CLOSUP Student Working Paper Series Number 51 November 2018 Michigan’s 3rd Grade Reading Law: A Harmful Solution to the Literacy Crisis Alexandrea Somers, University of Michigan This paper is available online at http://closup.umich.edu Papers in the CLOSUP Student Working Paper Series are written by students at the University of Michigan. This paper was submitted as part of the Fall 2018 course PubPol 475-750 Michigan Politics and Policy, that is part of the CLOSUP in the Classroom Initiative. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy or any sponsoring agency Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy University of Michigan
Transcript
CLOSUP Student Working Paper Series Number 51
November 2018
Michigan’s 3rd Grade Reading Law: A Harmful Solution to the Literacy Crisis
Alexandrea Somers, University of Michigan
This paper is available online at http://closup.umich.edu
Papers in the CLOSUP Student Working Paper Series are written by students at the University of Michigan. This paper was submitted as part of the Fall 2018 course PubPol 475-750 Michigan Politics and Policy,
that is part of the CLOSUP in the Classroom Initiative.
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy or any sponsoring agency
Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
University of Michigan
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Alexandrea Somers
PubPol 475-003
November 27, 2018
Michigan’s 3rd Grade Reading Law: A Harmful Solution to the Literacy Crisis
Introduction
Only one in two Michigan 3rd graders were proficient in reading at the end of 2015,
according to the M-STEP, and this number is only decreasing (EdTrust Midwest, 2017). The M-
STEP is the Michigan Student Test of Education Assessment, an annual standardized test for
Michigan 3rd through 8th grade students intended to accurately measure student learning and
achievement. Michigan is one of the few states with decreasing reading performance, which has
sparked concern among stakeholders like researchers and policymakers who believe that students
must stay at on grade level to be ready for lives as engaged citizens.
In 2016, the Michigan State Legislature passed HB 4822, also known as the 3rd grade
reading law. This law created three major changes. First, effective immediately were two
guaranteed years of funding to provide literacy coaches across the state. Over the two years, $80
million was spread across the state to encourage hiring more reading specialists. Second, the 3rd
grade reading law created IRIPs, an Individualized Reading Intervention Plan for every student
at-risk of scoring below proficiency on the year-end 3rd grade M-STEP.The IRIP is a twenty
page template that teachers are expected to fill out for their students, which details a plan for how
they will work with the student and family to bring the student up to grade level. Finally, and
most disputed, is mandatory retention for all 3rd grade students who perform more than a grade
level below on the M-STEP. Unless a studenth has an IEP, an Individual Education Plan for a
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learning disability, or is exempted by their school superintendent, every underperforming student
will be held back.
Mandatory retention will not help Michigan students read better. Instead, it raises the
stakes on the M-STEP without providing adequate resources to catch students up. In a
educational system that does not effectively address the needs of low-income, minority, and
English Language Learning students, holding them back as if they have the same opportunity as
high SES students whose scores are also decreasin is unfairg. Mandatory retention is not an
effective solution to low 3rd grade reading achievement. In fact, I argue that it is harmful,
especially in the long run. I will discuss how the law came into existence in Michigan and
compare it to other states. Based on this analysis, I recommend three different approaches to
increasing reading achievement among Michigan students that do not rely on mandatory
retention.
Literature Review
Researchers that study the effects of retention provide mixed arguments, but ultimately
find no positive long term effects. Scientist from the RAND Corporation, Nailing Xia and
Sheily Kirby, systematically compiled more than 170 studies about the effects of retention on
students since the 1980s. They focused on 91 strong studies to understand what the internally
valid literature shared in common. The paper, “Retained Students in Grade” found that on
average, retention does not benefit students and makes them more likely to drop out. Retained
students were less likely to go to college because any performance improvement after being
retained is usually short-term (Xia and Kirby, 2009).
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The literature that studies the short term effects of retention expresese concern over the
increased likelihood of continued low achievement if students are socially promoted. “Socal
promotion” is when underperforming students are moved to the next grade to avoid the stigma
and loss of peer relationships that would reslt if they repeated the grade. Some researchers are
worried that social promotion prompts undesired outcomes like higher high school dropout rates
and lower enrollment in postsecondary education. The worries of social promotion are small in
comparison to the harms of retention which mulitiples the same concerns. Education research Dr.
Andrew J. Martin found that the harms of retention include reduced homework completetion and
achievement and increased absences and misbehavior (Martin, 2011). Researchers have
analyzed how retention further harms their educational attainment.
Michigan Context
When HB 4228 was voted on in the house, every Democratic representative voted against
it. With less local officials selecting their schools as better, there is more at stake. Most urban
centers with higher numbers of racial groups, English Language Learners, and concentrations of
economically disadvantaged elect Democratic local officials and Legislature representatives.
They did not want to pass a harmful bill. Yet, their superminiorty made their vote powerless. On
the other hand, every Republican representative voted for it. The unanimous party line divide
questions if the representatives voted to truly represent their community or to cater to party lines.
The Michigan State Legislature’s education policy does not match the communities it is
supposed to represent. Michigan schools are predominantly local institutions however, items like
the 3rd grade reading law have a top-down approach. While lawmakers in the Legislature are
worried about aggregate performance, local officials have a specific student population to serve.
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According to the Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS) that provides, now, annual surveys to
every elected local government official in Michigan about their perspective on the current state
of affairs, the majority of local government officials viewed their elementary schools as average
or better than the crisis the Legislature presented. In figure 1A, the local officials were asked “In
your opinion, how do students in your community compare with others in the state in terms of
elementary school achievement?” and the results were separated by a three point party affiliation.
Figure 1A. MPPS Spring 2012 Percentage Response by Party Affiliation
*Respondants who did not indicate a party affiliation were removed.
Source: Michigan Publib Policy Survey Data Tables 2012
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The figure shows that in 2012, local government officials were on average not concerned
about their elementary schools. And for good reason. In 2012, the state was still using the MEAP
test, the pre cursor to the M-STEP that had lower standards. Tests scores were not a concern with
the MEAP test. Nevertheless, democrats had a higher proportion of average responses while
more republican local officials said their schools were doing better than average. So, when the
standards change, the ones impacted the most are the schools with average performance because
higher standards means average is no longer good enough.
Figure 2B. MI School Data 3rd Grade Student Assessment Performance Trend 2012-2017
Source: Michigan Department of Education and CEPI. MI School Data. mischooldata.org
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The M-STEP has changed the understanding of achievement in Michigan. As soon as the
No Child Left Behind act ended in 2014, the state implemented a new test that was more
rigorous. However, that showed a lower competence in both math and English language arts.
Under the MEAP test, approximately two thirds of 3rd graders were proficicent. With the
MSTEP, a quarter or less or proficient. And we are trending downward. This is alarming for any
state, however in order to address this, there must be high-impact, effective interventions that
promote learning for every Michigan student.
In reality, the 3rd grade reading law is arbitraty. The Michigan Department of Education
has not yet set a cut off point for the M-STEP that would make students get left behind.
According the Michigan State University researchers, more than 800 Michigan 3rd graders are
retained each year. The 3rd grade reading law, depending on the cut off point, could retain over
45,000 students, 22,000 students, 17,000 or over 3,000. If the cut off is decided according to how
the law is written, it would be 45,000 students, which accounts for 43.85% of Michigan 3rd
graders (Winke & Zheng, 2018). That would drastically change infrasture and change school
funding. Spending an extra year of school for 45,000 students means the general school fund
would be divided amoung 45,000 students again and would shrink one of the lowest per pupil
expenditures in the country. Mandatory retention will harm not only Michigan 3rd graders, but
the entire K12 education system.
Interstate Comparison
California was the first to adopt mandatory retention in 1998. However, students could be
exempted through a teacher recommendations (Weyer, 2018). Teachers are very accessible to the
parents compared to the Michigan law that only allows for exemptions based on superintendent
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recommendation. More information is needed to access this person. Michigan has a trend of
consolidating school districts to create bigger ones, and districts in large cities already have
structural barriers for parents to get in contact with a superintendent with whom they rarely
interact with. While California is the first state to adopt the law, a conversation with a teacher
with whom the student interacts with frequently and the smaller scope of the teacher allows more
students to be advocated for.
Florida set the groundwork for mandatory retention acros the country. While California
was the first to adopt it, Florida’s strict rules were the foundation for many states that have
adopted similar policies. The short term benefits that conservative education reform professors,
Jay Greene and Marcus Winter, found helped popularized the idea (Greene & Winter, 2002).
This study neglected to share its weak generalizability. As well of use of pressure of the
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) allowed for republican representatives in more
than two thirds of the states with the same language. Then on the floor of the respective state
legislature states had different slightly different requirements, some had optional retention, some
had more exemptions (Workman, 2014). As consequence, locally controlled schools are made to
abide by top-down policy from Florida policy that treats its finding as generalizable. This sets a
dangerous pattern as ALEC has passed many bills in multiple states in a similar manner. It’s
dangerous because state politics can easily become national politics that are not representing the
needs of the people representatives are speaking on the behalf of. What is ironic is that while
Florida laid the foundation, it had its mandatory retention went to court in 2017 as the result of a
court case (Postal, 2017). The illegal and harmful consequences of not only implementing the
policy, but inconsistent adoption harm even more students. Compared to Michigan, Florida's law
is very strict. However, the lawsuit can signal the potential consequences of mandatory
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rentention in Michigan since it is a large state serving lots of kids. Michigan residents do not
desire a policy designed for Florida.
In 2012, the Ohio State Legislature passed their own version of a mandatory retention bill
knows as the reading guarantee. Ohio is comparable to Michigan in a few regards. It is a state
that neighbors Michigan, had a moderate republican governor sign in the bill like Michigan, and
has a few large urban centers that contain large populations of low-income, minority students as
well as rural areas. Laurie Banks found that the law did not change achievement. It changed after
Ohio administered a new standardized test, for which the state partnered with the American
Institute for Research, and then achievement declined (Banks, 2018). Ohio is one example of
how mandatory retention is not beneficial for students’ achievement. Yet, they still have to face
the consequences that are tied to retention.
Recommendation
The education system in Michigan is failing its students. It is not just because teachers
and parents are not working hard enough. But a solution like mandatory retention acts like it is. I
recommend that the state of Michigan tackles the decline of achievement through a wholistic
approach that address structually problems in the institution. If education is a true priority, they
must make decisions that intervene in the acts that perpetuate low achievement. Thus, I
recommend that the Michigan education system addresses early literacy with preschool, stops
equating the M-STEP as an indicator of learning, and supports teachers so that they have the
energy and resources to ensure student learning.
I recommend that reading interventions are targeted earlier than 3rd grade. While the
Annie E. Casey Foundation report says that 3rd grade is an early warning, it is not early enough
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(Fiester, 2010). By 3rd grade, students are expected reading fluently; if a student is not there it is
costly to fill in the gap especially in a short amount of time. Thus, it’s important to prevent
reading deficits when the disparities are smaller. The easiest area for identification is preschool.
A educational psychologists found statistically significant gains in achievement when schools
focused on intensive reading interventions earlier, as in first grade, compared to second and third
(Carlisle, Cortina, & Zheng, 2010). In 3rd grade, it is too late. Retention does not have long term
impacts compared to starting at some of the first years of schooling.
I recommend high-quality, universal preschool because it is a proactive mechanism that
aids students with an additional year of schooling. Retaining students makes them repeat the
same curriculum and after a few years, has no gains in performance (Xia and Sheila, 2009). So,
if Michigan adopted universal preschool in lieu of retaining 3rd grade students, a high quality
program would proactively give vulnerable students the skills to thrive early on and in the long
run. Educational psychologist found that intentional play in preschool gave low-income students
the pre-literacy skills that had long-term benefits to reading achievement (Nicolopoulou, Cortina,
Ilgaz, Cates, & de Sá, 2015). Thus, intentional preschool programs for all students, but especially
those without access could reduce the gap in reading deficits. One of the most successful high-
quality pre-school programs occurred in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The Highschope Perry School
Study was effectively implemented to support students at both school and home. It decreased
entry to jail, increased test scores, and post secondary enrollment (Scheweinhart, Montie, Xiang,
Barnett, Belfield, & Nores, 2005). This kind of proactive work would require great coordination
in the state, but if entities like the Legislature and the Michigan Department of Education really
wanted to increase reading achievement at crucial grades, access to high quality preschool and
proactively supporting students needs to be a priority.
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I recommend curriculum that coincides with the M-STEP. Testing is intended to reflect
content learned to provide an accurate measurement. If a class has a majority of students who are
behind in a subject and tested on materials that they have never seen, then achievement will be
low and inaccurate because it is not a test of what they learned. Some might argue that the
purpose of the standardized test is to compare all students, but it structurally depends on a
proportion of students never reaching proficiency. Instead they depend on student’s low
socioeconomic status household and school setting is not conducive for standardized test
achievement. For example, English Language Learners would be severly punished. While they
represent approximately 10% of Michigan 3rd graders, it is projected that they would have over
40% of them retained with the accurate cut off (Winke & Zheng, 2018). In this regard, the M-
STEP is not accounting for the root causes that make students not proficient.
The comparison of students has led to the unjust, inequitable 3rd grade reading law that
will further harm students by making it more likely that they will drop out of high school and
discourage college enrollment (Xia and Sheila, 2009). Thus, standardized test must carefully
choose the consequences of its high-stakes test. Without the proper system that treats students
fairly according to their surroundings. Penfield analyzes how retention as a consequence for a
standardized test goes against the established rules for them (Penfield, 2010). Thus, there is gaps
in the actions Legislature policy-makers make and what is researched and decided on as the
established intentions. I recommend a corresponding curriculum in order to accurately test
learning and knowledge. I do not argue for a standardized curriculum across the state because
that can cause many issues with a locally-controlled entity. Instead, teachers should have
resources to make a curriculum that corresponds to the test so that the materials are taught
throughout the year and the M-STEP can accurate test knowledge that the students have learned.
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This will only work well with less disparity between students which high-quality universal
preschool can alleviate. Curriculum must match the test and if Michigan can unify the school
system to prepare for the M-STEP, that will aid in student achievement.
I recommend that every student is treated equitably. If schools expect students to enter
the school year with a certain number of words in their vocabulary, decided on understandings of
the word, and uniform behavior, schools much work to fill in the gaps for students who are not at
the same expectation. One area to create equity for students is to fill in gaps of human capital.
Student with low socioeconomic status are the most effected by a law like mandatory retention
and would be punished for being poor. Willingham discusses that teaching students emotional
control, appropriate social interactions with authority, time management, and more can really
help students get the soft skills necessary for navigating the society that are honed well in high
SES households. Equity would mean using teaching time to also reinforce practice of societal
expectations.
I recommend that proficiency standards are met with effective researched interventions
that allow children to succeed. It’s one thing to have high standards, and equally as important to
have to tools to meet them (Willingham, 2012). Currently, the 3rd grade reading law has one—
meet the standard. The tools like individualized reading plans and small increases in literacy
coaches are not getting to the core issue of the Michigan public school system. In order to reach
the high standards, literacy coaches must increase a signfiiant amount. In the third grade reading
law, there was enough funding for mayb 1-2 more literacy coaches per school. In a district like
Detroit Public Schools Community District where less than 10% of students are proficient, two
literacy coaches in overcrowded, short-staffed schools will not make a meaningful difference.
Thus, I recommend that each classroom of Michigan schools gets one literacy coach which
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effectively creates access to two adults in a classroom. One effective policy to boost achievement
is to reduce class size. While it is hard to find 50% to 100% more school space, it is feasible to
increase the amount of adults working in a space.
I recommend more ways to decrease the burden off of the teacher. Teachers are less
effective with high stress, fatigue, and spaces to share their frustration (Herman, Hickmon-Rosa,
& Reinke, 2017). Thus, teachers must be better resources to first take care of themselves so that
they can take care of their students. I recommend that teacher aides are implemented in the K12
school system. An aide will help complete tasks that take lots of time in a teachers day and
contribute to burn out. I also recommend that teachers are better compensated for the long hours
they work, not only in salary, but in other incentives like travel, tax exemptions, and consumer
benefits. As the service careers are more popularized, self-care must be ingrained in the culture
of the workplace. On college campus, there are little things like sun lamps and massage chairs.
What if those same things were in teacher lounges across the state. Tools that alleviate burnout
can be small or large, but if they are present, they commnicate a message of appreciation. In a
time where teachers across the country have been on strike because of unfair working conditions,
it is important that their needs are met. Care for teachers will translate into better performance
that increases the mood of all in the classroom.
Conclusion
Overall, I recommend that mandatory retention is repealed in Michigan. This intervention
does not have enough research to say it causes increases in student achievement. It is not a policy
that is neutral, instead, it will harm too many students and continue to sink Michigan's poor
performance in high school graduation and bachelor’s degree attainment compared to other
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states. While other states have adopted a similar policy it has only increased the stakes on
standardized test. Michigan’s adoption of the policy will not increase student achievement. If
that is a sincere goal, then there needs to be more proactive measures taken. Students must have
access to high quality preschool. Students must take tests that match their curriculum. Teachers
must get the resources to focus on teaching. Without these mechanisms, achievement cannot be
expected to increase.
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References
Banks, L. A. (2018). Understanding implementation, student outcomes, and educational
leadership related to ohio's third grade reading guarantee (Order No. 10760346).
Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (2019962673). Retrieved from
