Michigan third grade reading scores continued to slide in the state’s most recent standardized tests this year, even as schools begin to implement reading reforms.
Just 38.2% of third grade students in Michigan are proficient in English Language Arts, down from 38.9% the previous year, according to results released Friday from the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress, commonly known as the M-STEP. Students took the tests in spring 2026. It’s the lowest third graders have scored in the 12-year history of the exam.
The news comes after leaders have tried for a decade to improve reading scores with literacy coaches, optional teacher training and a short-lived law to retain struggling third graders.
Meanwhile, fourth through seventh grade reading scores are also down from the previous year. Just 44% of students grades 3-8 are proficient in reading, according to a Chalkbeat analysis of M-STEP and PSAT 8/9 tests.
“We need to improve the results of all these assessments for our students moving forward,” said State Superintendent Glenn Maleyko. “Michigan proficiency rates are not where we want them to be. We must increase proficiency rates in all subjects and areas, and in all grades. And we must do this over time, showing steady improvement in all areas.”
It’s the first M-STEP release since Maleyko took the helm of the Michigan Department of Education last December. The tests measure if students are able to achieve skills outlined in state standards.
Only 35.5% of students grades 3-8 are proficient in math.
Many proficiency rates moved less than one percentage point, which MDE acknowledged in a news release.
“Most proficiency rates are essentially flat when compared to 2025 results on the tests, with the rates on all except four of 20 tests staying within 2 percentage points of the numbers in 2025 and most staying within a percentage point,” the department said.
Other takeaways include:
1. Math proficiency is up in third and sixth grade compared with last year, down in fifth grade and flat in fourth and seventh grade.
2. Fifth grade science and social studies proficiency is down.
3. Eighth graders improved their proficiency in social studies but results dropped in science.
4. In the 11th grade, science and social studies proficiency is up but performance is down in reading and math.
What to know about key districts in the state:
5. Detroit Public Schools Community District, the state’s largest district, saw gains in reading and math. In third grade, 14.1% of students are proficient in reading, up from 12.9% the previous year. In math, 20.1% are proficient, up from 15.7%.
6. In Grand Rapids, third grade reading made a slight gain from 19.6% third grade reading proficiency to 20.1%. Math increased from 19.6% to 23.5%.
7. Lansing School District saw gains in reading proficiency in third, fourth, fifth and sixth grades. But proficiency declined in seventh and eighth grades.
MDE also shared information on what it is doing to improve student proficiency.
It plans to release the “Michigan Mathematics Framework” this fall that will include “a shared vision for mathematics learning; evidence-based curriculum, instruction, and assessment; and coordinated systems for mathematics,” according to a news release. MDE is also creating a committee focused on science, technology, engineering and math, commonly known as STEM.
State focus on literacy but results down
These are the last state test scores that will come out before term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer leaves office. She has said literacy is her number one priority in her final year.
Voters will decide whether Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson or Republican US Rep. John James will be the next governor.
Maleyko emphasized that laws aimed at improving literacy are not fully in effect yet. He said the Legislature, governor, State Board of Education and educators needed to work together to improve outcomes.
Among those changes is a requirement that school districts use “evidence-based” reading instruction and screen students for characteristics of dyslexia by the 2027-2028 school year.
Under a new law signed this summer, elementary teachers will be required to complete ‘science of reading’ training by the 2031-2032 school year. Some school districts will receive state help as they work to fully train their teachers. Michigan also has funding for literacy coaches, vetted curriculum and teacher training.
If a district uses a literacy curriculum not from a state-vetted list and fails to inform parents, the district loses its state funding. But MDE does not have a mechanism where districts report what curriculum they use.
While department officials emphasize the need to improve literacy, they caution that state test scores are only one way to measure student achievement.
Delsa Chapman, a deputy superintendent at MDE, told Bridge that “if a student is not proficient or partially proficient, that does not mean that the student cannot read.
“On that one test in time, their demonstration of mastering the standards is determined through a proficiency rating. But that absolutely, again, does not state or say that the student cannot read or cannot do mathematics.”
Who gets tested in Michigan
Third through seventh graders in public schools throughout the state take the English language arts and math test.
Fifth grade students also take a science and social studies test. Eighth grade students take the PSAT 8/9 test for English language arts and math and the M-STEP for science and social studies.
Ninth graders take the PSAT 8/9 while 10th graders take the PSAT 10.
In 11th grade, students take the SAT, WIN Readiness Assessment, and science and social studies M-STEP.
Some students with disabilities take the MI-Access tests instead of the other tests.
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This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
