Ultimately, the study stacked Utah against states sharing two of the demographic factors: Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Utah scored last among all of them, with a national rank of 30 in math, 29 in reading and 18 in science.

That's a stark contrast to Utah's overall scores, which were overall above national averages and climbing.

"Clearly, something is limiting Utah's ability to perform at a level that would be expected with its demographic profile," the report states. "More research is needed to try to pinpoint which factors may contribute the most to Utah's poor rankings among these peer states."

The report suggests low per-student spending — peer states spent an average $8,251 per student, about $3,000 higher than Utah, the report states — teacher quality, curriculum, even cultural attitudes toward achievement could be factors. Kroes suggests Utah's class sizes, the highest in the country, also may be a factor.

Hales would love to see Utah compared to states with similar funding and class size levels, growth and curriculum trends, student mobility and net migration to better show how Utah might improve student achievement.

"You try and look at all involved, and try to make comparisons and where you find close similarities, see what they're doing that you're not," Hales said.

She looks forward to future research on the matter.

For the full report, including test scores for every school taking the Iowa basic skills tests and achievement gaps between ethnic groups therein, visit www.utahfoundation.org.

The foundation aims to better inform public policy and dialogue through nonpartisan research.

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E-mail: jtcook@desnews.com