LANSING, Mich. (AP) – Michigan’s new, more rigorous standardized tests show that half of students are proficient in reading while just a third are proficient in math.
Education experts say the low marks set a baseline from which the state must improve in an era of tougher standards.
The first-ever M-STEP results released Tuesday show 45 to 50 percent proficiency in English language arts across kids tested in grades 3-8 and 11. Math scores ranged from 28 to 49 percent proficiency.
The M-STEP, which students took online in the spring, replaced the 44-year-old paper Michigan Education Assessment Program test.
It is aligned with national Common Core education standards and puts less stress on multiple-choice questions and bubble sheets, instead emphasizing the measurement of critical thinking and problem solving through essays and short-answer written responses.
