M-STEP’s latest released scores reveal further educational missteps in Michigan.

On Wednesday, the Michigan Department of Education announced results of the 2024 Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP) and SAT/PSAT scores. While boasting in a release that Michigan Students Improve on Most State Tests, the DOE report acknowledges a drop in reading proficiency among the state’s third graders, but blames it on the COVID-19 pandemic rather than the policies of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer that forced schools to remain shuttered from March 16, 2020 to January 2021, among the longest school closures in the nation.

“For some children, particularly those who were learning to read when COVID-19 hit, the pandemic had an especially negative effect on proficiency,” the DOE news release states. “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.”

Nearly 41% of third graders tested last year were deemed reading proficient, while only 39.6% of this year’s students made the grade. According to the Detroit News, that’s the “lowest point in the 10-year history of the state assessment test.”

State Superintendent Michael F. Rice, however, emphasized what he termed “gradual improvement in Michigan students’ mathematics and reading proficiency.

“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,” Rice said. “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.”

The DOE also notes that poverty and the length of the school year might have played a role.

“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,” according to the DOE release.

“Our in-person instructional school year was skinny before the pandemic and, for some students, became skinnier during and after the pandemic,” Rice said.

As reported last week in The Midwesterner, fourth-grade reading scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress dropped from 32^nd in the nation in 2019 to 43^rd in 2022.

These profound failures continued even after Michigan received more than $5 billion in federal funds to counteract the dismal results of Whitmer’s bans on in-person learning.

In a news release on Wednesday, Whitmer indicated more money is the solution to mending the education gaps wrought by her policies.

“As governor, I’m focused on helping every student succeed because every child deserves a fair shot at a bright future,” she said. “The best way to set our young people up for success is to invest in their education from pre-K through postsecondary. This summer, I signed another historic education budget that raises per-pupil funding — for the sixth year in a row — with an average $400 increase per student over last year.”