A couple of Michigan laws that took effect Tuesday mean high school upperclassmen no longer need to take an essay portion of their Michigan Merit Examination.
That test, often taken in the 11th grade, includes subject matter assessments, the SAT, and a work readiness evaluation.
State Representative Tom Kunse (R-Clare) co-sponsored the law. He said the essay scores were unnecessary since none of Michigan’s public universities require scores from standardized writing tests for admission anyway.
“The information doesn’t get back. It doesn’t get back to the students, it doesn’t get back to the teachers, and so I struggle to see any redeeming qualities,” Kunse said.
The laws, signed in mid-May, also end a requirement for schools to include those test scores in each subject area on high school transcripts.
Kunse said that put Michigan students at a disadvantage compared to out-of-state students who might choose not to submit their scores when applying to college.
“Everybody knows that it doesn’t matter. So they’re not putting their best effort forward. They’re throwing something down, they just want to be done,” Kunse said, adding those artificially poor scores could sometimes force an admissions office’s hand. “You can’t unsee it. You can’t say, ‘Well, I know that they did poor on the essay but I’m going to ignore it because they didn’t have to do it.”
Many education groups, including the Michigan Association of School Boards, the Michigan Association for College Admission Counseling, and the Michigan College Access Network, supported the laws as they went through the committee process.
The laws passed the state House of Representatives with full support, and the state Senate by a 24-9 margin. Seven Senate Republicans joined Democrats in voting for the legislation.
