For nearly 20 years, Utah's Office of Education has been systematically monitoring the academic performance and other characteristics of Utah's students. This executive summary, an overview of the sixth major report since 1967, examines several measures describing educational quality in Utah schools. The first section covers students' achievement in mathematics, reading and language arts, science, social studies, and art and music. In most areas, Utah test results are significantly higher than they were 10 years ago and substantially higher than national norms. Utah students are sill in need of improvement in advanced mathematics and the physical sciences. The second section focuses on student characteristics, including academic self-concept, peer relations, career development, and educational aspirations. A third section summarizes pertinent information about course-taking patterns in Utah schools and students' evaluations of their educational experience. A higher percentage of Utah high school students took at least two years of foreign language, mathematics, and science in 1985 than in 1984. Utah college-bound students rated their education more highly than did their national counterparts. The fourth section highlights implications for educational reform, and a fifth section identifies future areas of concern, such as preparing for the so-called information society and implementing effective schools research. (MLH)