Detroit school district reaches 11-year high in third grade reading proficiency on state assessments

SignupforChalkbeatDetroit’sfreenewslettertokeepupwiththecity’spublicschoolsystemandMichiganeducationpolicy. ThepercentageofthirdgraderswhometorexceededproficiencyinreadingintheDetroitschooldistrictlastspringreachedan11-yearhigh,newlyreleasedstatestandardizedtestresultsshow. Theresultsofthe2024-25MichiganStudentTestofEducationalProgress,orM-STEP,provideaglimpseofhowtheDetroitPublicSchoolsCommunityDistrict’seffortstoimproveliteracy,includingitsplantoinvestmillionsin“righttoread”lawsuitsettlementmoney,ismakinganimpact.Muchoftheinvestmentincludedhiringhundredsofacademicinterventioniststoworkone-on-oneorinsmallgroupswithstudentsintheearlygrades. Inadditiontoimprovingreadingproficiencyinearlygrades,nearlyeverygradeinDPSCDhadhigherproficiencyratesinmathandEnglishlanguagearts,orELA,ontheM-STEPsincetheexamwasfirstadministeredin2014-15.Theonlyexceptionwasinthirdgrademath,whichwasnearlythesamep