Molly Macek is director of education policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
In her February State of the State address, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) called literacy an “essential, lifelong skill” that enables students to become “more confident speakers, better problem solvers, and great entrepreneurs,” while “illiteracy is a challenge that compounds over time.”
In Michigan, that challenge is acute. Only 39 percent of third-graders are proficient in English language arts, and the state ranks 44th in the country for fourth-grade reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the “nation’s report card.”
Whitmer didn’t just wake up to this crisis. Last year she said that “literacy will remain my number one priority,” and with her support, the state legislature passed several reforms that deserve praise. Michigan now requires that instruction be grounded in the science of reading — a body of research on how the brain learns — and mandates screening children in kindergarten through third grade for reading deficiencies and learning disabilities. Now the governor is calling for universal prekindergarten and more state funding for reading curriculums.
But amid all these reforms, Whitmer is refusing to backtrack on the one policy she repealed that, if restored, would go a long way toward improving reading outcomes in the state.
In 2023, the governor signed a law eliminating a state requirement that third grade students who can’t read at grade level be held back. Academic experts generally agree that third grade is a make-or-break point for reading proficiency. A student who is not reading at grade level but still advances to the fourth grade is highly unlikely ever to catch up. That disadvantage makes all future learning harder, usually causing lifelong damage, especially in careers. Retaining students in third grade also strengthens school accountability by encouraging a comprehensive effort to get them reading when it matters most.
Mississippi shows how much this reform matters. The Magnolia State has made national headlines for turning around its educational outcomes in recent years, and as I show in a paper published Tuesday, the Mississippi Miracle is built on a foundation of third-grade retention for students who are not reading at grade level, which the state mandated in 2013. Mississippi has since gone from 12 points below the national average to four points above in fourth-grade reading performance.
Michigan, on the other hand, moved in the opposite direction. The third-grade retention policy that Whitmer repealed in 2023 was a dead letter even before that. Schools could bypass retention requirements if parents requested it, which is largely what happened when the law went into effect. In the 2021-22 school year, with students reeling from pandemic closures, only 42 percent of third-graders passed the state’s English language arts test, but only one-tenth of students who should have been retained were.
Rather than close this loophole, Whitmer, at the behest of the state’s teachers unions, pushed to repeal it outright. Even in its largely ineffective state, the law made teachers look bad. But without it, students paid the price. In 2019, Michigan’s fourth-grade reading performance was on par with the national average. It is now five points lower than the average. Mississippi, meanwhile, is now five points above.
Despite the incontrovertible evidence, Whitmer shows no sign of rethinking her position on retention. But her plan to boost funding for literacy education does have the endorsement of the Michigan Education Association, the largest teachers union in the state. No surprise there, but more money without accountability won’t deliver results. Reading outcomes have declined while per-pupil funding, adjusted for inflation, has increased by more than 30 percent since 2013.
Michigan students deserve better than the governor’s teachers union wish list. Every year, thousands move from third grade to fourth grade without knowing how to read, limiting their futures while leaving schools unaccountable. Whitmer says she wants to end this crisis and help the next generation, forging her legacy along the way. But unless she’s willing to learn from her mistakes, she’s going to fail.
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