Michigan must focus literacy efforts on older students, too, experts say

Michigan educators say middle schoolers struggle with reading skills too
They are calling for more teacher training and plans to provide students with targeted help
New literacy laws will include new training requirements, but details on the next education budget are still in the works

Michigan has a literacy problem, and to solve it, the state has elevated the issue to the top of the political agenda, throwing lots of money at it and proposing reforms like mandatory “science of reading’ training for teachers.

Reforms mostly for elementary schools, that is. Efforts are also underway to make high school more engaging for students and increase enrollment in college and career training programs.

Often missing from the political conversation are Michigan’s middle schoolers who are also lagging in reading skills.

“I would say no, we are not doing enough, and we never have done enough to ensure that we are continuing to teach literacy throughout all the grades,” said University of Michigan Marsal Family School of Education Dean Elizabeth Moje.

What happens when a middle schooler struggles to read?

A woman poses outdoors on a stone bench with grass and a building behind her. — Leathia Hardy-Williams, an eighth grade teacher at Detroit Academy of Arts and Sciences, wants more teacher training to help students read on grade level. (Courtesy photo: Robin Gamble Photography)

Students feel frustrated, fall further behind and may eventually choose to act up or drop out when faced with the stigma of not knowing to read, said Harrison Community Schools Superintendent Judy Walton.

“I think we have just always assumed that it gets fixed somewhere in elementary school,” said Walton.

Leathia Hardy-Williams, an eighth grade teacher at Detroit Academy of Arts and Sciences, sees it firsthand: The “bubbliest” child beloved by her peers “becomes an entirely different person” when asked to read out loud.

“That’s what I’m experiencing (in) the classroom: complete confidence and personality changes because this big reading monster is there in front of a lot of these scholars. And she’s not alone.”

Related:

Only about 39% of sixth and seventh graders in Michigan are proficient in reading, according to state tests. On a national test, Michigan ranks 33rd for eighth grade reading.

When it comes to younger students, Michigan has changed laws, funded literacy coaches and expanded pre-K access. Educators and experts say Michigan is right to focus on early literacy efforts but that more needs to be done to ensure older students also get help.

Experts acknowledge that the middle school schedule is tougher and pulling students out from class for one-on-one or small group instruction can be harder than it is in elementary school.

Hardy-Williams wants to see the state help schools invest in intervention time for middle and high schoolers and expand training for those interventionists and teachers who support students.

“They need to be certified and trained in science-based reading strategies,” she said.

‘The effects are cumulative’

The state’s new literacy and dyslexia laws could bring change. Beginning in the 2027-28 school year, schools will be required to screen students in kindergarten through third grade for characteristics of dyslexia, and educators will be required to determine if students in grades 4-12 are avoiding reading, having difficulty in reading or demonstrating other concerns.

Public school districts must also affirm to the state that literacy coaches, literacy consultants and others who teach reading are trained in evidence-based literacy practices and related topics.

Meanwhile, in schools across the state, literacy coaches and teachers are trying to make changes now.

“The effects are cumulative,” said Ingham Intermediate School District coach and consultant Jessica Martell. “So when you’re struggling with literacy at the secondary level, it means you’re going to struggle in pretty much most of your content areas or anywhere that you are going to be expected to use literacy.”

Districts try to fix the problem

There’s an adage in education politics: up through the third grade, students are learning to read. Then, they are reading to learn.

Experts say it’s more complicated than that.

“I don’t think that there’s a point where you stop reading to learn, you just continue to grow as a reader,” said Martell.

Some literacy scholars also emphasize the importance of helping students with comprehension skills. They say it’s not enough to know how to decode a word but a student must be able to understand what the word or passage means.

“In middle school, it’s a deal-breaker if you don’t comprehend what you’re reading,” said Kay Wijekumar, Houston Endowed Chair at Texas A&M University, who recently led a training session at Michigan State University. “And you have to now read in science and social studies and all the subject areas. The rigor increases significantly.”

a teacher stands on the grass outside a building reading College of Education Clifford B. Erickson Hall — Adrea Truckenmiller, an associate professor at Michigan State University, works on literacy projects in multiple states. She says Michigan is doing many things right with literacy efforts but wants a more structured way to look at student data to evaluate what is working. (Ella Miller/Bridge Michigan)

The Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators has formed a task force to promote teaching literacy skills in every subject area, not just the English Language Arts block.

While the state offers funding for literacy coaches that help train teachers, there isn’t any dedicated funding for coaches at the secondary level, said Jenelle Williams, a co-chair of the task force.

Traditional secondary English language arts teachers aren’t trained in how to teach reading, said Walton of Harrison Community Schools, so they need support from others.

More training?

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers recently passed a measure to require elementary school teachers to take courses from a state-vetted list of training providers.

Meanwhile, the new literacy law requires the Michigan Department of Education to “recommend or develop a literacy coaching model,” and MDE officials said this model will be for K-12.

In the meantime, teachers can participate in several literacy training sessions statewide through the Michigan Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MiMTSS) Technical Assistance Center.

At Michigan State University last week, roughly 80 literacy coaches and teachers signed up for a two-day training on developing students’ comprehension skills.

“Just because they’re moving on to middle school doesn’t mean we’re done with any targeted instruction to fill gaps,” said attendee Tanya Miller, a literacy coach in Van Buren Intermediate School District.

a large semicircular lecture room with desks filled with teachers at desks — Roughly 80 literacy coaches and teachers signed up for a two-day literacy training focused on student comprehension skills at Michigan State University. Experts say comprehension is one of the important skills students need to read and understand more challenging texts. (Ella Miller/Bridge Michigan)

Wijekumar is leading a federal grant-funded study of 72 schools nationwide on how to teach student comprehension skills. She hopes some Michigan schools will participate.

“It is the best use of money. We can educate our children. We can help them comprehend. What more benefit does any parent want than to help their child succeed?”
Experts acknowledge change takes time and consistency.

Michigan isn’t alone

Adrea Truckenmiller, an associate professor at MSU and who works on literacy projects in multiple states, said Michigan has a lot of the right pieces to improve but needs better student data collection and independent evaluations on whether efforts are working.

In the climate of federal education funding uncertainty, she said businesses could provide funding to colleges and universities to “retain and attract literacy faculty who can bring the most effective literacy practices to Michigan classrooms and train the next generations of educators.”

Donors and foundations in North Carolina, for instance, have helped fund literacy professorships and literacy grants.

Other states are trying to crack the code on older students’ literacy skills too.

New Mexico is rolling out new literacy training requirements for middle and high school English teachers, special education teachers and English language development teachers. In Virginia, districts are required to hire a reading specialist for every 550 students in grades K-5 and every 1,100 in grades 6-8, according to Education Week. Iowa requires personalized reading plans for K-6 students.

Mississippi has gained national recognition for increasing its fourth grade reading rankings — an achievement some have dubbed the “Mississippi miracle,” but skeptics note those gains don’t last through 8th grade.

“So I’d like to see a future where every state’s talking about the Michigan miracle, where not only have we gotten literacy supports for lower elementary grade students right but we’ve put supports in place for students all the way through 12th grade so that every student can access grade level material,” said Ben Locke, executive director of Teach Plus Michigan, a teacher training and policy program.

Hardy-Williams, the Detroit teacher, says she will meet with fellow teachers this summer to develop literacy plans. The hope is to include more literacy activities in other subject areas.

“If we can’t read, if we’re not literate, it’s a windfall for not just us and our families, but for society as a whole.”

Thank you to our Education Watch sponsors

Bridge Michigan Education Watch is made possible by generous financial support from our sponsors. Sponsorship supports our independent journalism mission but does not constitute sponsor endorsement of individual articles or editorial content. Bridge Michigan journalism remains fact- and data-driven and independent at all times.

Please visit the About page for more information and to subscribe to Education Watch. Interested in becoming a sponsor? Contact Emma Carr.