MIDLAND, Michigan – The damage caused by pandemic-related school closures is evident in the results of the 2024 Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress, released today by the Michigan Department of Education.
Third- and fourth-graders’ English and math proficiency rates in the 2023-24 school year were well below the levels of the 2018-19 school year. Students who first took M-STEP as third-graders began kindergarten in the 2020-21 school year. This year’s proficiency rates were also lower compared to rates for the same grades last year.
Michigan has had some of the longest school closures in the country. In March 2021, only 23% of Michigan schools were fully in-person, significantly lower than neighboring states Ohio (47%), Wisconsin (54%), and Indiana (76%). Throughout 2021, students were continually denied additional resources that would have allowed them access to tutoring and other academic support. Governor Whitmer vetoed three bills that would have helped families cover the cost of tutoring, remedial programs, and literacy coaches.
The federal government’s massive COVID spending has done little to promote student success. Although districts received roughly $6 billion in COVID money, most chose to spend the funds on increasing existing staff salaries rather than on evidence-based interventions. The average public school received more than $4,600 extra per student in federal funds, with lower-income districts like Flint receiving more than $51,000 per student.
“The latest M-STEP results demonstrate the negative impact of school closures during the pandemic, especially on students beginning their elementary school education,” said Molly Macek, director of education policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. “These early years are a critical time for children to develop literacy and other skills that will equip them for success in the future. While it is abundantly clear that students across the state are falling behind, Governor Whitmer and the Legislature seem determined to lower academic standards and accountability through legislation that will reduce the quality of education in Michigan’s public schools.”
New laws weakening educational standards and accountability include the recent repeal of the third-grade reading law and the A-F grading system, as well as the reversal of 2011 reforms affecting teacher evaluation and placement.
Learn more about the Mackinac Center’s educational work here.
