Fix Utah's achievement gap

Incredibly, some Utahns still question if Utah's achievement gap is for real.

Those who don't believe need only examine the outcomes of standardized achievement tests and other measurements of academic progress over the past decade. They'll see this troubling trend in the data: On the whole, minorities and poor children score worse than whites and better-heeled children. The trend is repeated time and time again.

Worse, the gap is widening, according to the latest fourth-grade scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. In reading, 35 percent of Utah's whites scored proficient or above, compared to just 11 percent of Hispanics, according to 2003 test results. That's a 24 percentage-point gap, compared to an 18 percentage-point difference in 1992.

Frankly, Utah fourth-graders should be performing better across the board.

The NAEP results are but one set of tests, but they, too, spotlight Utah's achievement gap problem. There are literally reams of documents in the Utah State Office of Education that likewise confirm it. It shouldn't even be in dispute.

The more vexing issue is, what is Utah going to do about it?

The Governor's Working Group on Student Achievement is meeting to develop some concrete proposals to take to the next general session of the Utah Legislature. Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. hopes that the Utah Legislature will embrace the recommendations of the working group.

It remains to be seen if lawmakers adopt some, none or all of those recommendations. Although some state lawmakers are part of the effort, it is different from a legislative task force. If history is any guide, trouble may loom. Lawmakers were cool to the efforts of a group of executives empaneled by Gov. Mike Leavitt, who charged them to recommend how to improve Utah's educational systems with an eye on creating a better workforce. When the group recommended the state spend $90 million more on education, it was interpreted as a tax increase. Not surprisingly, the fiscally conservative Legislature balked.

It is hoped that some legislative representation on Huntsman's working group will help plow the ground with the rest of the elected body, which has ultimate say-so in funding reforms and directing the state school board to implement changes.

Again, Utah's achievement gap is not a new phenomenon. Many school districts, schools and individuals have been working hard for years to attempt to close it. They all need more resources, and some need to implement better methods of reaching students who have not experienced academic success. That said, the working group does not have to reinvent the wheel. It needs to tailor known solutions to Utah's needs and available resources.