Capitol News

In recent years, the focus on literacy, particularly in elementary schools, has led to significant policy developments across the nation. Michigan, like many other states, enacted a comprehensive literacy policy with the Read by Grade Three law in 2016. However, this policy did not call for statewide adoption of particular English language arts (ELA) curriculum resources, as has been done in some other states and school districts.

According to a new report from MSU’s Education Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC), which has been studying the implementation of the Read by Grade Three law since 2018, there is substantial variation in the use of curriculum resources from classroom to classroom across the state.

Michigan elementary teachers continue to use a wide range of 444 ELA curriculum resources. Compared to 2019-20, this represents a slight decrease from the 464 total resources used in that year. Teachers are also more likely than they were in 2019 and 2020 to use one core curriculum resource but have expanded their use of supplemental writing and phonics/spelling resources. This could reflect ongoing efforts to meet the varied needs of students and address different aspects of ELA instruction effectively. However, the sheer number of different resources can lead to differences in the quality of literacy education students receive depending on their classroom and teacher. While variability allows for customization, it also raises questions about equity in students’ access to high-quality literacy resources throughout the state.

“I appreciate that more of the most frequently used English Language Arts curricula in local school districts have received favorable ratings and that more teachers have received relevant professional development in early literacy than pre-pandemic,” said State Superintendent Michael F. Rice. “Clearly, though, there are still far too many districts with curricula that have not been rated favorably or rated at all. There are still many early elementary educators who could benefit from deep professional development in the science of reading.”

Rice added: “We need to narrow the wide range of English Language Arts curricula to those core curricular resources that have demonstrated success in improving students’ literacy. The EPIC report reinforces that now is the time for the Michigan Legislature to pass K-12 literacy and dyslexia legislation vital to our students’ academic success and future.”

Since the 2019-20 school year, Michigan’s districts have made considerable changes to their ELA curriculum resources, particularly in response to COVID-19 pandemic disruptions. Approximately three-quarters of districts modified their ELA curriculum resources during this period to support remote learning. Afterward, less than one-fifth reported further modifications by 2021-22.

“While we want teachers to differentiate literacy instruction appropriately to meet students’ instructional needs,” said Tanya Wright, one author of the report and associate professor at Michigan State University’s Department of Teacher Education,“the number and variety of curriculum resources used suggests that children are getting vastly different instructional experiences from classroom to classroom across our state.”

The report also explores how commonly used core reading curriculum resources in Michigan are rated by evaluation organizations such as What Works Clearinghouse, Evidence for ESSA, and EdReports available publicly for educators' reference. The proportion of teachers using ELA core curriculum resources rated as “Meets Expectations” by EdReports increased significantly from 2019-20 to 2022-23.

However, more than two-thirds of teachers still use unrated or substandard curriculum resources according to EdReports standards. Furthermore, most commonly used curriculum materials lack ratings from What Works Clearinghouse or Evidence for ESSA.

Teachers reported an increase in professional development opportunities for implementing their ELA curriculum resources—especially notable among districts serving higher proportions of historically underserved students—suggesting efforts toward enhancing teacher capacity despite disparities between rural educators compared with urban and suburban counterparts.