Michigan test scores lag again; students fall farther behind peers in reading

• Michigan students continue to perform below their peers nationwide
• Thirty-one states scored higher in fourth grade reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress
• The state’s scores are worse since before the pandemic

Michigan students who were in kindergarten when the pandemic began remain behind their peers nationwide in reading and math, according to results of a national test known as the “nation’s report card.”

Released today, the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress shows Michigan fourth and eighth graders continue to lag the national average.

“We have work to do,” said Michael Rice, Michigan’s state superintendent. 

Michigan students’ average score was lower in reading than the last time the test was administered, in 2022. Math scores were up for fourth graders in Michigan but fell among eighth graders.

The test also measures the percentage of students considered proficient in a subject. In reading, just 24% of Michigan fourth graders were deemed proficient in 2024, down from 28% in 2022 and well below the 30% nationally in 2024, down from 32% in 2022.

In math, 37% of Michigan fourth graders were proficient last year, up from 32%. Nationally, 40% of their peers were proficient in 2024, up from 35% in 2022. 

Thirty-one states scored higher in fourth-grade reading than Michigan, which was tied, statistically, with 18 states, according to NAEP. 

In fourth-grade math, Michigan’s average score was bested by 16 states, was statistically the same as 29 others, and better than six states.

It was a similar trend for eighth graders, 24% of whom were proficient in math, down from 26% and below the US average of 27%. In reading, 24% of Michigan students were proficient, down from 28% and below the national average.

Twenty-five states had higher math scores, among eighth graders, 18 were the same and eight were lower. In reading, 18 states had higher average scores, 26 were statistically the same and seven were lower.

“At the highest level, we’re far from fully recovered from the impact of the pandemic,” said Dan Goldhaber, a researcher who studies student achievement and member of the National Center for Education Statistics standing committee.

“We’re far from recovery, and it looks like recovery — where it exists — is pretty uneven,” Goldhaber said.

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The biennial test includes students from traditional public, charter and private schools from across the country. Nationwide, 235,000 fourth grade students took the test from 6,100 schools. There were 230,000 eighth grade students who took the test from 5,400 schools. 

Students took the test between January and March. 

The state’s scores have worsened since before the pandemic. They decreased in reading for both grades and in math for the eighth grade. There was no significant change in fourth grade math compared to pre pandemic. 

“There are going to be a lot more kids than we would hope are going to struggle with later life schooling and labor market outcomes,” Goldhaber said, referring to national trends. “Because there is a pretty strong connection between how well kids do on tests and their later life outcomes.” 

Demographic differences

State comparisons are complicated by demography — the racial, gender and socioeconomic distribution of students who took the test differed substantially. And when NAEP reported that minority students and those who are considered “economically disadvantaged” scored far lower than those who were neither, those differences in demography often tracked the differences in overall statewide scores.

For instance, 19% of fourth graders in the Michigan test group were Black and 54% were economically disadvantaged and the state had consistently lower scores than Massachusetts, one of the highest performing states. But only 39% of that state’s test group was considered economically disadvantaged and just 7% were Black.

Still, the NAEP data mirrors other test results that found many students who entered kindergarten and first grade during the early days of the pandemic are still struggling to catch up in reading.

The Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress, known as the M-STEP, showed reading and writing proficiency among Michigan third and fourth graders was at a 10-year low in spring 2024.

Additionally, benchmark assessments given to compare scores for individual Michigan K-8 students in each spring and fall showed fewer third and fourth graders were proficient in reading in 2023-24 compared to previous years.

But students made significant progress in improving math achievement scores on the benchmark assessments since the 2020-21 school year.

The NAEP test and the M-STEP have different definitions of proficiency. 

NAEP results are reported by the percentages of students who performed at three achievement levels– basic, proficient, and advanced. On the NAEP, a proficient score does not equate to grade-level proficiency.

One of the big differences between NAEP and other assessments is that it is lower stakes for students, said Tara Kilbride, assistant director for research at the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative. 

Assessments like M-STEP play a role in state accountability, and other exams can inform the direction teachers take in instruction for individual students.

The NAEP can be helpful as a “pulse check” to see how Michigan students are progressing compared to the rest of the country, said Kilbride.

An analysis by researchers at Harvard and Stanford universities last year found Michigan’s recovery ranked 17th out of the 28 states when comparing 2023 M-STEP results with other states’ proficiency data.

How is Michigan addressing its literacy woes?

Under Republican leadership, Michigan lawmakers created a law that outlined steps school districts had to take when students were significantly behind in reading on the M-STEP. 

Starting with the 2019-2020 school year, schools were expected to hold some students back if they did not meet expectations. But the pandemic hit and schools held back very few students in the following year. Democrats ended the third-grade retention requirement in 2023.

After the 2024 M-STEP results were released, Michigan lawmakers passed legislation to include the “science of reading” in early literacy curriculum. 

The “science of reading” refers to a body of knowledge that emphasizes phonics along with building vocabulary and background knowledge.

Districts will have to comply with many of the provisions in the bill package by 2027-28.

“If the legislation does result in more students being screened and receiving interventions, it could result in improved early literacy outcomes,” said Kilbride.

States such as Tennessee and Mississippi that have passed similar bills made big improvements in reading scores on state proficiency assessments.

Currently, Michigan schools do not have to follow a set reading curriculum, though the MDE gives guidance on using evidence-based programs.

Reading lessons may vary widely within districts and even within classrooms in the same school, according to a 2022 policy brief by EPIC. Many of the districts that responded to EPIC’s survey were using poorly rated or unrated lesson plans. 

Venessa Keesler, president and CEO of Launch Michigan, a bipartisan nonprofit group working to reform Michigan education, told Bridge it’s common for people to use NAEP scores to further their talking points. But, she said, Michigan has put measures in place to help with literacy improvement, including literacy coaching and investments in training. 

“I think we need to be more focused on making sure every district has a research-based reading curriculum, and I think we need to make sure that there’s more focus on instructional practice and instructional walkthroughs,” Keesler said.

In the current state education budget, there is $87 million allocated for the Michigan Department of Education to create a “committee for literacy achievement” that will evaluate literacy materials, professional development and tools. The group will rank these items, and then districts can apply for funding and receive more funds for highly ranked items. 

“We don’t have to be stuck in the bad news. But we have to be honest about the bad news and then be honest about what how we look at what we’re doing and get more focused and hone in on improving outcomes for kids.”

‘A reset is needed’

Marguerite Roza, director of Georgetown University’s Edunomics Lab research center, said Michigan and the rest of the country shouldn’t wait for sobering wake up calls like NAEP results to make changes.

“I think a reset is needed,” she said. “This kind of urgency is needed much more frequently.”

Roza said while it’s a positive sign there was some action from Michigan lawmakers on reading instruction last year, committing to making changes in 2027 “isn’t the kind of action we need.”

Jennifer Mrozowski, senior director for external relations and strategic communications at the nonpartisan research and advocacy nonprofit Education Trust-Midwest, said Michigan needs to continue increasing its weighted funding for students considered to be at-risk.

“New investment should come with greater fiscal transparency and accountability, including systems to make sure that funding for students with the greatest needs reaches their schools,” she added.

Chronic absenteeism continues to impact achievement 

Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Educational Statistics, said chronic absenteeism likely impacted NAEP scores.

“We have seen an improvement in chronic absenteeism,” she said. “It's not where it needs to be, but it's particularly noteworthy among the lower performing students.”

Michigan has long had high rates of chronic absenteeism, which is defined as students missing 10% or more of the school year.

In 2023-24, 29.5% of Michigan students were chronically absent — a significantly higher percentage compared to the last pre-pandemic school year when it was 19.7% of students.