It’s been four years since the COVID-19 pandemic caused educational outcomes in Utah and across the nation to plummet.
Utah students faced smaller academic losses compared to their peers in other states. But newly released state testing data shows that proficiency rates in some subjects have yet to reach pre-pandemic levels.
Statewide, proficiency rates in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics continue to lag behind 2019 levels, according to Utah State Board of Education student assessment data released last week.
At that time, 47% of Utah students scored proficiently in ELA, while 45% scored proficiently in math.
In 2021, those rates fell to 43.3% and 39.2%, respectively (spring testing for the 2019-20 school year was canceled because of the pandemic, and no data is available for that period).
Since that initial drop, proficiency rates in those two subjects have marginally improved, with 44.5% of students considered proficient in ELA and 41.4% in math for the 2023-24 school year.
That means, over the past three years, ELA proficiency has only increased by 1.2 percentage points. At this rate, it would take roughly six more years to return to the 2019 proficiency level of 47%.
Math proficiency, however, shows a slightly faster recovery. The past three years have seen an increase of 2.2 percentage points since 2021. Reaching pre-pandemic proficiency in math (45%) would take about five more years at this same rate.
But in science, the state is making strides. About 46.6% students were considered proficient in that subject in 2019. The latest data shows 47% of students scored proficiently in science this past school year, exceeding pre-pandemic proficiency levels.
A closer look at the data by test and grade level shows some other wins — and losses — for the state as well.
How did students perform compared to last year?
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Beads sit in a cabinet for math exercises at Rose Park Elementary School in Salt Lake City on Friday, Aug. 16, 2024.
Each spring, Utah students take one of two statewide assessments depending on their grade level.
These tests are designed to assess their academic performance and proficiency across various subjects, providing a standardized measure of how well students are meeting the state’s educational benchmarks and learning objectives.
Students in grades 3-8 take the RISE (Readiness Improvement Success Empowerment) test, which assesses proficiency in English language arts, math and science. However, third graders are not tested in science.
Students in grades 9 and 10 take a test called Utah Aspire Plus, which assesses the same subjects as RISE but is also used to prepare students for the ACT college entrance exam.
Statewide data for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years, when examined by test and subject, shows that Utah students generally maintained or made gains in proficiency across most subjects.
Overall, proficiency rates increased by least 1 percentage point in all areas except one: ninth and tenth grade ELA, which fell from 44.7% in 2023 to 42.2% in 2024.
RISE test results show that ELA proficiency for grades 3-8 has nearly returned to pre-pandemic levels, with the current rate at 45.2%, compared to 46.4% in 2019.
However, despite that progress, more than half of students tested still do not meet state proficiency standards.
This trend is evident across most subjects — while gains have been made, a higher percentage of students are still falling below proficiency standards. The Utah State Board of Education did not immediately respond to inquiries from The Salt Lake Tribune about the latest student proficiency rates.
Students in grades 9 and 10 have regressed in some areas, with proficiency levels declining further than the initial drop seen during the pandemic.
For instance, in math, the percentage of ninth and tenth graders deemed proficient fell from 33.3% in 2021 to 31.5% last year.
In the same period, ELA proficiency in these grades slipped from 46.8% in 2021 to 42.2% last year.
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