Utah auditors recommend state lawmakers revisit the teacher evaluation system.
They say the Legislature should conduct an in-depth audit of how the public education system assesses teacher and principal performance and address how student data should be used.
An audit of Summit County’s South Summit School District prompted the suggestion. Published Sept. 15, the audit said district leaders should use student performance data when setting goals during teacher evaluations.
But during a legislative audit subcommittee meeting, audit staffer Brody Bailey said state code on how to use data is unclear.
“There appear to be some statewide issues that may be impeding districts from being able to really utilize this tool based on how we believe the Legislature wants it to be, which is to improve teacher effectiveness and ultimately student performance,” he said.
Senate Bill 241, passed during Utah’s 2026 General Session, requires educator evaluations to include data from the state’s K-3 reading assessment, called Acadience. However, a 2016 law prohibits the use of “end-of-level assessment scores” in evaluations.
Auditors say this has made it difficult for districts to understand what data is OK to use.
They also raised concerns about the Utah State Board of Education’s three-level evaluation scale of did not meet, partially met or did meet performance expectations.
Auditors said the limited range can make it “difficult to identify both high-performing and low-performing teachers.”
The rule also requires teachers to be evaluated based on continued professional growth as well as student academic growth. But it’s unclear what data should be used to evaluate educators who teach classes without state tests, like art, music and physical education.
Lawmakers may revisit the educator evaluation system during the 2027 General Session beginning Jan. 19.
