The Utah Foundation recently released a study titled “Making the Grade? K-12 Outcomes and Spending in Utah” that tries to make sense of why Utah, which spends less on K-12 education than any other state (at $7,179 per pupil, $5,000 below the national average), still does well in most areas measured and even outperforms many higher spending states. Although Utah lawmakers and other state leaders may congratulate themselves on these academic outcomes at bargain basement prices, if you scratch the surface the results show a large gap in educational attainment that desperately needs addressing.
Many Utah students have a lot going for them. When compared to both neighboring and peer states, we have a higher percentage of children in two-parent families with at least one parent who graduated from college. This is a huge predictor of a family’s socioeconomic stability, and thus, student success. The study states that these factors are a “strong indicator for student educational outcome due to influence, economic and social capital.” Even if our classrooms are overcrowded and teacher pay is low (and don’t forget we have a serious teacher shortage in Utah in part because of our low salaries), the negative impact is mitigated for those with a strong parental base.
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