READ BY GRADE THREE
EPIC is studying how Michigan’s early literacy law is being implemented across the state and its impacts on students and educators.
In May 2018, the State Board of Education requested an evaluation of the Read by Grade Three (RBG3) law. To support this project, Education Policy Innovation Collaborative joined with our Michigan Education Research Institute partners (Michigan Department of Education, Center for Educational Performance and Information, and Michigan Education Data Center) to seek funding. Our evaluation was awarded grants totaling $5.5 million over five years from the US Department of Education Institute for Education Sciences and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation beginning on September 1, 2019.
Featured Content
explore the research
Reports: RBG3
The Education Policy Innovation Collaborative publishes reports on a rolling basis for our partners.
English Learner Funding: How Does Michigan Compare to Other States?
A resource created to highlight how Michigan English learner funding compares to the rest of the country.
In The Media: RBG3
Education Policy Innovation Collaborative’s RBG3 research features in the media.
Detroit schools seek contract extension with Beyond Basics to improve reading skills
Detroit school officials are seeking to extend a contract next year with local tutoring nonprofit Beyond Basics to provide continued help for district students far behind in reading skills.
DPSCD students performed slightly below pre-pandemic measures on M-STEP, Michigan’s standardized test during the 2021-22 school year. (M-STEP results from the 2022-23 school year are expected to be released in September.) In English, 9% of third grade students scored at or above proficiency, compared with 11.9% in 2019.
But the district’s declines in reading proficiency also reflect broader state and national trends. The percentage of Michigan third graders a year or more behind in reading went up 20% in the 2021-22 school year, according to an annual report from Michigan State University’’s Education Policy Innovation Collaborative on the number of students eligible for retention.
Policy Briefs: RBG3
The Education Policy Innovation Collaborative publishes Policy Briefs on a rolling basis in conjunction with our partners.
Are Retention-Eligible Students Assigned to Highly Effective Teachers Under Michigan’s Read by Grade Three Law?
This policy brief examines whether retention-eligible students schools were assigned to a highly effective teacher, the teacher with the highest effectiveness rating available, or a reading specialist and whether they received additional literacy interventions.
Working Papers: RBG3
The Education Policy Innovation Collaborative publishes Working Papers on a rolling basis in conjunction with our partners.
Challenges in Implementing Teacher-Student Assignment Policies: Evidence From Michigan’s Read by Grade Three Law
This paper focuses on the assignment of highly effective teachers to students eligible for retention under the Read by Grade Three law and investigate the capacity of Michigan schools and districts to do so.
What’s Happening Around RBG3
Read by Grade Three Retention Eligibility: 2023 Update
This report examines the rates and characteristics of students who could be required to repeat the 3rd grade based on their ELA M-STEP scores at the end of 2022-23.
Understanding Opportunities for K-3 Teachers’ Professional Development in Literacy
This report examines how Michigan’s K-3 teachers receive literacy professional development, teachers’ satisfaction with these opportunities, and provides recommendations for improvement.
Are Retention-Eligible Students Assigned to Highly Effective Teachers Under Michigan’s Read by Grade Three Law?
This policy brief examines whether retention-eligible students schools were assigned to a highly effective teacher, the teacher with the highest effectiveness rating available, or a reading specialist and whether they received additional literacy interventions.
Challenges in Implementing Teacher-Student Assignment Policies: Evidence From Michigan’s Read by Grade Three Law
This paper focuses on the assignment of highly effective teachers to students eligible for retention under the Read by Grade Three law and investigate the capacity of Michigan schools and districts to do so.
RBG3 Presentations
EPIC Presents Second Coaching Report Findings to the Early Literacy Task Force
EPIC Graduate Research Assistant, Amy Cummings, presented findings from a recent report about Michigan’s literacy coaching landscape.
EPIC Faculty Director Testifies Before Michigan House and Senate Education Committees
Katharine Strunk, EPIC Faculty Director, address Michigan House and Senate Education Committees on Jan 31, 2023.
Michigan’s Early Literacy Task Force invites EPIC to present findings from their second RBG3 Report
Michigan’s Early Literacy Task Force invited EPIC to present findings from their second annual report of Michigan’s Read by Grade Three Law.
EPIC Faculty Director Presents Year One Findings to Michigan Literacy Commission
Katharine Strunk, Faculty Director of EPIC, discussed findings from their Read by Grade Three Year One report.
Michigan’s Early Literacy Task Force invites EPIC to present findings from their ISD Early Literacy Coaches Report
Findings from a recent report which uses results from surveys of ISD Early Literacy Coaches as well as Michigan teachers, principals, and district superintendents to examine how the literacy coaching component of the Law has been implemented to date and how educators perceived the ISD Early Literacy Coaches with whom they worked are presented to the Early Literacy Task Force (ELTF).