Education

School Testing Results: How Utah Compares to States With Similar Demographics

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

Based on comparisons to national averages in school test scores, it is commonly stated that Utah’s education system performs well, despite having low funding. However, Utah is much different than the average state, with low poverty, many college-educated parents, and a small minority population. Those factors should lead to higher-than-average test scores. Using the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to compare 4th and 8th grade math, reading, and science scores from 1992 through 2009, … Continued

The 2010 Utah Priorities Fall Survey: Voters’ Preferences for Candidates and Policy Solutions

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

The purpose of this Utah Priorities Survey is to delve deeper on five critical policy issues to better understand voters’ preferences surrounding the most often discussed solutions. Voters were surveyed about K-12 education, economy and jobs, immigration, government spending, and states’ rights. The survey also asked voters about whom they plan to vote for in the upcoming election.

Spending Your Tax Dollars: An Update on State Spending Trends and the Impact of the Economic Recession

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

The April 2010 Utah Priorities Survey conducted by Utah Foundation indicated government spending ranked number two of the top ten issues and concerns among Utah voters. While government spending has been a concern for Utahns in past surveys, it is likely that the recent economic recession contributed to the topic’s continuing relevance and Utahns’ continuing concern for how governments utilize tax money.

United Way of Salt Lake Priority Area and Capacity Assessment

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

The purpose of this assessment is to prioritize the specific needs, objectives, and strategies on which UWSL will focus its community impact work. UWSL contracted with Utah Foundation to conduct this assessment, which is a year-long project involving focus groups, surveys, data collection, research, and analysis. During the first stage of the assessment, Utah Foundation held focus groups with UWSL’s Change Councils, main funders, and staff to determine and gain consensus about what the vision … Continued

The 2010 Utah Priorities Survey of Party Delegates and Voters

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

As part of the 2010 Utah Priorities Project, Utah Foundation, KSL Television and Radio, Deseret News, and the Hinckley Institute sponsored a ground-breaking survey of Utah voters and delegates to the major party conventions. The survey shows distinct differences between party delegates and voters, with delegates usually taking more zealous positions than their party’s voters. The strongest distinctions are, as expected, between the two major parties. The survey also provides insight on Republican delegates’ opinions … Continued

The 2010 Utah Priorities Survey: The Top Issues and Concerns of Utah Voters for the 2010 Election

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

In this special election year, Utahns are less confident that the state is heading in the right direction than they were two years ago. Their concerns about some issues, like energy and transportation, have eased since 2008. However, other issues are now of greater concern, including the economy, government spending, the ethics of elected officials, and states’ rights versus the federal government.

Preparing Utah’s Workforce for 21st Century Jobs

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

Because workforce quality is directly related to labor productivity and output, it is a key determinant of economic growth. Therefore having a well-prepared, knowledgeable, and skilled workforce is a necessary component to ensuring positive economic growth in Utah. Preparing Utah’s workforce for high-growth, high-wage jobs is also critical to maintaining both the competitiveness and standard of living of Utah’s workers. With the economy shifting and the presence of global competitors increasing, Utah workers must understand … Continued

Educational Attainment: Utah Falling Behind National Trends

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

While Utah consistently surpassed the national average in terms of the percent of adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher between 1940 and 2000, Utah’s national ranking fell from fifth to 16th during that sixty-year period. Recent data show that Utah’s ranking has continued to follow this downward trend from 2000 to 2008 as well. While both the percent of Utah and U.S. adults with a bachelor’s degree and higher have increased over the last … Continued

The Impacts of Utah’s Population Growth

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

Dealing with Utah’s Growth ranked tenth on Utah Foundation’s 2008 Utah Priorities Project Survey. Four growth-related issues in the survey showed high levels of concern. The top issues were traffic congestion, crowding in public schools, water supply concerns, and changes in crime rates. This research brief provides information on how Utah’s population growth has and will affect these four and other issues.

Improving Teacher Quality in Utah

Written by: Stephen Hershey Kroes

Teacher quality was rated by voters as a top concern about education in the 2008 Utah Priorities Survey. This brief explains why teacher quality improvement is such an important issue, how it can be measured, some strategies attempted around the nation for improving teacher quality, and a review of research showing which tactics are most likely or unlikely to work.