Statewide SAGE scores dip slightly in 2017; opt-out rates on the rise

SALT LAKE CITY — SAGE scores were slightly down, but the number of students opting out of the tests continues to increase, up 216 percent since the start of the testing program in 2014.Statewide, scores on the end-of-level Student Assessment of Growth and Excellence tests dropped slightly in 2017, which was the first time in four years that the scores fell, according to data released Monday by the State Board of Education.Overall, language arts proficiency rates decreased from 44.1 percent