Legislative audit: English learners face largest proficiency gaps; auditors urge faster data cycles and review of interventions

Nicole Luscher, an analyst from the Office of the Legislative Auditor General, told the Utah Legislature’s Interim Education Committee that statewide assessment data show persistent proficiency gaps and very limited year‑to‑year movement in student proficiency.

"The gap for multilingual learners is still above 30%," Luscher said, referring to a roughly 35% spread between English/multilingual learners and higher‑performing student groups on the statewide assessments. She said the auditors analyzed statewide results from 2017 through 2024 and built an interactive dashboard to let LEAs examine gaps by subgroup, grade range and subject.

The audit identified three primary objectives of the review: trends in testing by demographic and other factors, practices used in both high‑ and low‑performing LEAs, and whether prior performance correlates with future results. Luscher said auditors found that students who are proficient in one year tend to remain proficient the…