State board reviews Utah State University study on the "success sequence" and discusses how to integrate it into curricula

The Utah State Board of Education’s Standards and Assessment Committee on Feb. 6 heard findings from a study, commissioned by the board and carried out in partnership with Utah State University, examining whether and how the so-called “success sequence” is taught in secondary education.

Alan Hawkins, manager of the Utah Marriage Commission, summarized the study’s central concept: when parents finish their education, obtain employment, marry, and then have children, their children’s risk of poverty is much lower. “This success sequence is a very straightforward concept,” Hawkins said. His team’s review of curricula found that some elements of the sequence appear across classes, but the full, explicit sequence is not generally taught as a single, formal curriculum component.

Committee members discussed how to respond to a 2024 legislative joint resolution asking the board to explore success-sequence instruction and noted related bills in the 2025 session. Board staff said House Bill 281, if enacted, would require the board to create related material as…