The achievement gap is widening between Utah white and Hispanic youngsters in both math and reading, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the State Office of Education.

But the trend is not that different from the nation's or that of surrounding states, according to the report based on fourth-grade scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

"It's not the worst in the West, but it's certainly nothing to be proud of," said Mark Peterson, spokesman for the State Office of Education. "The achievement gap is a national disgrace, and it's a disgrace in Utah, and the State Board of Education is working to eradicate it."

The report (www.usoe.k12.ut.us/eval/_NAEP1/default.htm) comes as the Governor's Working Group on Student Achievement starts examining the achievement gap, and what to do about it.

Achievement gaps between whites and minorities and the haves and have-nots have taken center stage under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Controversy erupted in Utah earlier this year when the state challenged the federal law's reach in Utah schools. Advocates feared Utah would end up ignoring performance of ethnic minorities and other student groups; state education chiefs vowed that would not happen.

The NAEP is the test used for the "Nation's Report Card," which compares states' achievement in reading and math. The test is taken by a sample of fourth- and eighth-grade students in each participating state.

The state's report, "Trends and Patterns of Utah's White and Hispanic 4th Grade Students Compared to the Nation: An NAEP Achievement Gap Analysis," examined data in many ways. A sample:

In reading, 35 percent of Utah whites were proficient or above, compared to just 11 percent of Hispanics, according to 2003 NAEP results. Nationally, 39 percent of whites and 14 percent of Hispanics scored as proficient.

That's a 24-percentage-point gap in Utah, one point smaller than the nation's.

The gap has widened since 1992, when it was 18 percentage points in Utah, and 23 points wide nationally.

Among surrounding Western states, Utah is second to Colorado's 27-percentage-point achievement gap on the 2003 reading exam.

Similar trends are seen in math. In 1992, 21 percent of Utah whites and 7 percent of Utah Hispanics scored as proficient or above — a 14 percentage-point gap. But by 2003, the gap had soared to 24 percentage points, with 35 percent of whites and 11 percent of Hispanics scoring as proficient or above.

Nationally, in the same time, the gap had gone from 17 percentage points to 27 percentage points.