OUR VIEW: Utah education the worst in country? Really?
It’s official, Utah has some of the dumbest kids in the country – or do they? It was reported in Education Weekly that Utah’s K-12 education system is 41st in the country, however, high school graduation rates recently showed that more than 90 percent are graduating. So why are our schools stuck in the mud? Why should we even care whether these kids are graduating? They should just hit the books harder.
It may not be that easy. When we realized that Utah government takes the cake for least amount spent per student, it was jaw-dropping embarrassing. Is Utah seriously struggling this much in comparison to other states? No. Does Utah legislature refuse to raise taxes? So it would seem.
Supposedly, Utah teachers are superb, some of the best, which makes up for the miniscule amount the state spends on each student. Thanks to USU’s lauded College of Education and other similar departments throughout the state, universities are cranking out serious workers that are not only intelligent and hardworking, they care about their students. If the government is going to pay the teachers peanuts, they may as well invest a little more in the students so they can one day make something of themselves.
All of these students who are willingly or unwillingly going to school in order to pursue some kind of future come into college having been given fewer tools to succeed than 40 other states’ students. How are Utah’s youth expected to compete with millions of other students fighting for the same goals? Can the teachers really make all the difference? Even further, this must in some way effect our academic environment at USU, seeing as the majority of the student population comes from Utah’s public schools. Perhaps USU would house a more staunch group of students if Utah government invested in K-12 the way Maryland did – a state that spends 47 percent of its total revenue on education, according to the 2009 Census Bureau.
Out of all the areas Utah schooling was graded on, the best mark received was a B- for its “chance of success.” It’s because we’re farmers, isn’t it? Of course the standards of these people who most likely have their office in a high-rise building in a booming city cannot meet with the petty lifestyle of a Utahn. We have horrible pollution and are stingy when it comes to first and secondary education, so how could we ever be successful? Optimistically, a B- is still above average, but keep in mind, this is what we ranked best in – pathetic.
Whether Education Weekly was too harsh with this rating, it’s hard to say, but one thing is sure, there are too many well-educated parents and leaders in this state to not understand how important investing in early education is. Something needs to change.