Top Ten Education State

In every classroom across our great state – from Monroe to Manistee and Mt. Pleasant to Marquette – every Michigan student deserves access and opportunity to the educational resources and support to realize a bright future. 

Yet for too long, Michigan’s education system has served as an engine of inequality when it should be providing opportunities for all students to achieve at high levels. 

Longstanding educational inequities compounded by the daunting challenges of teaching and learning through a pandemic bring us to a moment of important opportunity where strong state leadership and significant systems changes are critical for Michigan’s educational recovery from pre-kindergarten through high school. 

The Education Trust-Midwest has long supported evidence-based strategies, including those from leading education states, that will put Michigan on a path to be a top ten education state for every Michigan student. 

… results in High Standards and Rigorous Assessment.

  • High academic standards help all students succeed

    by Cheryl CorpusHigh academic standards are needed now more than ever.Growing up in a rural, blue-collar town here in Michigan, I often struggled to understand…

  • Mich. Ed. Roundup – Feb 14

    MDE Releases Draft ESSA PlanEarlier today, the Michigan Department of Education released their draft plan for implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA…

  • Math Resources

    Today, students are learning math at deeper levels. Math is being taught differently now because we are no longer teaching kids how to "just do," we are teachi…

  • Mich. Ed. Roundup – Dec. 6

    Eighth-grade students make math and science gains, nationallyOver the last four years, students have shown improvement in grade 8 math and science, nationally.…

  • Mich. Ed. Roundup – Nov. 29

    Statement on the Selection of Betsy DeVos for Secretary of EducationThe full text of this statement is available here.On Wednesday, November 23, President-elec…

  • Mich. Ed. Roundup – October 25

    Districts review progress; State mulls testing changeAcross Michigan, parents are receiving M-STEP score reports from last spring and school boards are being b…

  • Joint Letter Recommending Continuing with M-STEP

                      October 10, 2016 Members of the Michigan State Board of Education,As you consider plans to comply with the requirements of the fede…

  • Mich. Ed. Roundup – September 13

    MDE: We See M-STEP as a “Triple Success”During a House Education Committee meeting last week, Deputy Superintendent for Educator, Student, and School Supports,…

  • Leaders call on state to stay the course on M-STEP

    Michigan needs to stay the course with M-STEPResults from the Michigan Student Test for Educational Progress released August 30 should remind us how critical i…

  • Michigan must stay the course on M-STEP education test

    by Brian CloydDespite modest gains, the data from the most recent M-STEP assessment, released by the Michigan Department of Education this week, show that Mich…

  • Editorial: Schools are still missing the mark

    by The Detroit NewsThe test results released this week by the Michigan Department of Education put into focus how much work is needed to improve student learni…

  • Half of Michigan students still not ‘proficient’ on M-STEP

    by Kate Wells, Michigan RadioWhile several grades made progress in certain subject areas, at least half of Michigan students still scored below “proficient” in…

  • Stay the course on M-STEP testing

    by Ken WhippleThere’s a lot of bad news about Michigan’s educational performance these days, as our students fall further behind kids in nearly every other sta…

  • 2016 M-STEP Aggregate Results

  • New Assessment Scores Show Need for Michigan to Remain on Track with M-STEP

    ROYAL OAK, Mich. (Aug. 30, 2016) – New results from the Michigan Student Test for Educational Progress (M-STEP) emphasize how critical it is for Michigan to co…

  • Why Michigan M-STEP results are cause for concern

    by Lori Higgins and Kristi Tanner, Detroit Free PressMichigan students showed little improvement in language arts and math on the state's tough new standardize…

  • Mich schools deserve stability

    Rothwell: Michigan schools deserve stabilityDoug Rothwell, president and CEO of Business Leaders for Michigan, called for state leaders to stay the course on h…

  • House Passes DPS Plan

    House Passes Plan for Detroit SchoolsLast week, the House of Representatives passed their plan for Detroit Public Schools on a party line vote.The House plan c…

  • Mich. Needs Better Prepared Grads

    Too Few Students Prepared for College or CareerNew data from the “Nations Report Card” show that high schools have not prepared students – especially low-incom…

  • Bill Threatens to Move Mich. Backward

    Anti-Standards Bill Threatens to Move Michigan BackwardEarlier today, the State Senate Education Committee passed a bill by a vote of 4-1 that would stall the …