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Mike Shirkey: I’m open to changing Michigan’s third-grade reading law
Hearing concerns from educators, Michigan’s Senate Majority Leader says he’s considering changes to the law that could flunk 5,000 third-graders in May.
Opinion | Read by Grade 3 law doesn’t hurt kids – it’s offering a lifeline
Michigan’s Read by Grade 3 Law isn’t some scary new policy looming over local students – it’s an essential reform that’s already yielding real results that benefit our kids, says the author of this Guest Commentary.
After 3 years of substitute teachers, this Michigan girl may flunk 3rd grade
Sabrina, 8, is caught in the crossfire of two state education crises – the state’s new third-grade “read-or-flunk” law and an explosion in the use of uncertified long-term substitute teachers in state classrooms.
Opinion | Don’t gut the third-grade reading law; give it a chance to work
Holding children back so they can achieve future success is not “punitive;” it is proactive.
Michigan expanded preschool funding. Reading scores show it works.
The good news: Low- and moderate-income 4-year-olds who enroll in the Great Start Readiness Program become better readers than those who don’t. The bad news? One-in-three qualified kids still aren’t enrolled.
The Test: ‘Read-or-flunk’ law looms over Michigan third-graders
Bridge begins a series following four third-grade classes as they prepare for a test determining who moves on to fourth grade, and who stays behind.
Opinion | Don’t flunk lagging Michigan third-grade readers – reduce class size
Reading scores are going down in Michigan despite efforts. Maybe it’s time to redirect that early literacy funding toward reducing class size, says one teacher.
Phil Power | Let’s hope Michigan third-grade reading law focuses priorities
With thousands of children facing the possibility of having to repeat third grade if state reading scores don’t improve, the stress on young students, teachers and parents will be considerable.
Michigan teachers: Flunking won’t help kids read. We have better ideas.
Bridge spoke with 29 Michigan teachers in a Facebook group about the read or flunk law that hits third-graders this year. They’re dubious the law will improve literacy but have plenty of other ideas.
M-STEP shows no progress for Michigan’s struggling third-grade readers
With the state’s read-or-flunk law beginning this year, Michigan’s efforts to help young readers appear to be falling flat.
Michigan M-STEP test scores are inching upward. See how your school compares.
Results from the state’s annual standardized test, given to students in grades 3-8, show faint signs of improvement. See how state students overall performed in the tests given last spring, and look up your own school.
Calling Michigan teachers! How would you improve 3rd-grade reading skills?
Michigan’s young students continue to struggle with basic reading proficiency. What would Michigan teachers do differently if they were in charge of state education policy?
Michigan is investing heavily in early reading. So far, it’s not working.
Only three intermediate school districts out of 56 in Michigan are showing increases in third-grade reading. A leading educator asks for patience.
Poll: parents don’t know Michigan's 3rd-grade reading law, love A-to-F school grades
Parents care about improving Michigan schools. But they aren’t hung up on the “controversies” in Lansing’s education circles, according to a new poll.
Will Michigan 3rd- grade reading law hurt poor? Florida’s history says yes
Students from less advantaged families are more likely to be held back under Florida’s third-grade reading law than white, more affluent kids with the same low reading scores. A similar Michigan law begins this fall.
Six times more third-graders may flunk next year under Michigan reading law
More than 5,000 students may be flagged to repeat third grade under a new law intended to ensure solid reading skills at a key age. That number sounds high, but it could have been far higher.
Michigan is failing its students, as state test scores keep tanking
M-STEP results show 1-in-3 third-graders are not proficient in reading. The bad news extends across grades and subjects, impacting white, black and Hispanic students. What should state do now?
M-STEP results trouble for most struggling schools in Detroit, statewide
Detroit schools saw just a small fraction of its students post a passing score in English Language Arts and math. But new leaders say their changes are only now starting to be implemented.
Truth Squad | Bill Schuette says Michigan is ‘last’ in third-grade reading
Few would argue with Schuette’s point that Michigan’s public schools must vastly improve. We’re struggling, but are we the worst?
Opinion | Take a breath: Michigan schools’ tests scores aren’t as bad as you think
You’ve read the doom-and-gloom stories. But they fail to point out how well many Michigan students are doing.