MSU report examines retention rates related to Read by Grade Three law
By Hannah Mose
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EAST LANSING, Michigan (WNEM) — Michigan State University research shows a larger number of students scored low enough in reading to be held back in third grade in 2022, but school districts promoted most of those students to fourth grade.
Michigan’s Read by Grade Three law mandates that students can be held back in third grade if they score lower than one grade-level behind in reading at the end of the year. Districts reported holding back 545 students under this law for the 2022-23 school year, which accounts for 9.6 percent of the third-grade students eligible to repeat. This is a 3 percent increase compared to 2020-21 when a smaller percentage of third-grade students took the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP) in English Language Arts.
The report showed substantial differences between districts and different types of students. Districts reported retaining about 14 percent of Black students, compared to about 6 percent of white students. Economically disadvantaged students were twice as likely to be retained, and lower-performing and urban districts were more likely than others to retain all eligible students, MSU said.
“These data show that, while very few third-graders were retained as a result of the Read by Grade Three Law, retention disproportionately impacts students of color and low-income students, as well as students in urban districts and districts that have been traditionally lower-performing,” said Katharine Strunk, Clifford E. Erickson Distinguished Professor of Education Policy and faculty director of MSU’s Education Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC).
The Read by Grade Three Law gives school districts much discretion over when to retain students for low reading scores, giving “good cause exemptions” for students who fall into one of several categories. Since the 2020-21 school year, more than 50 percent of students have received retention exemptions due a parent’s request, and around 23 percent have received exemptions because they had an individualized education program (IEP) or a Section 504 plan.
“While there has been an increase in the percentage of students eligible for retention who have been retained, retention is still used for fewer than 10 percent of eligible students, and EPIC’s research indicates that both parents and educators have reservations about the benefit of retention,” State Superintendent Dr. Michael Rice said.
A 2021 survey showed educators who were more likely to retain eligible students were also more likely to see the benefits of that retention, while educators who did not retain all eligible students were more likely to see retention as burdensome. This may account for differences in retention rates between districts, MSU said.
EPIC has been collaborating with the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) and studying the Read by Grade Three Law since 2019 to better understand the impact this law is having. This report is a follow up to a retention rate report EPIC completed in September 2022, MSU said.
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