Gov. Gretchen Whitmer unveiled a new state budget proposal this week that includes a one-time $625 million shot in the arm for Michigan K-12 schools next year with things like reading and student achieve programs.

It’s a broad continuation of priorities to combat lagging student growth over the last couple of years as the governor’s administration has vowed to expand enrollment in universal preschool and make literacy the No. 1 priority for her final year in office.

But what does state education data say about the progress on those priorities so far?

The answer may depend on the program and how progress is tracked.

Whitmer’s latest $625 million plan, released Wednesday, Feb. 11, most notably includes:

• $181.1 million to boost free pre-kindergarten enrollment
• $135 million to support expanded before- and after-school programming
• $100 million for high-impact tutoring
• $100 million for grants to districts to purchase literacy material
• $50 to continue implementing specialty literacy

Legislation adopted a year ago, some of which won’t take effect until next year, has already implemented specialty literacy training for 5,000 educators, as well as requirements that schools scan all students from kindergarten through third grade for dyslexia and use proven methods to improve reading.

Additionally, under Whitmer, the state has introduced PreK for All nearly three years ago to boost preschool enrollment for at-risk 4-year-olds, primarily via the long-established Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP).

Last month, the state released a report on academic outcomes for third graders who participated in early childhood education programs – a bellwether measurement that could help track how effectively the state is addressing literacy and preschool priorities.

However, the dataset was not open to the general public.

In late January, Jim Hines, a spokesperson for the Center for Educational Performance and Information, that’s because some details would violate student privacy, and he pointed to public reports about state testing results and student growth as alternatives

Below are two major ways to track progress in Michigan schools based on the impact of literacy and preschool initiatives among the state’s littlest learners.

Proficiency in English-language arts has declined for youngest test-takers

To check reading skills, parents may be looking to track results in the state-administered M-STEP, or Michigan Student Test of Education Progress.

The earliest period students take the tests for English-language arts (ELA) is in the third grade, and the number of third graders testing proficient or advanced in ELA has marginally but consistently declined annually over the last five years.

According to M-STEP results reviewed by MLive Media, the ELA proficiency rate during the 2020-21 school year, when fewer students were recorded as taking the test, was 42.8% for third-grade students.

By last year, the rate had fallen to 38.9%.

Third graders during the 2024-25 school year, if they progressed normally from grade to grade, would’ve been in pre-kindergarten during 2020-21.

Students who were in the third grade in 2021 have since shown much more inconsistent or varied ELA results on tests as they continue through each grade level.

According to the data, fourth- and fifth-grade students tested at higher proficiency rates of 43.3% and 43.9% during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years, respectively. Then, the rate fell to 37.5% and 39.2% for sixth- and seventh-grade students in 2023-24 and 2024-25.

Other ways Whitmer’s budget proposal would support reading include $10.5 million to hire additional regional literacy coaches who assist teachers in developing instructional strategies for students from pre-K to fifth grade.

According to her office, this increase puts the total funding for literacy coaches at $52.5 million ― 420 coaches across the state, or 327 more since she took office.

Another $7.6 million would support literacy professional development for educators in all grade levels.

Does pre-K schooling keep kids in class later on?

Roughly 51,000 children statewide were enrolled in the GSRP as of last October as part of Michigan’s PreK for All push. That’s 9,000 more children than fall 2024, according to the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement and Potential.

Whitmer’s office aimed to raise pre-K to an estimated 68,000 children through GSRP next year. Her budget plan also proposes another $30 million to support early learning partnerships to add to the expansion of GRSP statewide.

Another way to track whether those early childhood (EC) or preschool programs are successful is if they keep kids in school as they progress through each grade level.

The state tracks absenteeism for students in kindergarten through third grade based on EC participation. Students who miss 10% or more of the year’s scheduled school days are generally considered “chronically absent” and may be listed under the “high absence rate.”

Over the last three years, the number of absentees considered high has varied at each grade level for students who did not participate in an early childhood program.

Students in all four grade levels that participated in EC programs showed improvement with marginal declines in the high rate of absences.

However, those rates have remained higher overall than groups who weren’t EC participants and both groups combined.

Part of that may be because of how EC participation is reported.

Districts hosting EC options like Great Start Readiness Program, which has been widely promoted by the state as free preschool, and other hybrid programs are required to report participation.

Head Start and Early Head Start programs, which are federally funded, are not.