• Readers identified Michigan’s K-12 education struggles as a top election issue 
• Challenges include low literacy scores, staffing shortages and funding debates 
• We break down the problems, and what the research says about solutions 

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Michigan faces a host of educational challenges: absenteeism is high, test scores are low and school leaders report a continual struggle to find and retain high-quality teachers.

Yet, there are also concerted efforts to improve literacy, expand access to pre-K and improve college affordability. 

Readers have identified education as a top statewide issue in Bridge Listens, our informal election-year survey. A sample of concerns:

• “We seem to be spending more and achieving less, our national ranking is pathetically low at 44th or 45th . . . this needs to be fixed if we’re going to thrive as a state and throwing more money at the problem does not appear to be a solution” — Rick, Ann Arbor 
• “We need to organize our State education system much better than we have now.  It will take an overhaul of how we do things … aside from spending money we need to oversee what is happening in our schools, analyze why it is happening, and work diligently to improve.” — Phyllis, Kalamazoo
• “I am a retired educator and have seen many ‘trends’ come and go, especially in my field of primary education. We need to follow the science and look at what other states are doing that have brought continued success.” — Kathy, North Street (near Port Huron)

So what is the state of education in Michigan? And what are the major issues facing K-12 schools? Below, you’ll find facts, figures, research and expert analysis. We also asked the leading gubernatorial candidates to weigh in on these same issues. See what they had to say here. 

Related:

• Bridge Listens: How Michigan’s next governor will try to fix K-12 schools
• In their words: What Michigan governor candidates would do to fix schools
• Michigan K-12 crisis: State slow to respond as kids miss school, scores fall
• What’s Michigan’s top election issue? Cast your ballot with Bridge Listens

Students are struggling to read

Michigan’s elementary students are struggling to read at grade level.  

• Third grade reading scores are at an 11-year low
• Michigan ranked 44th on fourth grade reading on a national test. 

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and leaders in the Michigan Department of Education have used their bully pulpit to emphasize the importance of literacy, although critics contend the state is doing too little too late. Here’s what’s new:

• Districts will be required to screen students for traits of dyslexia and teach in “evidence-based” ways with the 2027-28 school year because of a bipartisan law passed in 2024.
• There is funding for literacy coaches, reading curriculum and teacher training.
• There is a bipartisan effort to get every K-5 teacher trained on a time-intensive “science of reading” approach, but even supporters are concerned about how to fairly compensate teachers for the extra time.
• So far, 6,300 teachers have completed the training and another 5,600 people are taking the course, State Superintendent Glenn Maleyko recently told lawmakers. 

It’s not the first time the state has put an emphasis on literacy. Under a previous law backed by Republicans, districts had been required to hold back third grade students who struggled to read. But the pandemic and wide use of exemptions meant few students were held back before Whitmer and a Democratic-led Legislature repealed the retention requirement in 2023.  

“I have been surprised, over the years, that there has not been more outcry about the fact that large groups of students are not learning how to read,” said Lynne Cowart, a Bridge reader who is a retired school district administrator and current school board member.

What the research says

Third grade reading retention policies are not new, but some states, including Indiana and Arkansas, implemented them after the pandemic. Research is mixed on holding students back and states vary on what additional support they provide students who repeat third grade.

• A study of Michigan third graders found that students who scored just below the cutoff and were flagged for retention scored higher on tests a year later than students who scored just above the cutoff. 
• In Mississippi, one study found that students who were held back later had higher English language arts scores and the same attendance rates as students who scored just above the cutoff.
• A new study of Texas students found that those held back were less likely to graduate high school and had lower wages at age of 26. 

The results from the Texas study are “really sobering,” said Brian A. Jacob, an education policy and economics professor at the University of Michigan.

Still, there is some evidence and a school of thought that a retention policy helps motivate adults to provide more student support, he said.

Mississippi and other states have also adopted other changes aligned with what’s known as the “science of reading,” a body of research about how people learn to read that emphasizes decoding letter sounds or words.  

Michigan has also adopted “science of reading” policies, but it’s early. 

READ MORE: Michigan schools are floundering. How some buck the trend, improve literacy | Gretchen Whitmer wants to boost literacy in Michigan. Here’s what to know

Michigan embraced choice, limits private support

Statewide, 1 in 4 Michigan public K-12 students attend a charter school or use the state’s choice program to attend a school outside their local district, according to a previous Bridge analysis.

The Michigan Constitution prohibits using public funds for private school attendance. Efforts to pass a statewide tax credit scholarship program have been unsuccessful. 

But Congress last year created a national program that will allow individuals to donate money for scholarships students can use to attend private school or pay for other education expenses. The donors then receive a tax credit. Critics equate it to vouchers and contend it will siphon funds from public schools. 

States must opt in to the federal program, and Michigan hasn’t at this point. Whitmer recently said she needs more information. 

What the research says: 

Research is mixed.

• One study of Florida’s longstanding program found that students in the private school choice program were more likely to enroll in community college than peers in public schools. 
• A study of Washington DC’s program found students in the scholarship program scored lower than children who applied but were not selected for the program. But parents had a higher perception of their child’s school safety.
• A 2022 study found that in school systems where 10% or more students attend charter schools, there is an increase in high school graduation rates, reading scores and math scores. 

In Michigan, a growing number of parents love it, but schools struggle to make improvements when there are fewer students and consequently, less funding.

Sarah Cohodes, associate professor of public policy at the University of Michigan who studies school choice, previously told Bridge that the state is essentially “too in the middle,” where the state has enough choice to be “destabilizing” for traditional school districts’ finances but not enough where the state can “start from scratch and have a new system, a new way of funding students.” 

READ MORE: Donald Trump wants to expand school choice. In Michigan, 1 in 4 participate

Few students are college-ready

Michigan requires all high school juniors to take the SAT, which the majority of states do not. This makes it challenging to compare college-readiness across the country.

• Statewide, only about 27% of high schoolers are considered college-ready, as determined by SAT performance. 
• US News & World Report ranks Michigan 30th in college readiness, while the state’s four-year high school graduation rate is at a new high, 84%.
• About 53.4% of high school graduates enroll in college within six months.
• The share of working adults in the state with a college degree or skills certificate has grown from 45% to 51.6% since Whitmer set a goal of having 60% with credentials by 2030. 

Michigan education and business groups are trying to change high school graduation requirements in an effort to better prepare students for life after high school. 

What the research says 

College graduates tend to earn more money than those with just a high school diploma. 

Most hiring managers believe high school students are not ready to enter the workforce, according to a national survey of hiring managers conducted by the US Chamber of Commerce and the College Board, the nonprofit that administers the SAT and Advanced Placement programs.

READ MORE: Michigan’s education crisis FAQ | Michigan high school graduation rate reaches new high

Finding and retaining enough teachers a challenge

There are persistent worker shortages in Michigan schools, especially in special education, and district leaders say there are not enough high-quality candidates. That leads to reliance on long-term substitutes, virtual teachers and teachers who are still working to get their full teaching license.

Still, staffing is growing as public school enrollment drops, Bridge previously reported. Paraprofessionals, not teachers or administrators, account for a large share of that growth.  

Michigan ranks 44th nationwide in starting salaries, $41,645, while the average teacher pay of $69,067 is 19th, according to an analysis from the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC) at Michigan State University.

There are state-sponsored efforts to train and retain current teachers. There are also scholarships and student teaching stipends for college students studying to be teachers. But experts warn the state must do more to keep recently trained and current teachers in the field.

What the research says

Nationally, half of teachers report managing student behavior as a top job stress, according to research from RAND funded by the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers. 

The staffing shortage is especially high in special education, with a 5.2% vacancy rate in state schools, according to research from the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative at Michigan State University. 

“Special education stood out in nearly every measure that we looked at as having just these particularly acute challenges,” co-author Tara Kilbride recently told Bridge. 

READ MORE: Michigan schools on hiring spree. Can it reverse ‘Titanic’ learning losses? | Report: Michigan churns through teachers at unsustainable rate 

Education policies change often 

After Democrats took control of both state House and Senate, they repealed a series of laws that Republicans had adopted, including the third grade retention requirement and an A-F school grading system. They also lowered the weight state testing factors into educator evaluations. 

“Michigan public schools have, at times, felt whipsawed by the systems constructed to create performance accountability,” the Citizens Research Council of Michigan said in 2023. “At the time of its adoption in 2018, the A-to-F model was the sixth different accountability system adopted in seven years.”

One long-held debate is whether the state should align its different decision makers over schools. Under current policy, the governor does not direct the Michigan Department of Education, an elected board picks the state superintendent and local districts have a great deal of autonomy.

Former Mississippi schools chief Carey Wright previously told Bridge her advice for Michigan is to not go from one priority to the next. Instead, there should be a consistent goal, research-based strategies to make it happen and ways to measure progress.

What the research says 

One analysis of student data from 2003-2009 found states that allow the governor to appoint education officials had smaller achievement gaps but lower overall achievement. 

Michigan is one of only six states that govern education policy with a combination of an elected governor and state board while the state board appoints the schools chief, according to an analysis from the Education Commission of the States.

Mississippi, a Republican-led state that’s earned attention for education improvements, has stuck with tools that Michigan abandoned, but no political party has a monopoly on better student outcomes. An analysis of student test scores from 2019 to 2024 found that red states had less learning loss than blue states, while Michigan and other purple states were somewhere in the middle.

READ MORE: Mississippi turned around its schools. Its secret: Tools Michigan abandoned

School funding and equity challenges persist 

Do schools have enough money? It’s a consistent debate. Both Republicans and Democrats have supported state budgets raising Michigan’s per-pupil allotment, also known as the foundation allowance. 

Districts also compete for state grants and vie for voter support to borrow money for building repairs and upgrades. Some communities repeatedly reject tax increases to pay for schools. 

At Gwinn Area Schools, near Marquette, voters have rejected four attempts to pass a bond to repair aging buildings. People move to the area for “gorgeous lakes” but don’t send their children to the local schools, said Superintendent Sara Croney. “So how do you motivate people to spend on other people’s kids?”

Superintendents in small school districts say they do not have the staff to write grant applications, which puts them at a disadvantage against larger districts with more administrators. 

K-12 school groups also want the state to stop using the state’s School Aid Fund on higher education, a so-called diversion that will top $1.3 billion this year. A group trying to raise taxes on the state’s wealthiest residents to pay for schools recently announced it was suspending its 2026 campaign. 

What the research says 

While new Michigan funding has not yet prompted a major performance turnaround, education spending is generally associated with higher learning outcomes: 

• One analysis of 31 studies found that increasing school spending by $1,000 for four years, leads to higher graduation and college enrollment.
• A different study found that money matters but that systems to ensure the money is spent well is also important. 
• A 2016 study of Michigan school funding found that increased spending raised college enrollment and completion but that was more true in “non-rural, low-poverty, high-achieving school districts.”

READ MORE: Michigan spent big to fix schools. The result: Worse scores and plenty of blame

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