Michigan Students Show Mixed Academic Recovery Post-COVID
As Michigan’s educational landscape strives to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study highlights both triumphs and ongoing challenges faced by K-8 students in the state. Conducted by the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC) at Michigan State University, the research reveals strides in mathematics, while reading proficiency continues to lag.
EPIC’s recent findings report significant progress in math for Michigan students. During the 2023–24 academic year, students climbed from the 43rd to the 50th percentile compared to pre-pandemic national standards between fall and spring assessments. Despite a slight dip to the 47th percentile by the subsequent fall, accelerated learning in the 2024–25 school year propelled students to a 51st percentile ranking in spring 2025. This performance surpasses both the pre-pandemic national median and the state’s average from fall 2020.
However, the study cautions that students are not consistently maintaining these gains across school years, indicating potential retention issues. In contrast, reading scores tell a different story. At the onset of the 2020–21 school year, Michigan students were above national norms, with scores in the 53rd percentile. By year’s end, this dropped to the 49th percentile, hovering around this level in subsequent years. The stagnation mirrors national trends as observed in the MAP Growth and i-Ready assessments.
Despite average reading scores showing little change, the report notes progress among Michigan’s lowest-performing readers, particularly in middle school. This improvement has narrowed the gap between high- and low-performing students, though it has not fully reverted to pre-pandemic levels. Math proficiency disparities remain consistent with 2021 figures.
Interim State Superintendent Sue Carnell remarked on the findings, stating, “It is encouraging to see Michigan students making gains in recent years on these reading and math assessments. Hard work by local districts and students is paying off. That said, we still have much room for further improvement.”
Additionally, the report highlights that districts with remote learning in 2020-21 are beginning to match the state’s growth pace, as evidenced by rising test scores, yet they still lag behind in overall assessment outcomes.
