LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Michigan’s K-12 public school students passed 87.3% of their classes in 2023-24 on average, according to a new report from the state’s Center for Educational Performance and Information (CEPI).

James Hines, spokesman for CEPI, gave an example of how the calculations were done.

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“For example, if a district had three Math courses, and each course had 25 students, 20 of whom were reported as passing in each class, the calculation for Math courses in that district would be:

60 courses reported as Completed/Passed divided by 75 total courses reported = 80% of courses passed.”

Michael Van Beek, research director for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, said that nearly 9 out of 10 students passing courses seemed high considering the state’s documented struggles academically.

For example, just 40% of third graders were found to be proficient or better in English Language Arts in the state M-STEP and PSAT tests in 2023-24.

Van Beek pointed to the statewide four-year graduation rate of 83% in 2024.

“It’s in line with graduation rates. It’s not surprising in that sense – schools are hesitant to fail kids because it means more work for employees. Easier to pass them along,” Van Beek said in an email to Michigan News Source.

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Van Beek also questioned how reliable the data was. There were some school districts that reported to the state that their percentage of courses passed was in the 40% range.

At least one district is saying their data is not accurate.

River Rouge reported having a courses-passed percentage of 41%. River Rouge Superintendent Derrick Coleman said in an email to Michigan News Source that was not accurate and his staff was looking into the correct data.