Mich. Ed. Roundup – May 2
College Decision Day
Yesterday marked College Decision Day – the date when deposits are required for fall admission at many colleges and universities – and a day to celebrate the educational accomplishments of many Michigan students.
Since 2007, Michigan’s dropout rate has been reduced by 41 percent and nearly 80 percent of Michigan high school students graduate in four years – an increase of more than four percent since 2007.
No matter what path they follow, the graduating class of 2017 is building a better life for themselves, their families and their communities through their educational attainment. Congratulations!
Early Review Gives Michigan Education Plan Poor Marks
A recent review of state education plans, submitted over the last month to the U.S. Department of Education under the Every Student Succeeds Act, gives Michigan low marks for our plans for school accountability.
The review by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute looked at how states focused on academic proficiency and growth. Rating Michigan’s approach in both categories as “weak,” the Fordham Institute noted that the Michigan plan does “virtually nothing to signal that all students…are important.”
Michigan’s weak rating is especially troubling because the draft plan, provided to the public in February, proposed a thoughtful and well-designed system that focused largely on academics and the need for schools to serve all groups of students well. Unfortunately, under pressure by the State Board of Education and others, State Superintendent Brian Whiston moved away from the proposed accountability system just days before public comment ended.
Noteworthy News
- Michigan Lt. Gov. Says State ESSA Plan Needs a Do-Over for Special Education – Christina Samuels, Education Week
- Early ESSA plans don’t do enough to signal that all students are important – Brandon L. Wright, The Education Gladfly
- Cultivating ‘talent’ critical for Michigan’s economic success, Gov. Snyder says – Brian McVicar, MLive
- EAA’s end returns schools to Detroit fold – Lori Higgins, Detroit Free Press
Capital Update
State Budgets Advanced this week, being voted out of the appropriations committees in both the House of Representatives and the State Senate. Next, the full House and Senate will consider the budgets, before differences are reconciled in a conference committee. These budgets will fund Michigan government from October 2017 – September 2018.
Senate Education Committee meets today at 2:30 p.m. in room 1200 of the Binsfeld Building. Agenda: Senate Bill 267 (Emmons – R), repealing the Student Safety Act of 2013 and presentations from the Center for Educational Performance and Information (CEPI), which collects and reports on Michigan education data, and SAS Institute, Inc., a data analytics vendor.
Tweet of the Week
