Michigan students lag in reading. Will mandatory teacher training help?

The state Board of Education and some other leaders are pushing to make a specific ‘science of reading’ course called LETRS mandatory for some teachers.
The course is currently optional
Several teachers said they love the course, but it may take nights and weekends to complete

OAK PARK — First grade teacher Danielle Cover remembers when she learned about literacy during her university training.

But it was years later where the Ferndale Lower Elementary School teacher had an “eye-opening” experience and learned just how important it is for students to be able to piece together individual letter sounds and blends of letters.

Cover took Lexia LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) training. The training focuses on how the brain learns to read, often referred to as the “science of reading.”

“It is hands down, the best training I have received about literacy instruction down to the most finite piece of building the code.”

Building that code takes time, and teachers say explicit instruction. No more pushing students to guess a word based on a picture or other cue.

By the 2027-2028 school year, districts must assure the state that teachers have been trained in the science of reading, said DeNesha Rawls-Smith, literacy unit manager at the Office of Educational Supports at the Michigan Department of Education.

Related:

Third graders are reading at historically low levels in Michigan.

Training teachers in LETRS is one solution that has shown promise — and teachers who’ve taken the course agree that it works. What educators don’t agree on is whether they should be forced to take it.

Former State Superintendent Michael Rice, who retired last week, repeatedly called for the Legislature to require LETRS training, and the State Board of Education also called for a requirement last month.

“We know that phonics is important,” said State Board of Education vice president Tiffany Tilley, a Democrat, who sponsored the board’s resolution. “We know that LETRS training is working in other states. And I really believe that this could help in Michigan.”

The Michigan Education Association, a teacher’s union, said that while it supports efforts to train teachers, it’s not feasible nor fair to require teachers to complete the time-intensive training, said Thomas Morgan, an MEA spokesperson.

He said teachers should not be expected to give up their nights or weekends and that even if teachers are given time during the school day, that could shortchange students by taking their regular teacher out of the classroom.

“We need to make sure that school districts have what they need to provide these professional development opportunities for teachers,” Morgan told Bridge.

Gubernatorial candidates Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, Former Attorney General Mike Cox, a Republican, both previously told Bridge they would make science of reading training mandatory.

‘An awakening’

Educators are already changing how they teach as a result of training programs like LETRS, as well as new curricula that districts are adopting.

“Even though I had been teaching reading for 20 years, I didn’t know how to teach reading,” said Kim Metzger, a K-5 instructional coach for English language arts Westwood Community Schools in Dearborn Heights.

“And we had great oral language, we could talk, I could help with writing, but I couldn’t really help them with reading because I wasn’t teaching phonics.”

Jill Johnsen and Kim Metzger take a selfie in an office. — Jill Johnsen, kindergarten teacher at Westwood Community Schools, and Kim Metzger, K-5 instructional coach for English language arts, have both completed training in the ‘science of reading.’ (Courtesy photo)

Metzger’s experience with LETRS training is similar to many teachers across the state and country.

Rawls-Smith said the department has received several emails and testimonials on the effectiveness of the training, but it doesn’t have “any official quantitative data” on how it affects student performance.

“It’s an awakening occurring with educators like ‘I just didn’t know what I didn’t know,” said Rawls-Smith.

In the popular podcast series Sold a Story, teachers across the country recount how they realized that their teaching practices were falling short. Cover, the Ferndale teacher, said “you couldn’t unhear what you heard.”

Long hours

Educators told Bridge they spent their nights or weekends on the training. The elementary course can take 137.5 to 168 hours, while the early childhood course is expected to take 32 to 37.5 hours, and the administrator course is expected to take 59 hours.

Still, the Legislature should require “all current and future K–5 educators complete LETRS training within a reasonable timeframe and to fund this mandate” under the resolution the State Board of Education passed last month.

Michigan is not alone in its emphasis on LETRS, which is one of several such reading training programs offered to school districts nationwide.

A screenshot of the Lexia LETRS training on screen. It's highlighting "The Simple View of Reading." — Lexia LETRS training includes live discussions with other teachers learning about the how the brain learns to read. (Courtesy of Lexia)

“We’re talking about roughly half of the United States has some measure of a state level implementation with Lexia LETRS,” said Cassandra Wheeler, national senior education adviser for Lexia. “Either they’re currently experiencing it or they’ve just experienced it.”

In Mississippi, which has outperformed Michigan in fourth grade reading in recent years, leaders have cited teacher training through LETRS as one reason the state has made gains. Mississippi now uses a different training program.

How much has Michigan spent on the training?

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the new education budget into law Tuesday, which includes $10 million for the training.

In the previous four fiscal years, the state put a total of $34 million toward the LETRS training.

Statewide, 5,200 educators have completed the course and another 6,800 educators are in the course, according to an MDE news release.

MDE declined to provide a specific estimate of how much it would cost the state if LETRS training becomes mandatory. “The vendor chosen to provide those services will have to provide competitive pricing based upon the much larger number of teachers that would be trained compared to the number of teachers currently being trained under voluntary LETRS training,” MDE said in a statement.

Trying to turn a massive ship

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Teacher training is one aspect of Michigan’s efforts to improve student literacy. There are funds for high-quality literacy curricula, funding for literacy coaches to help teachers improve skills and new requirements for school districts in the coming years.

LETRS is “not a quick fix,” Tilley, the state board member said, and is only one factor in getting the state to improve its literacy scores. Tilley cited high absenteeism rates as another factor in student performance.

LETRS is not the only option available to teachers. Some districts are choosing programs offered by the University of Florida Literacy Institute, the Institute for Multi-Sensory Education and individual curriculum companies.

Curriculum companies offer teacher training on their specific curriculum, while LETRS is not tied to a specific reading curriculum, often referred to as program agnostic, a selling point for the state.

“The difference is I can take my learning from LETRS and I can apply it to the literacy curriculum that my district is using,” Rawls-Smith, the state official, told state board members last month. “I’ll learn about the brain and how the brain reads. I’ll learn about why children have a difficulty creating those roadmaps in their brain.”

Heidi Winkler, a first grade teacher at Allendale Public Schools, said the district provided teachers with time during the school day to take the training or funds to take the training in the evening. She said she would support requiring the training but teachers should be compensated for their time.

“I feel like this was better than some professional development that you might sit through sometimes that you don’t know when you’re going to be able to use it.”

Heidi Winkler sits at her desk in her classroom. — Heidi Winkler, first grade teacher at Allendale Public Schools, completed the LETRS training. She said she would support requiring the training but teachers should be compensated for their time. (Courtesy photo)

In a recent newsletter, the Edunomics Lab, a research center out of Georgetown University, cautioned that school districts should be judicious with professional development.

“One place to start is by being clear about the student outcomes leaders hope to see from PD — and honest when it doesn’t deliver. A high-cost investment can be worth it if outcomes are growing. But if outcomes are stagnant, it may be time to try something else.”