State Progresses in Rigorous High School/College Program Participation
and Success, Teacher Pipeline Improvement, Literacy Laws
LANSING – Michigan has experienced big wins in progress toward the eight goals in its Top 10 Strategic Education Plan. Successes include expanded rigorous high school/college program engagement demonstrated by more students taking college-level Advanced Placement courses and by those students doing much better on the exams for the classes.
Michigan Department of Education (MDE) leaders at today’s State Board of Education meeting presented their annual update on the eight goals.
In addition to improvements related to Advanced Placement courses, the presentation showed progress in increased participation in career and technical education, dual enrollment, and early middle college. Participation in all those programs is measured under Goal 4, to expand secondary learning opportunities for all students.
Progress in increasing the number of certified teachers in areas of shortage and actions expected to improve early literacy achievement were other big wins highlighted in the presentation, along with higher graduation rates. Progress toward more adequate and equitable funding, another goal, has taken place in the last three fiscal years as well.
“Hard work by our local educators and ISD support teams across the state to improve public education is paying off,” State Superintendent Dr. Michael F. Rice said. “Greater state investments in our students, schools, and teachers are also playing a role. We recognize that much more work is needed, but we should celebrate the progress that we have already made.”
The State Board of Education updated and approved Michigan's Top 10 Strategic Education Plan in August 2020.
“Michigan's Top 10 Strategic Education Plan provides focused direction to Michigan's education community in support of all learners,” said State Board of Education President Dr. Pamela Pugh. “I applaud efforts by educators, parents, students, local communities, and businesses that have been a key to our improvement. The State Board of Education will continue its commitment to making Michigan’s education system better by partnering with local schools and lawmakers to achieve our goals, tracking our progress with metrics, and sharing with the public both our accomplishments and the areas in which we must do better for the sake of our children.”
Below are more details on progress toward some of the goals in the plan.
Goal 4, Expand secondary learning opportunities for all students.
Progress includes:
- Advanced Placement courses: More students enrolled in Advanced Placement courses during the 2023-24 school year. Enrollment increased by 8,544 students over two years, or 12.3%, to 78,275. Enrollment over the two years increased for all seven racial and ethnic groups tracked, including increases of 28% for Black or African American students, 26% for Hispanic or Latino students, and 23.7% for students of two or more races.
The number of Michigan students with scores high enough to qualify to receive college credit at many colleges increased by 31% over two years. The improvements were even more dramatic among students of color. The number of Black students with qualifying scores on the exams jumped by more than 100%, with increases of 63.8% among students of two or more races and 60.2% for Hispanic or Latino children.
In the falls of 2023, 2024, and 2025, State Superintendent Rice sent letters to the parents of students whose PSAT scores indicate the likelihood of success in Advanced Placement coursework. These letters—41,000 two years ago, 90,000 last year, and 81,000 just last week—help encourage students to take more rigorous high school coursework, in Advanced Placement, CTE, dual enrollment, early middle college, and International Baccalaureate. MDE is one of only two states in the country that use the College Board AP Potential test at the state level to help encourage AP participation and success.
- Career and technical education: Enrollment in and completion of career and technical education programs, often known as CTE programs, have not only recovered from decreases during the pandemic, but now exceed enrollment and completion from before COVID. CTE programs prepare students for careers in areas ranging from agriculture, to skilled trades, public safety, and science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
CTE completers, students who finish an entire series of courses in a given career area rather than a single course or two, have increased the last three years, a total increase of more than 8,000 students, or 19% from 44,226 in 2020-21 to 52,625 in 2023-24, and greater than not only the 2019-20 pre-pandemic number of 50,416 but also any single year pre-pandemic.
“We are thrilled to see the impressive progress Michigan students are making in advanced placement courses, both in terms of increased enrollment and improved performance,” said Ms. Wendy Zdeb, executive director of the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals. “This progress highlights the variety of opportunities available to Michigan students to earn credit while in high school, from AP courses to dual enrollment, CTE, and early middle college programs. These options are a testament to the hard work of secondary school principals and their teams, who are committed to providing equitable access to rigorous academic opportunities. By expanding AP course participation and other pathways, we are preparing students for success in college and beyond, empowering them to unlock their full potential.”
Goal 7, Increase the numbers of certified teachers in areas of shortage.
Progress includes:
- A rebound in enrollment and completion of teacher preparation programs, with a 71% increase from 9,512 students in 2016-17 to 16,260 students in 2022-23. This rise has come after a large decrease in teacher preparation enrollment, from 23,203 in 2011-12 to 9,512 in 2016-17, a decline of 59 percent.
- The state’s efforts to address the teacher shortage and encourage more people to pursue a teaching career in Michigan include, but are not limited to, scholarships to future educators; stipends for student teachers; student loan repayments; Future Proud Michigan Educator EXPLORE grants; the Future Proud Michigan Educator LAUNCH program; Grow Your Own grant programs; Talent Together; expedited reciprocity for teachers and counselors certified in other states; a rural credentialing hub; and tuition reimbursement for special education teachers.
- More diversity among Michigan teachers. The number of teachers of color jumped by 34% during the eight years ending last school year, with the number of teachers of color increasing by 2,272.
- National recognition of Michigan’s success from the U.S. Department of Education.
Goal 3, Improve the health, safety, and wellness of all learners.
Progress includes:
- Increases in school breakfasts and lunches served to children, to improve student health and learning. The number of Michigan public school students eating school breakfasts increased 26% last school year while the number eating school lunches jumped 20%.
- The dramatic increase came in the first year that Michigan offered free breakfast and lunch to Michigan’s 1.4 million public school students with the state-funded Michigan Meals Program, approved by the state legislature and signed into law by Governor Gretchen Whitmer. As a result, the number of students eating breakfast at school daily increased by nearly 100,000 – from 379,000 to 477,000. The number of children eating lunch at school daily climbed by more than 140,000 – from 723,000 to 867,000. Michigan was the eighth state in the country to offer free meals to all students.
- Improved access to school mental health services and school safety improvements. There was no state school aid funding for children’s mental health and school safety as recently as fiscal year 2018. In fiscal year 2024, there was $491.8 million in funding for those purposes. Despite reductions in fiscal year 2025, there is $259.3 million for children’s mental health and safety in the fiscal year 2025 budget. Both the State Board of Education and the Michigan Department of Education advocated for the funding.
Goal 5, Increase the percentage of all students who graduate from high school.
Progress includes:
- Statewide graduation rates rising in 10 of the last 12 years.
- 2023 graduation rates increasing from the year before in 17 of 17 categories of students measured. The 17 categories are based on factors such as gender, race/ethnicity, economic disadvantage, and disability.
- 2023 graduation rates being higher than pre-pandemic in 13 of 17 categories.
- A variety of efforts by local school districts with support from MDE to increase graduation rates.
Goal 2, Improve Early Literacy Achievement
Progress includes:
- Literacy/dyslexia legislation recently signed into law by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
- More teachers training in Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling, commonly known as LETRS. Nearly 2,700 teachers have completed the training while another 7,500 are in the process of being trained and 625 have enrolled but not yet started. LETRS is a training program that provides educators with an in-depth look at the five pillars of literacy instruction.
“Literacy is the foundation to success in school,” said Dr. Sue C. Carnell, MDE chief deputy superintendent. “Children must be able to read and write to learn math, science, and other subjects. That’s why the new literacy laws and our ongoing efforts to have teachers trained in the science of reading through LETRS are so important.”
Goal 8, Provide adequate and equitable school funding.
Progress includes:
- Fiscal year 2023 and fiscal year 2024 budgets that were Michigan’s strongest education budgets in the last 30 years.
- In the last three years – fiscal years 2023, 2024 and 2025 – Section 31a categorical funding for economically disadvantaged students increased by $512.5 million, or 102%; Section 51e categorical funding for students with disabilities increased by $409.4 million, or 454%; Section 41 categorical funding for English learners increased by $24.9 million, or 99%; and Section 22d categorical funding for rural/isolated district students increased $8.4 million, or 46%.
Rice noted that goals 7 and 8 are the two “upstream goals” that drive progress in all other goals due to the importance of adequate and equitable funding and addressing the teacher shortage. Despite the great progress in school funding, Rice said Michigan continues to underfund schools by billions of dollars, according to the parameters of the 2018 study of the School Finance Research Collaborative.
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