahead of Idaho, from 2019 to 2021.1 However, the Department of Education disagrees. Its latest research shows that Utah has been and remains dead last.2 The Utah Foundation prefers the measure of education spending effort, or the amount spent on education per $1,000 … Continued

Nearly 62% of Utahns between the ages of 25 and 64 possess a college degree or other quality post-secondary credential, surpassing Lumina Foundation’s nationwide attainment target of 60%.1 Utah does not currently have a statewide post-secondary educational attainment goal. However, in 2013, Governor Herbert adopted an ambitious 66% target by 2020.2 Between 2013 and 2020, Utah’s post-high school educational attainment increased by nearly five percentage points and three more by 2023.* This is a far … Continued

Bad news: Utah was one of eight states where 8th-grade students’ reading scores were lower in 2024 than in 2022. Worse news: No states saw any improvement on the 4th-grade reading or 8th-grade reading or math scores. Better news: Utah’s 4th-grade reading and math scores and Utah’s 8th-grade math scores remained unchanged (in terms of statistically significant differences).  Good news: 15 states improved in 4th-grade math. And Utah remains better than the nation on all four tests (though … Continued

A new survey shows that teacher pay in Utah falls below the national average – $56,200 relative to $61,600. However, this survey also shows that Utah teachers have generally gained substantial ground since the Utah Foundation released its teacher pay report in 2019. Utah teacher pay is in-line with three other Mountain States – Colorado, Nevada, and Wyoming – but ahead of New Mexico and far ahead of Arizona, Idaho, and Montana. Utah’s below-the-nation pay … Continued

Utah is just behind the U.S. for the proportion of young people in college. Utahns ages 18 to 24 are just over one percent less likely to be enrolled. Further, enrollment seems to be decreasing. Why? There may be a lot of explanations, including a robust economy and a feeling that the costs of college may not ultimately be worth the rewards. While enrollment levels look similar between Utah and the U.S., when examining the … Continued