LANSING, Mich. -- The Michigan Department of Education has released the results of some state tests, and they show that students performed better than last year in most grades and in most subjects.
The state says the percentage of students who scored as proficient or advanced increased on 13 of 20 tests, was the same on one test, and decreased on six tests. Students improved in grades 3 through 7 on the state-administered M-STEP math tests. Math scores declined on the SAT college entrance tests taken by 11th graders.
M-STEP is an acronym for Michigan Student Test of Educational Programs. It is a computer-based assessment of how well students are mastering state standards. It is designed to provide a comprehensive view of student progress. The SAT is a standardized test used for college admissions. It is administered on behalf of the nonprofit College Board by the Educational Testing Service.
Here are full details from an MDE news release:
The percentage of students who scored as proficient or advanced increased on 13 of 20 tests, was the same on one test, and decreased on six tests. Improvements were particularly noteworthy on the state-administered M-STEP math tests, with Michigan’s students improving at all grades tested on the M-STEP – grades 3-7 – for the second year in a row. These results continue the progress from last year, when Michigan students improved on 15 of 20 assessments.
“We are encouraged to see continued gradual improvement in proficiency levels measured on most M-STEP and SAT/PSAT tests, particularly on M-STEP math assessments,” said State Superintendent Dr. Michael F. Rice. “These results reflect hard work by students and educators and investments in education by the governor and legislature. That said, much work remains, both instructionally and financially, for needed supports to students.”
Proficiency rates measured on the English Language Arts tests improved in grades 5, 7, and 8, remained the same in grade 6 and decreased in grades 3, 4, and 11. Proficiency rates in social studies improved for all grades tested, grades 5, 8, and 11, for the second consecutive year. In science, proficiency rates improved in grades 5 and 8 and decreased in grade 11. Math scores declined on the PSAT test administered to students in grades 8 and on the SAT test taken by 11th-graders.
The Center for Educational Performance and Information has posted statewide results on MI School Data (mischooldata.org), Michigan’s official education data portal.
“The State Board of Education is committed to ensuring that all students in Michigan learn what they need to know,” said State Board of Education President Dr. Pamela Pugh. “We will continue to work with local schools, MDE leadership, legislators and the governor to improve student learning. It’s nice to see progress on most assessments this year, but we want our students to continue their progress in the coming years as well.”
The Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress, or M-STEP, is designed to gauge how well students are progressing toward state subject matter standards. These standards, developed for educators by educators, broadly outline what students should know and be able to do to be prepared to enter the workplace, career education training, and college.
When combined with classroom work, report cards, local district assessments and other tools, M-STEP results help offer a comprehensive view of student progress and achievement. “The M-STEP assessments are rigorous and not meant to measure reading ability or math ability by themselves,” said Andrew Middlestead, director of the MDE Office of Educational Assessment and Accountability. "Rather, they are meant to measure understanding of a broad set of rigorous subject matter standards. Students who score below proficient are not necessarily performing below their grade level, and many who are below proficient perform well in high school, in college, and in their chosen professions.”
The SAT is administered by the College Board and students’ scores are among many criteria that universities and colleges may use to make admissions decisions. The PSAT is a pretest for the SAT. MDE noted that in grades 8 and 11, students taking the PSAT and SAT were administered the new College Board Suite of Assessments. Any changes in state performance, positive or negative, could be due to the new test.
2024 M-STEP, PSAT and SAT Results
Subject
Grade Tested
Percent Proficient or Above 2023
Percent Proficient or Above 2024
Subject
Grade Tested
Percent Proficient or Above 2023
Percent Proficient or Above 2024
ELA
3
40.9%
39.6%
Math
3
42.9%
43.4%
ELA
4
44.3%
43.3%
Math
4
38.6%
39.1%
ELA
5
43.9%
44.0%
Math
5
31.5%
32.6%
ELA
6
37.5%
37.5%
Math
6
29.6%
31.0%
ELA
7
36.9%
37.9%
Math
7
31.0%
32.1%
ELA
8*
59.7%
64.5%
Math
8*
36.3%
32.6%
ELA
11**
52.2%
51.3%
Math
11**
29.9%
26.3%
Science
5
38.9%
40.4%
Social Studies
5
18.6%
18.9%
Science
8
37.4%
38.8%
Social Studies
8
26.7%
29.7%
Science
11
39.0%
37.5%
Social Studies
11
36.1%
39.6%
*Grade 8 students take the PSAT for grades 8/9 for math and ELA, while students in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 take the M-STEP.
**Grade 11 students take the SAT for math and ELA.
“Poverty has consistently had a substantial, adverse effect on student academic performance,” Dr. Rice said. “This year’s scores also show that, on average, being educated remotely during the 2020-21 school year rather than in-person during the pandemic affected progress. Being in the learning-to-read window – in preschool or early elementary grades – when COVID-19 hit also affected assessment results on average. Poverty, remoteness of instruction in the 2020-21 school year, and being in the learning-to-read window at the beginning of the pandemic have been layered challenges with which some of our children continue to struggle.”
Students who are economically disadvantaged continue to have significantly lower proficiency rates than students from middle-class backgrounds. This trend shows up in states throughout the country. In Michigan, proficiency rates for economically disadvantaged students in ELA and math were less than half the rates for students who are not economically disadvantaged.
Group
% Proficient or Advanced, M-STEP Grades 3-7
ELA
Economically Disadvantaged
27.3
Not Economically Disadvantaged
57.6
Math
Economically Disadvantaged
21.8
Not Economically Disadvantaged
53.6
Economically disadvantaged students did show slightly greater improvements over last year’s assessments than their more economically advantaged peers. For example, economically disadvantaged students improved proficiency by 1.1 percentage points in grades 3-7 math while non-economically disadvantaged students gained 0.9 of a percentage point. In English Language Arts, economically disadvantaged students improved proficiency rates by 0.1 of a percentage point while non-economically disadvantaged students had proficiency rates that dropped by 0.5 of a percentage point.
Students who learned remotely for seven or more months in the 2020-21 school year during the pandemic continue to have lower proficiency rates on average in math and ELA than students who learned in-person. Additionally, students who were economically disadvantaged and who learned remotely in 2020-21 dealt with multiple challenges that likely played a role in lower proficiency rates, both pre- and post-pandemic. Economically disadvantaged students who were remote in 2020-21 were on average less likely to test at or above proficiency than their economically disadvantaged peers who were in person 2020-21, as noted in the chart below.
% Proficient or Advanced,
M-STEP Grades 3-7
Group
InPerson
Remote*
ELA
Economically Disadvantaged
28.8
19.9
Not Economically Disadvantaged
53.6
43.5
Math
Economically Disadvantaged
22.4
12.1
Not Economically Disadvantaged
48.6
32.5
* Students in districts that reported fully remote instruction for seven or more months of the 2020-21 school year.
For some children, particularly those who were learning to read when COVID-19 hit, the pandemic had an especially negative effect on proficiency.
For example, students in grades 3 and 4 had lower proficiency rates than the students in the same grade the year before. Students in grades 3 and 4 would have been at the beginning stages of learning to read – in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten – when their schooling was interrupted by the pandemic.
"MDE continues to advocate for LETRS literacy training so that all elementary school teachers are informed by this deep science of literacy professional development,” Dr. Rice said. So far approximately 7,300 Michigan K-5 teachers have either completed or are taking LETRS training. MDE also is urging legislators to approve literacy/dyslexia legislation that would help children with characteristics of dyslexia learn to read.
Consistent with School Finance Research Collaborative (SFRC) recommendations, MDE has also advocated for, and the legislature and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have approved categorical funding for, helping groups of children who, on average, have greater challenges and whose education on average costs more. The fiscal year 2025 budget signed last month by the governor includes increased investments in at-risk funding for economically disadvantaged students, the Great Start Readiness Program for preschool students, English learners, students who receive special education services, and students in rural and isolated districts.
Section 31a state funding for economically disadvantaged students has a new flexibility, which permits school districts to use funds to create lower class sizes in grades K-3, a research-based strategy to improve early literacy and numeracy in schools with high concentrations of students in poverty. The governor’s MI Kids Back on Track program provided grant-funded support to address COVID-19 implications of interrupted learning. The primary strategies of this effort focused on high-impact tutoring to get students to grade-level academic standards, providing additional academic assistance to students at risk of falling behind their peers, and helping high school students prepare for post-secondary education.
Finally, it is important to note that many children that lost considerable in-person instruction, particularly if they were poor and experienced the pandemic during their learning-to-read window, may need more in-person instructional time, to perform roughly at a level that permits success grade by grade through high school graduation and some form of postsecondary education. This additional time may need to be both in a longer school year and in extra support during the summer. “Our in-person instructional school year was skinny before the pandemic and, for some students, became skinnier during and after the pandemic,” Dr. Rice said.
Michigan students took the 2024 M-STEP, PSAT, and SAT assessments in the spring. The PSAT and SAT both transitioned from a paper and pencil test to a new online test design this spring.
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