First, student achievement in Utah currently falls short. By multiple measures, thousands of students are not receiving the education necessary to be successful in the 21st century. End of year testing for elementary students? In every assessed subject  math, science and English  more than 50 percent of Utah students are not proficient. That's roughly 200,000 students. ACT tests in high school? Widely recognized as a standard of college and career readiness, it's evident our kids aren't sufficiently prepared for post-high school pursuits: 67 percent do not meet the ACT science benchmark, 66 percent do not meet the ACT math benchmark, 56 percent fall short of the ACT reading benchmark, and 41 percent fail to reach the ACT English benchmark. Sadly, education in the U.S. is deteriorating to such low levels that some are willing to accept these results as adequate. Should we be satisfied by simply scoring better than poor performing states? I don't think so.