Michigan is falling behind most other states when it comes to improving student achievement.
That’s the conclusion of a new report from Royal Oak-based Education Trust-Midwest.
The report looks at the improvements in student achievement in Michigan from 2003 to 2011 and compares it to the improvements other states have seen.
On almost every measure, Michigan lags well behind the national average.
From the report:
Sadly, we have little to be proud of today. Our state’s educational performance is lackluster by practically any reliable measure.
Amber Arrellano of The Education Trust-Midwest says part of the problem is Michigan has relied primarily on charter schools to improve student outcomes, and not all charter schools have been successful.
"We're actually putting tens of millions of dollars and subsidizing the growth of some of our worst schools in the state. And that’s just not a good use of our taxpayer dollars," she said.
Arrellano says more school choice can improve outcomes, "but when the Legislature decided to lift the state cap on charter schools a few years ago, they did not include any performance standards for who gets to expand here."
Arrellano says there are high-quality charter schools that improve student performance in Michigan, but she says the lower quality charter school operators are expanding more quickly.
Arrellano says research from Stanford University shows that charter school operators with less successful track records are actually expanding more quickly than those with better track records.
