Michigan education continues to struggle as Kids Count Data book is released

LANSING, Mich. — The latest Kids Count Data Book reveals troubling trends for Michigan’s education system, with the state ranking 44th in education and 33rd in overall child well-being.

The report highlights a decline in fourth-grade reading and eighth-grade math scores, with 75% of fourth graders not proficient in reading and only one in four eighth graders proficient in math.

“We saw during the pandemic just the huge impact that those disruptions to class time in school class time really had on students,” said an unnamed source. “But of course it’s important to remember that every state was coping with those issues and some states have already started to see some improvements in spend and Michigan is not one of them.”

Anne Kuhnen from the Michigan League for Public Policy emphasized the need for investment in early education. “It really tells us that we need to be investing more in these early years, this critical period when students are gaining the literacy skills that they’re going to need, not just throughout their academic career, but also into adulthood,” she said.

Despite increased funding in recent years and federal support for educational programs, Michigan’s graduation rates remain stagnant, with one in five students not graduating within four years. “We’re really far behind other states. Like I said, in the bottom 10 states for our graduation rate, one in five students is not graduating in that four-year period, which is really a big problem,” said an unnamed source.

Kuhnen advocates for continued legislative support to improve reading and math scores, noting that some districts have utilized federal funds to offer support services aimed at helping students catch up.