Study gives Utah school report card website an “F”

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah school report card website received the letter grade F in a recent study done by the Center for Reinventing Public Education (CRPE). The study focused on the transparency of school report cards about the effects of COVID-19.

State Board of Education Spokesperson Sharon Turner questioned the study’s scoring method. She said one flaw is how the study takes into account how easy it was to find information online.

“I want to say, our website is scoring at over 90% when it comes to accessibility,” Turner said.

The study also used indicators like reading, math, absentees, and social studies into consideration. Utah doesn’t have a social studies requirement and, as a result, scored lower than other states.

“We don’t have social studies,” Turner said. “That’s not the way we are structured here so that was another disqualifier.”

CRPE scored states on how easy it is to access data on the states’ board of education websites. In Utah, Turner said only three years of data is online. Beyond that, the site says you can call and request the information.

Details on the study

Specifically in Utah, the study shows that the state’s report cards had problems with reviewers not being able to “find data on most outcomes from pre-COVID.” The study did note that the state’s report cards cover the last three years.

Another problem listed was how some data was not labeled with numbers. Lastly, the study says, “subgroup data is available by requesting more details but is not foregrounded.”

Turner said she encourages the public to educate themselves by checking out the Utah school report card website on their own.

Related:

• Study shows how processed foods aren’t so great for you
• New study connects housing affordability with health