Michigan’s Read by Grade Three Law: Year Two Report

February 2022

The purpose of this report is to provide an update on the continued implementation of the Read by Grade Three Law and its early efficacy in improving early literacy outcomes for Michigan students; this is the second in a series that will continue through the 2023-24 school year. In this year’s report, we examine how educators and administrators have continued to implement the Read by Grade Three Law through spring 2021 and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected implementation. We also assess whether the Law is meeting its goal of improving literacy achievement and attainment for Michigan students and how this varies across populations and locations. Lastly, we explore evidence as to whether the policy appears to be an effective use of education resources.

This report explores two key research questions about the Read by Grade Three Law’s early implementation and effects:

1. How is the Read by Grade Three Law being implemented in Michigan? Does implementation vary across populations and places, and if so, why?
2. Is the Read by Grade Three Law meeting its goal to improve literacy achievement and attainment for Michigan students? For which students, if any, is the policy particularly successful?

KEY FINDINGS INCLUDE:

1. ELA M-STEP Scores and subscores from before the pandemic suggest moderate improvements in students’ ELA achievement relative to the period before the Law’s passage. However, most teachers do not believe the Law has effectively improved students’ literacy skills.
2. While fiscal and human capital constraints continued to encumber the Read by Grade Three Law’s implementation, educators continued to have positive perceptions about many of the Law’s supports.
3. Although K-3 teachers thought professional development helped improve their practice, teachers received less—and desired more—literacy professional development during the 2020-21 school year.
4. More than one-half of 3rd-grade students in the 2020-21 school year were identified as having a “reading deficiency” at some point between 1st and 3rd grade.
5. While relatively few students were eligible for retention at the end of 2020-21, and districts planned to retain even fewer, there were significant disparities in retention outcomes across groups of students.
6. K-3 teachers reported spending less time on literacy instruction during the 2020-21 school year and felt that the pandemic negatively affected their ability to provide literacy instruction and interventions.