LANSING (WWJ) — A new report card out Wednesday for Michigan’s third graders shows failing grades in reading for many elementary students.
State education officials say while elementary students showed improvements in math, the latest M-STEP test scores in reading declined from 2023 levels.
The latest test scores show third and fourth grade scores have still not rebounded to pre-pandemic levels. According to the Michigan Department of Education, 45% of third graders in 2019 scored proficient or higher in reading on the test.
But this year, scores dipped below 40% for the first time — the lowest scores for Michigan in 10 years.
In the state’s largest school district, Detroit Public Schools Community District, 11.7% of third graders scored proficient or advanced on the reading test, compared with 12.4% last year. However, fifth graders’ scores showed significant gains — from 11.6% last year to 15.4% this year.
EdTrust-Midwest is reacting to the news, saying the latest scores show there’s “an urgent need” to invest more in Michigan students, particularly those who are underserved. And they're urging passage of legislation to make sure Michigan kids are reading at or above grade levels.
Jennifer Mrozowski, Senior Director, Strategic Communications and External Relations for EdTrust-Midwest, is urging state lawmakers and leaders to “fully fund the Opportunity Index, which directs additional resources to districts based on their concentration of poverty.”
“Along with additional investments, state leaders should put in place transparent statewide systems to make sure these investments are being spent on strategies targeted at raising student achievement,” Mrozowski said in a statement released Wednesday.
She also urged lawmakers to pass spending legislation that would work to address “one of the greatest barriers to early reading: dyslexia.”
“Senate Bills 567 and 568 would require schools to screen early elementary students for characteristics of dyslexia and provide multi-tier levels of support for students who demonstrate those characteristics. These interventions would be research based with a track record of proven effectiveness in teaching students how to read,” she said, noting key parts of the proposed law would require universities to provide specific training to future teachers on how to instruct students with dyslexia.
M-Step scores for every district in the state can be found here.