New results from major state assessments show some positive results for Detroit Public Schools Community District.
SAT and M-STEP data show improvements in important testing areas for many students. One of the most important factors is growth–district leaders are happy that student proficiency has once again outpaced state averages across the board.
In grades three through seven, students outperformed last year’s results in both literacy and math. Literacy jumped 1.5 percentage points while math increased 1.3 percentage points.
High schoolers also improved. Results went up 3.5 percentage points in math and 3.6 percentage points in reading.
One of the biggest jumps was in social studies for grades five, eight and and 11 — jumping up 8.5 percentage points. The district says the results doubled the pre-pandemic proficiency rate of 9% in 2019.
District Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said the results were exciting and the district needed to stay focused on improving attendance if it wanted to accelerate improvement.
“This year, once again, we demonstrated more improvement than the state average and we only represent 3.5% of that statewide average, which means that we are doing something differently and better to raise student achievement than most school districts in Michigan,” Vitti said in a statement.
Importance of third grade reading results
Literacy test scores for third graders get more scrutiny than other grades and subjects.
Third grade reading is a huge benchmark for educators. State lawmakers made the Read by Grade Three Law in an effort to improve literacy outcomes for all children. The law requires educators to assess, monitor and intervene when children are struggling to read.
A previous version of the law compelled students who failed to reach a certain literacy threshold by third grade to be held back. In 2024, that component of the law changed, but third grade reading continues to be one of the most important benchmarks for lifelong literacy outcomes.
More funding became available when the district settled its Right to Read lawsuit in 2020. The case granted the district $94.4 million for use in literacy interventions, but the funds took three years to arrive, followed by nearly a year of planning how to use the money.
Money for new reading materials, literacy coaches and more have now been put to use in Detroit schools.
It seems the literacy investment is paying off — Chalkbeat Detroit reports that this year’s third grade literacy test results are the highest in 11 years.
Detroit district is improving faster, but has further to go
A report by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), known as the “Nation’s Report Card,” earlier this year showed promising growth for the Detroit district, but the fact remains that the district is still testing at the bottom.
The Detroit district’s M-STEP scores show a similar story when compared to the rest of the state.
The district is improving at a faster rate than average, but 15.3% of students in grades three through seven are proficient in reading compared to 40.7% statewide.
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