The Michigan Department of Education says the latest K-12 M-STEP scores show "continued gradual improvement" in proficiency levels.
M-STEP tests are the state's assessments to gauge students' progress toward subject matter standards, designed to prepare students for the workplace or further training or education after high school.
The Michigan Department of Education said students performed better than last year in most grades and in most subjects on the state assessments, especially math in grades 3-7.
But there's still a lingering negative impact on test scores due to remote learning during the 2020 to 2021 school year, especially for students who were learning to read at that time, officials said.
And, similar to long-standing results in Michigan and other states, students from impoverished families also performed dramatically worse on M-STEP tests than middle class students.
M-STEP proficiency scores for English language arts and math for students living in poverty were less than half the rates for middle class students.
State officials said the fiscal year 2025 budget includes increased investments in at-risk funding for economically disadvantaged students, the Great Start Readiness Program for preschool students, English learners, students who receive special education services, and students in rural and isolated districts.
School districts now also have the flexibility to use funds to lower class sizes in grades K-3 to improve early literacy and numeracy in schools with high concentrations of students in poverty.
