Michigan
NAEP: Michigan students are still behind in reading, math since before COVID
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Two years ago, Michigan fourth and eighth graders recorded their worst reading scores in 30 years on a national exam known as the “nation’s report card.” In 2024, they did not improve.
The results of the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, also show Michigan fourth and eighth graders continue to fall behind national averages in math.
“We have work to do,” Michael Rice, Michigan’s state superintendent, told Chalkbeat Detroit in an email.
Michigan students’ average scores in fourth and eighth grade reading and math did not change in statistically significant ways compared to the last time the test was administered in 2022.
“At the highest level, we’re far from fully recovered from the impact of the pandemic,” said Dan Goldhaber, a researcher who studies student achievement and member of the National Center for Education Statistics standing committee.
“It looks like recovery — where it exists — is pretty uneven,” he added.
Michigan’s scores reflect what the NAEP results show on the national level: Students are not at or near where they were before the pandemic.
“We’re not seeing the progress we need to regain the ground students lost during the pandemic,” said Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Educational Statistics, on a phone call with reporters. “Where we are seeing signs of recovery, they’re mostly in math and largely driven by higher performing students.”
The gaps between the nation’s highest and lowest performing students continue to widen, Carr added.
Here are some of the takeaways from the results:
- In reading, just 24% of Michigan fourth graders were proficient in 2024, which was not considered a statistically significant difference from 2022. Nationally, 30% were proficient last year.
- In math, 37% of Michigan fourth graders were proficient last year, a result that did not change in a statistically significant way from 2022 . Nationally, 40% of their peers were proficient in 2024.
- Thirty-one states scored higher in fourth grade reading than Michigan, which was tied, statistically, with 18 states, according to the NAEP results.
- In fourth grade math, Michigan’s average score was bested by 16 states, was statistically the same as 29 others, and better than six states.
- It was a similar trend for eighth graders, 24% of whom were proficient in math — below the U.S. average of 27%. In reading, 24% of Michigan students were proficient, which was below the national average.
- Twenty-five states had higher math scores, among eighth graders, 18 were the same and eight were lower. In reading, 18 states had higher average scores, 26 were statistically the same, and seven were lower.
NAEP results are reported by the percentages of students who performed at three achievement levels — basic, proficient, and advanced. On NAEP, a proficient score does not equate to grade-level proficiency.
The biennial test includes a representative subset of students from traditional public, charter, and private schools from across the country. Nationwide, 235,000 fourth grade students took the test from 6,100 schools. There were 230,000 eighth grade students who took the test from 5,400 schools.
Michigan’s scores have worsened since before the pandemic. They decreased in reading for both grades and in math for the eighth grade. There was no significant change in fourth grade math compared to before the pandemic.
“There are going to be a lot more kids than we would hope are going to struggle with later life schooling and labor market outcomes,” Goldhaber said, referring to national trends. “Because there is a pretty strong connection between how well kids do on tests and their later life outcomes.”
How do NAEP results compare to other assessment data?
The 2024 NAEP data mirrors other test results that found many students who entered kindergarten and first grade during the early days of the pandemic are still struggling to catch up in reading.
The Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress, known as the M-STEP, showed reading and writing proficiency among Michigan third and fourth graders was at a 10-year low in spring 2024.
Additionally, benchmark assessments given to compare scores for individual Michigan K-8 students each spring and fall showed fewer third and fourth graders were proficient in reading in 2023-24 compared to previous years.
But students made significant progress in improving math achievement scores on the benchmark assessments since the 2020-21 school year.
One of the big differences between NAEP and other assessments is that it is lower stakes for students, said Tara Kilbride, assistant director for research at the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative. Assessments like M-STEP play a role in state accountability, and other exams can inform the direction teachers take in instruction for individual students.
NAEP can be helpful as a “pulse check” to see how Michigan students are progressing compared to the rest of the country, said Kilbride.
How is Michigan addressing its literacy woes?
Under Republican leadership, Michigan lawmakers created a law that outlined steps school districts had to take when students were significantly behind in reading on the M-STEP.
Starting with the 2019-2020 school year, schools were expected to hold some students back if they did not meet expectations. But the pandemic hit and schools held back very few students in the following year. Democrats ended the third-grade retention requirement in 2023.
After the 2024 M-STEP results were released, Michigan lawmakers passed legislation to include the “science of reading” in early literacy curriculum.
The “science of reading” refers to a body of knowledge that emphasizes phonics along with building vocabulary and background knowledge.
Districts will have to comply with many of the provisions in the bill package by 2027-28.
“If the legislation does result in more students being screened and receiving interventions, it could result in improved early literacy outcomes,” said Kilbride.
States such as Tennessee and Mississippi that have passed similar bills made big improvements in reading scores on state proficiency assessments.
Currently, Michigan schools do not have to follow a set reading curriculum, though the Michigan Department of Education gives guidance on using evidence-based programs.
Reading lessons may vary widely within districts and even within classrooms in the same school, according to a 2022 policy brief by EPIC. Many of the districts that responded to EPIC’s survey were using poorly rated or unrated lesson plans.
Chronic absenteeism continues to impact achievement
Carr, the commissioner of the National Center for Educational Statistics, said chronic absenteeism likely impacted NAEP scores.
“We have seen an improvement in chronic absenteeism,” she said. “It’s not where it needs to be, but it’s particularly noteworthy among the lower performing students.”
Michigan has long had high rates of chronic absenteeism, which is defined as students missing 10% or more of the school year.
In the 2023-24 school year, 29.5% of Michigan students were chronically absent — a significantly higher percentage compared to the last pre-pandemic school year when it was 19.7% of students.
Isabel Lohman reports on early childhood, K-12, and higher education for Bridge Michigan. You can reach her at ilohman@bridgemi.com.
Hannah Dellinger covers K-12 education and state education policy for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at hdellinger@chalkbeat.org.
Mike Wilkinson is a data reporter for Bridge Michigan. You can reach him at mwilkinson@bridgemi.com.
Pollster Richard Czuba breaks latest Michigan Senate race polling
Detroit News political reporter Craig Mauger talks with pollster Craig Richard Czuba about the latest poll in Michigan’s Democratic Senate race.
About half of likely Michigan Democratic primary voters hold an unfavorable view of the pro-Israel group the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, according to a new statewide poll, but respondents overall didn’t rate a candidate’s position on Israel and Gaza as of great importance when choosing a Senate nominee.
“It is not of high interest, despite the national narrative,” pollster Richard Czuba said, referring to national news coverage of the Michigan U.S. Senate contest.
“As you ask voters to look across the spectrum about issues that matter to them, this isn’t one of them.”
The Detroit News/WDIV-TV (Channel 4) poll of 500 likely Michigan Democratic primary voters was conducted last week by Czuba’s Glengariff Group and had a margin of error of plus-minus 4.4 percentage points.
A majority of respondents said antisemitism against Jewish Americans has risen, that they support both a Palestinian state and Israel’s right to exist, and believe Israel has “gone too far” in its war against the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah.
Overall, the likely Michigan Democratic primary voters rated a Senate candidate’s position on Israel and Gaza at 5.6 on a 10-point scale. Czuba said a measurement over 7 usually indicates some level of importance, while 8 is considered demonstrating a high level of importance.
Supporters of Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed of Ann Arbor rated the issue a 6, while those backing U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens of Birmingham rated it 5.2. Undecided voters in the survey were at 5.7.
“That’s not surprising to me at all,” said consultant Adrian Hemond, a Democrat and CEO of Grassroots Midwest.
“It’s hard to get Americans to care about foreign policy while American troops are not getting shot, and that’s not happening right now. That’s not to say they don’t care about it at all, but in terms of what influences their voting behavior? Nah.”
Half of Michigan Democrats sour on AIPAC
Israel and Gaza have been a point of contrast and contention between El-Sayed and Stevens: Stevens is a staunch supporter of Israel who has voted for U.S. military aid for that country, while El-Sayed has called Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide. He wants to end the U.S. practice of subsidizing foreign militaries, including Israel’s.
El-Sayed has also repeatedly hit Stevens on the $49 million of outside spending — including $26 million from an AIPAC-aligned group — that’s flowed into the race to help boost her bid, according to recent ad-tracking figures.
“Explain what you’ve given away for AIPAC support in this race,” El-Sayed demanded in last week’s televised debate in Grand Rapids.
“No one owns my vote, and no one owns my policies,” Stevens shot back.
In the debate last week, Stevens pointed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s criticism of her and said Netanyahu had “failed” in securing long-term peace and in providing humanitarian aid in Gaza. The remark appeared to be an effort to put some distance between herself and the support she’s getting from AIPAC that has turned off some Democrats.
“I can say that Israel has a right to peacefully exist alongside the people of Palestine and in Gaza,” she said.
The poll conducted last week found that 49% of Democratic primary voters have an unfavorable opinion of AIPAC. About 12% view AIPAC favorably, and 39% were neutral ― with no opinion of the pro-Israel lobby group ― or said they didn’t know. About 34% of voters expressed a “very” unfavorable opinion of AIPAC.
About 65% of El-Sayed’s supporters expressed an unfavorable view of AIPAC, with 8% favorable and 26% neutral, while fewer Stevens’ voters, 38%, view AIPAC unfavorably and 16.5% favorably, with 45% neutral.
The group does not seem to be a motivating issue for undecided voters, 65% of whom were neutral on AIPAC, according to poll results.
“What this issue has become is virtue-signaling to the far left that you’re one of us,” Czuba said of AIPAC opposition.
Scott Cruz, 61, of South Lyon, said he learned about AIPAC about six months ago, but has been concerned for decades about the amount of money the U.S. gives to Israel. In more recent years, what started as Israel’s understandable response to the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas has advanced far beyond that, said Cruz, who participated in the poll.
“Just too nuts, man. Hatfields and McCoys, I don’t care,” Cruz said of the Israel-Gaza conflict. “They (Israel) had the moral high ground for a minute there and then said, ‘Let’s blow it.’”
Michelle Miller-Adams, a 66-year-old Kalamazoo resident and political scientist who also participated in the poll, said she considers herself a politically progressive Jew.
She said she understands the criticism of Israel’s leadership but is worried that opposition to Israel and AIPAC is mixing dangerously with an increase in antisemitism.
“I’m not a fan of AIPAC,” Miller-Adams said. “But I think AIPAC has been demonized among all the PACs and has been misrepresented. AIPAC gets singled out for criticism in a way that makes me very uncomfortable.”
Rebecca Cunningham, an 83-year-old Detroit resident, said she’s voting for Stevens because of her prior experience at the federal level. She’s aware of a debate over Israel and is concerned by the U.S. government’s actions there, but she doesn’t believe those concerns are the only factors in determining her vote.
“I’d have to look at the whole picture,” Cunningham said. “In my mind, I’m not really clear why we’re over there fighting. We have enough issues in the United States we could put our attention to.”
Alignment among Michigan Democrats on Mideast issues
The survey of Michigan Democrats showed they are largely in agreement on issues related to the Middle East, including 63% of whom support the creation of an independent Palestinian state in Gaza. Another 15% said they oppose a Palestinian state, while 22% said it would depend or they didn’t know.
Notably, 78% of El-Sayed supporters favor a Palestinian state with 13% unsure, compared with 51% of Stevens’ voters in support of an independent state with 26% unsure. Undecided voters fell between the two, with 61% for an independent state and 38.5% unsure.
A large majority of Democrats surveyed, nearly 77%, said Israel has a right to exist as a country, while 12% are opposed and 12% of voters were unsure or said it depends.
On this question, 67% of self-identified Democratic Socialists said they support Israel’s right to exist, while 30% are opposed, and 2% said they’re unsure or it depends. Nearly 21% of Democratic Socialists said they “strongly” oppose Israel’s right to exist.
El-Sayed, the son of Egyptian immigrants, pivoted last week when he was asked on CNN if Israel has a right to exist.
“The question about a right to exist is interesting, because nobody’s ever asked me whether I believe Palestine has a right to exist. Every single president who’s served has said they believe in a two-state solution,” El-Sayed said.
“Israel exists. The question is whether we want a politics where our money is sent over to Israel to fund genocide and apartheid instead of investing in our own kids.”
Nearly 70% of poll respondents said Israel’s actions against Hamas and Hezbollah have “gone too far.” About 3% said they’ve not gone far enough, and 13% said they’ve been about right, while 15% were unsure, according to the survey.
About 21% of Stevens’ supporters in the survey said Israel’s actions were about right, as opposed to 6% of El-Sayed voters and 2% of undecided voters.
About two in three likely Michigan Democratic voters said antisemitism against Jewish Americans has increased over the past two years, and 3% said it’s declined. Nearly 24% said the level of antisemitism has stayed the same, and 9% were unsure.
Younger voters (under 55 years old) disproportionately concluded that antisemitism has stayed the same or decreased, while higher numbers of older voters said antisemitism has grown, including 76% of respondents age 65 and older.
More Stevens supporters said that antisemitism has increased (71%) than backers of El-Sayed (57%).
mburke@detroitnews.com
eleblanc@detroitnews.com
Embattled Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel on Tuesday addressed the latest round of reports about his potential exit from the university, saying he has had conversations about a potential buyout.
“I think I’ve been fired by social media three times in my ten years here,” Manuel said during a previously scheduled interview on The Big 1050 WTKA.
Multiple media outlets recently suggested his job is in jeopardy amid investigations into the culture of the department and fired football coach Sherrone Moore’s relationship with his former executive assistant.
The investigations have cost the university about $12 million, and it may not release all the related reports.
“Documents related to these attorney-directed investigations are privileged and confidential and protected by attorney-client privilege,” school spokesman Paul Corliss said Tuesday. “Maintaining the confidentiality of these documents preserves the integrity of the investigative process, protects the privacy of those who participated and helps safeguard those individuals from potential retaliation.”
Michigan’s board has a meeting on Thursday, where the publicly accessible agenda does not mention Manuel or the investigations.
“I have four years left on my contract,” said Manuel, who acknowledged talks about a possible buyout. “I don’t know what the future is going to be.
“I do feel confident in the things I have done here at Michigan. I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished.”
Manuel said he has helped the Wolverines have their best 10-year stretch, winning this year’s national championship in men’s basketball along with recent football, men’s and women’s gymnastics NCAA titles, 95 Big Ten championships and 4,000-plus student-athletes earning academic all-conference honors.
Michigan also has had a string of scandals under his watch.
Manuel fired Moore for having an inappropriate relationship with his executive assistant, who sued the school earlier this month.
The football program is on NCAA probation, was tarnished by a sign-stealing scheme and has seen many former staffers have run-ins with the law, including Matt Weiss, who is charged with hacking into the computer accounts of thousands of college athletes to find intimate images.
Manuel is also named in a lawsuit — along with the university, its board, a former school president and Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti — filed by fired assistant football coach Chris Partridge that claims Michigan knew about the sign-stealing scandal nearly a year before the public did.
The 58-year-old Manuel, who played football at Michigan under the late Bo Schembechler and was on the track team, was hired to lead the department in 2016. He signed a contract extension at Michigan in 2024 that runs through June 2030.
Manuel, a New Orleans native, previously served as athletic director at Connecticut and Buffalo after working in Michigan’s athletic department in various roles from 1996 to 2005.
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AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports
Note: The video above originally aired on July 9, 2026.
Dusty May is leaving Michigan for the Dallas Mavericks. What now?
Free Press sports writer Tony Garcia breaks down the “shocking” news of Michigan basketball coach Dusty May leaving for the NBA.
Barely three months since students flooded downtown Ann Arbor and chanted “Tt’s great … to be … a Michigan Wolverine” as they celebrated Michigan basketball’s first NCAA championship in 37 years, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone on the school’s campus who feels great about anything in the athletics department.
Instead, the university found itself in a much different and darker place Monday, July 13, when it faced new legal accusations that replaced all that happy singing with the deafening silence emitted through a barrage of “no comment” statements.
An amended lawsuit from former Wolverines linebackers coach Chris Partridge alleges former school president Santa Ono worked to hide details of the football team’s sign-stealing scandal and that athletic department leaders knew about ex-coach Sherrone Moore’s affair with staff member Paige Shriver years before it led to his firing.
And Warde Manuel – the athletic director who orchestrated that jubilation three months ago and even more jubilation three years earlier, when Michigan football won its first title in a quarter-century – finds himself in the eye of the storm as he faces the end of his highly successful but troubled tenure.
Manuel is named in Partridge’s lawsuit, which claims he knew about Moore’s relationship with Shriver “for years without taking action to protect the employee.”
He’s also a focal point of an investigation that began in December, run by Chicago law firm Jenner & Block and costing the school nearly $12 million. The Free Press has learned that higher-ups have been briefed on the findings. The U-M Board of Regents is expected to discuss that investigation at a Thursday meeting in Traverse City.
On Sunday, Yahoo Sports reported that Manuel’s future is “in doubt” based on the findings of that investigation. On Monday, Manuel told the website: “The president [Domenico Grasso] and I have had several great conversations over the past couple of days. There are no plans for me not to continue to be the athletic director for the near future.”
The near future. As in the ax may swing at any moment in the near future.
It’s impossible to say what exactly will happen to Manuel once the investigation findings are released and discussed by regents. But it’s also impossible to imagine Manuel emerges unscathed from years of scandal within the school’s prized football program.
Can anyone imagine Jenner & Block lawyers facing regents after nearly $12 million has been shelled out and saying: “Yeah, you know the guy who’s been in charge of all this? Yeah, we got nothin’ on him.”
So it’s not hard to see Manuel getting blamed in the investigation. The question is how much blame does he get – and what kind of punishment does the university want to dole out? Also, how much can the investigation truly divulge about Manuel’s role while the school contends with lawsuits from Partridge and Shriver?
Cleaning house always sounds good. But anyone who’s ever actually cleaned a house, inside out and from top to bottom, can tell you it’s no easy chore. It’s actually messy, difficult work that often reveals other structural problems, whether you’re talking about an actual house or an entire athletic department.
The closest example Michigan might follow with Manuel could come courtesy of its most hated rival. Ohio State basically gave then-AD Gene Smith a slap on the wrist in 2018 by suspending him without pay for two weeks after he and then-football coach Urban Meyer mishandled domestic-assault allegations against former assistant coach Zach Smith.
The big difference between than Manuel’s situation is twofold: First, U-M’s investigation is examining the entire department; second, he’s coming off a huge high that vaulted him into rarefied air – an AD with national titles in football and basketball on his résumé.
Does Michigan really want to get rid of the guy who proved he can hire a championship hoops coach, won the school an NCAA Tournament title and helped refill those NIL and donor coffers, just as new football and basketball coaches are about to start their first seasons in Ann Arbor?
As for Manuel deciding to step aside on his own? He’s 58 and under contract through 2030. He has too much road in front of him to imagine a quiet resignation – to decide he’s done as much as he can – after 10 years on the job.
Nah. It’d be a lot easier to imagine the man who played defensive lineman under U-M legend Bo Schembechler saying to Grasso, the regents, and the rest of an ungrateful administration: You’re gonna have to fire me.
If that’s the case, you can also imagine a new contingent on Manuel’s behalf joining the growing briefcase-carrying group that’s flooding downtown Ann Arbor these days and chanting to itself: “It’s great … to sue … the Michigan Wolverines.”
Contact Carlos Monarrez at cmonarrez@freepress.com and follow him on X @cmonarrez.
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