LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – In the face of alarming national statistics showing that 40% of U.S. students cannot read at a basic level, Michigan says it is taking steps to address this issue. Superintendent of Public Instruction Michael Rice introduced Michigan’s Top 10 Strategic Plan, a statewide initiative aimed to strengthen academic achievement.
One of the plan’s eight goals is to improve early literacy achievement. In 2024, roughly 60% of Michigan students tested below proficiency on the M-STEP grade three ELA test. On the National Assessment of Educational Progress test, only 25% of the state’s students tested at or above proficiency. The national average for the NAEP test was 30%.
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Last year, the NAEP ranked Michigan 44th in the nation for fourth-grade reading and 31st for eighth-grade math.
Michigan administered ISD Literacy Coaches to assist teachers in developing and implementing instructional strategies for students from pre-Kindergarten to fifth grade to meet their grade-level reading proficiency.
Rice outlined four literacy legislative recommendations to improve early literacy in Michigan:
- Mandatory LETRS training for K-5 classroom teachers. This training will teach educators how to instruct students in learning language.
- Implement low class sizes in high poverty K-3 classrooms.
- Double next year’s funding for Section 35m, for high quality, early literacy materials for districts. This year, the state spent $87 million on funding for this program. Section 35m established the Committee for Literacy Achievement (CLA) that “critically evaluated early literacy series and materials, literacy tools and services, and professional development.”
- Increase in-person student instructional time.
Rice said that professional development should not be carved out of student instructional time. The pandemic showed that virtual days were inferior to in-person learning days, according to Rice.
Although literacy rates are down, Rice acknowledged that the graduation rate of 82.8% is the highest in state history. Additionally, there is about a 26% increase in the number of AP exams taken in the last two years, and a 31% increase in the number of students scoring 3, 4, or 5 on AP exams.
Rep. Steve Carra (R-Three Rivers) said he thinks a lot of the funding proposals that were made have been non-education related funding requests.
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“I think if we can focus on reading, writing and arithmetic, getting back to the basics, we’ll do better,” Carra said. “I encourage the department to focus on that.”
Rep. Josh Schriver (R-Oxford) suggested a voucher program to promote homeschooling to make class sizes smaller.