Utah UPSTART Program Evaluation Year 16 Results

This technical report presents the findings from the Utah UPSTART Program Evaluation conducted by the Evaluation and Training Institute (ETI) for the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity. It focuses on the performance and outcomes of the UPSTART program during its sixteenth year, specifically evaluating students from Cohort 16 who participated in the 2024-2025 program year. The report includes a detailed examination of pre-kindergarten program implementation and academic achievement testing data, including outcomes from the Pre-K Implementation Study and the Pre-K Academic Achievement Study. It highlights the decline in graduation rates from 70% to 63% for UPSTART students and emphasizes the importance of consistent engagement, noting that participants graduated logged an average of 39 hours of engagement compared to 29 hours for all participants. The findings provide insights into the effectiveness of the program in achieving its educational objectives.