2002 Science

	# Students Tested	Mastery	Near Mastery	Partial Mastery	Minimal Mastery
Utah All Students	213,223	43.8%	26.9%	27.3%	2.0%
Utah American Indian	3,555	14.6%	22.6%	57.1%	5.7%
Duchesne School District	1,803	36.3%	27.8%	32.9%	2.9%
Duchesne American Indian	134	11.9%	28.4%	53.7%	6.0%
Uintah School District	2,752	44.8%	26.2%	26.5%	2.6%
Lapoint Elementary	113	27.4%	34.5%	36.3%	1.8%
Uintah American Indian	322	9.0%	18.6%	63.7%	8.7%
Todd Elementary	82	22.0%	12.2%	50.0%	15.9%
West Middle School	241	13.7%	22.0%	57.7%	6.6%
Uintah River H. S.	49	8.2%	8.2%	71.4%	12.2%

The testing outcome pattern seems to echo the results of the 1958 tests, where the American Indian students were behind their peers in elementary school and the achievement gap widened by the time the students reached junior high or middle school (as reported in the 1983 Ute Tribe Education Plan).  So in the last 40 plus years, American Indian students seem to have made little to no progress keeping up with their public school peers in academic achievement.  However, the National School Board Association has shown that schools are making progress in student performance but that public expectations are higher than they were and schools have not been able to keep up with the rising level of expectations (http://www.nsba.org/sbot/toolkit/chned.html).    This may be part of the issue with the results shown here.  Tribal students may be achieving more than their parents did at the same age, but with rising expectations, their relative position compared to non-native students has not changed.

Dropout Rates: American Indians have historically had the highest elementary, secondary, and postsecondary dropout rates of any major racial or ethnic group across the nation—a trend that continues to be true today, especially for the Utes (Source: “Minorities in Higher Education 1999-2000, 17^th Annual Status Report,” American Council on Education, 2000. as cited in “Ute Indian Tribe: Higher Education Counselor-centered Project for Ute Students Grant).  Utes have consistently experienced high school dropout rates from 60% to 80% in recent years.  The exact number of Ute dropouts is unknown because Ute students are spread throughout three school districts (the Tribe’s charter school, Duchesne County, and Uintah County) and Ute student data is not tracked separately from the total student population.  The last accurate Ute student dropout data was collected by the Ute Tribe Education Department for the 1997-1998 school year; at that time the Ute student dropout rate was 86%. 

Ute students have disproportionately higher dropout rates in comparison to students overall in Duchesne and Uintah County School Districts and the state of Utah overall.

Dropout Rates

Area	1997-1998	1998-1999	1999-2000	2000-2001
Ute Students in all local schools	86%	60-80%	60-80%	60-80%
Duchesne County School District	1.3%	1.6%	1.2%	1.4%
Uintah County School District	3.8%	6.8%	5.6%	4.3%
State of Utah	4.1%	3.6%	5.1%	2.7%

Sources: Utah State Office of Education, 2002; Duchesne and Uintah County School Districts, 1997-2001; and the Ute Tribe Education Department, 1997-2001.

Postsecondary enrollment:  Utes have a very low postsecondary education enrollment rate compared to all other major racial or ethnic groups across the state and nation.  On average for the last three years only 2.8% of Utes have enrolled in postsecondary courses or programs compared to 22% of all students statewide; 32% of American Indian males nationally; and 38% of American Indian females nationally (“Minorities in Higher Education 1999-2000, 17^th Annual Status Report,” American Council on Education, 2000).  Utah institutions of higher education report an American Indian enrollment of less than 1% from 1998 to 2001.

Further, most Ute college students are accepted on Academic Probation.  Based on poor high school grades and low ACT scores, they are otherwise ineligible for college admission (Everardo Martinez-Inzunza, Director of Utah State University Multicultural Students Services).  Almost one-half (45%) of the Utes who do enroll in postsecondary education programs dropout their freshman year (Ute Tribe Education Department, 2001 and 2002).   However, in 2003/2004, the number of people applying for tribal financial help to attend postsecondary training exceeded the allotted money by 40%.  This may indicate a growing desire of Tribal members for continuing their education. 

However, several problems pose a serous threat to the educational attainment of Utes, the majority of which are low-income, potential first-generation college students: (1) generations of negative experiences with school and little value placed on education; (2) poor academic achievement in high school and inadequate academic support; (3) limited job opportunities and few that require higher education; (4) lack of positive opportunities for Ute youth to be constructive; and (5) pervasiveness of high risk, self-destructive behaviors.  As things are now, Ute students are not inclined to pursue, nor are they academically or socially prepared to succeed in, postsecondary education.  

Presently, the Ute Tribe has an Upward Bound grant to start addressing these issues.  The goals of the grant are to 1) Improve the educational attainment of Utes by providing comprehensive academic/career guidance and services to Ute youth, and 2) Increase Ute participation in higher education by raising awareness of postsecondary education options and available assistance.