Michigan’s education crisis FAQ: How important are tests? What about parents?

What has caused Michigan reading scores to fall so far?
How are tests different? Does the age of teachers matter? What about absenteeism?
You have questions. Bridge has answers

How serious are Michigan students middling scores on national tests? What about education funding? How can performance improve?

These are just some of the questions Bridge Michigan has received in our ongoing series about the state of education in Michigan.

Student performance is stagnant or declining on national tests, even as funding and staffing have increased in the past 10 years while the total number of students has declined.

Among the problems: Despite pledging to become a Top 10 state for K-12 education in 2015 and boosting funding by an inflation-adjusted $2.1 billion, Michigan never stuck with reforms long enough to ensure they work.

Lawmakers adopted, then repealed laws that graded schools on performance and required students to pass reading tests to move onto third grade. Since 2013, Michigan has slipped from 38th nationwide in fourth grade reading proficiency to 44th.

Here are common questions and answers.

How do local, state tests and national tests compare?

Schools administer snapshot tests — known as diagnostic or benchmark tests — a few times a year and state tests once a year.

Every two years, some students take a national test called the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP.

Each test and state have different definitions of proficiency. Michigan officials warn that different methodologies means the state M-STEP test should not be compared to the NAEP.

“It is absolutely true that the line of demarcation for proficiency in Michigan might be different in other states,” said Lansing School District Superintendent Ben Shuldiner. “And so when you say somebody is on grade level, you can actually be on grade level in Michigan and not be proficient.”

That can be confusing for parents, Shuldiner acknowledged, but the goal should be a student is on grade level and proficiency, regardless of the definition.

Why are scores so bad?

There may be a lot of factors, but one is that children simply aren’t in school: Nearly 1 in 3 students were chronically absent, or missing 10% or more of a school year in the 2023-2024 school year.

Nationwide, during the 2022-2023 school year, there were eight states with higher chronic absenteeism and 36 states with lower rates, according to the Education Recovery Scorecard.

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Districts have tried to address the issue, but researchers acknowledge there are factors outside of the school’s control including poverty.

“We know that absences have a negative impact on student performance on test scores, that’s very well established in research,” said University of Michigan-Flint assistant professor Jeremy Singer. “And we also know from some studies since the pandemic, that that relationship between test scores and attendance is still there.”

Did Michigan invest big in schools or are they underfunded?

Michigan schools are at record funding.

Overall, Michigan ranks in the top half of states in per-pupil funding, with an average of $17,535 per student in 2022-23. That’s more than 32 other states.

But advocates say funding for low-income schools is near the bottom nationally, and a study by the Education Law Center claims schools need another $4.5 billion per year atop the $21 billion K-12 budget.

Since 2013, year-over-year spending on schools is well above the rate of inflation. Leaders from Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to Republican candidates for governor like Mike Cox have said scores should be higher considering the state’s investment in education.

Do these schools have enough staff?

Districts have boosted staffing in recent years, but district leaders also report having trouble finding strong teachers.

A Bridge Michigan analysis of state data reveals the number of administrators, teachers and aides working in public schools jumped almost 14% in the past decade, even while enrollment dropped 9%.

Statewide, there were nearly 21,000 more aides in public schools in 2024 than a decade earlier.

The state is at an “all-time” high for the number of teachers with a temporary credential, according to research from Michigan State University’s Education Policy Innovation Collaborative.

In all, 8% of full-time teacher positions in Michigan are now filled by non-certified teachers or those with interim teacher certificates. They are allowed through a program that allows those with bachelor degrees to work as a teacher while completing training.

Students learn in an eighth grade class at a Michigan school in the Holt Public School District on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. — (Annie Barker for Bridge Michigan)

Is teacher training working?

States including Mississippi say literacy test scores improved after teachers were trained in a body of research called the “science of reading.” This includes knowing what different sounds letters and blends of letters make and being able to understand the meaning of words and sentences.

The teacher training was previously done through Lexia’s Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling, often referred to as “LETRS.”

Michigan has dedicated $34 million for LETRS training and 5,000 educators have completed it so far. The training is optional but outgoing State Superintendent Michael Rice is urging lawmakers to make the training mandatory.

Teachers can also receive support from literacy coaches at the local district or intermediate school district level.

Districts use several types of tests to measure student progress and share data with the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA). The group organizes a network of literacy coaches.

There’s indication it works. In classrooms that worked with coaches and reported their results score, 73.7% of students met or exceeded expectations in the coached area of study.

As some districts struggle with staff turnover, state-funded literacy coaches are training new teachers on skills such as classroom management along with literacy instruction skills, said Michelle Goaley, project director of early literacy professional learning at MAISA.

Several school district leaders told Bridge that teacher training is a factor for how their districts have bucked statewide literacy trends.

Are test scores a good measure of students and schools?

Most agree that scores are one measure of success. How important are they? Depends who you ask.

“NAEP scores and M-STEP scores are speaking loud and clear for Michigan: our young readers are still suffering and they need literacy intervention through higher quality literacy curriculum, direct and explicit phonics based instruction, and individual help when and where needed to address the meaningful growth that is necessary,” said Nikki Snyder, a Republican member of the State Board of Education.

Her Democratic colleague, Mitchell Robinson, said standardized tests are valuable but not so much as quizzes and tests from teachers. He contended that students don’t take state assessments seriously.

“I value assessment, I think most teachers do. But what we value is for assessments to be fair and relevant.”

He said state tests are measuring third grade students who come from vastly different backgrounds and who attend schools that have different ways of being funded.

Crayons sit in a bin at a Michigan school in the Holt Public School District on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. — (Annie Barker for Bridge Michigan)

Third-grade scores are low, but Michigan’s graduation rate is at an all-time high. Are there efforts to push schools to hold students back?

School district leaders can still choose to hold a student back. But the Legislature repealed a state law in 2023 requiring schools to hold third graders who were significantly behind in reading skills.

Schools were expected to start holding students back after the 2019-2020 school year but the pandemic stopped state testing from happening. After that, schools reported few students actually being held back. Parent exemptions were the biggest reason for students to move onto the fourth grade.

Some Michigan Republicans have tried to bring back the third-grade retention rule. House Republicans proposed a state budget that includes using test scores to determine if students should be held back. School groups, Democrats and teacher unions oppose mandatory retention laws.

In order to graduate, high school students must meet state graduation requirements. Local districts can create their own rules as well.

If high school graduation rates are up, are more Michigan kids going to college?

No. Statewide, 82.83% of high schoolers are graduating within four years. But fewer graduates are going off to college.

Only 53.4% of the class of 2024 enrolled in college within six months of graduating. That’s down from 62.2% in 2019 and 54.6% in 2020, according to Bridge analysis of state data.

Enrollment has flatlined even as the state has poured hundreds of millions into the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, which offers up to $5,500 a year for qualifying students who attend four-year schools and up to full tuition for two-year schools, in an effort to make higher education more affordable.

Where can I learn more?

Bridge regularly publishes stories about Michigan education. You can find other relevant stories here. You can also sign up for our free Education Watch newsletter.