Early childhood
education

The number of children enrolled in the Great Start Readiness Program, Michigan’s main public pre-K option, has reached an all-time high as increased investments have opened space for more children and the state has raised the income eligibility limit.

Public preschool offers immediate benefits to parents who are able to re-enter the labor force or increase the number of hours they work as well as long-term benefits to children, who experience greater educational attainment and higher earnings into adulthood.¹ Families with low incomes see the greatest benefits of public pre-K, thanks both to the labor market benefits as well as the cost savings.²

K-12 achievement

Nationally, adults have seen a significant decline in literacy and numeracy skills over the past 10 years.³ The literacy and numeracy skills kids learn in school have a long-lasting impact on their ability to access information, solve problems and participate in the workforce and society, but the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress showed students in Michigan continue to fall further behind in these key areas of student achievement. Just 25% of fourth-grade students are proficient in reading – below the national average of 30% – while just 24% of eighth-grade students are proficient in math.

Economic status should not determine academic outcomes, but the data shows students who are economically disadvantaged continue to face a wide performance gap in reading and math. In 2024, just 13% of economically disadvantaged students were proficient in fourth-grade reading, compared to 38% of students who are not economically disadvantaged. Similarly, just 12% of economically disadvantaged students were proficient in eighth-grade math, compared to 37% of other students. Improving academic achievement in Michigan will require both addressing gaps inside the classroom and ensuring students’ needs are met outside the classroom.

One challenge to addressing lagging achievement is growing absenteeism. When a student misses 10% of school days – roughly one day every two weeks – they are considered “chronically absent.” Economic barriers like housing instability, transportation inequities and health challenges all contribute to high rates of chronic absenteeism, a problem that has worsened substantially since the pandemic. As such, addressing the barriers to school attendance will require action at the community level.

Inclusion for students with disabilities

A world-class education must address the needs of students with disabilities, including those with physical disabilities, learning or developmental delays, and mental health or behavioral disorders. Over 200,000 students ages 0 to 26 receive special education services in Michigan, representing approximately 15% of students enrolled in public schools. The most common reason for which a student receives special education services under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is that a student has a specific learning disability, such as dyslexia, affecting their understanding or use of written or spoken language.

While children may be eligible for special education services during early childhood, many children do not begin receiving services until they enter elementary school. Fewer than 5% of children ages 0 to 5 receive special education services, despite the value of early special education in preventing further delays and reducing the need for more intensive services as adults. This gap may be a result of delayed identification, limited access to early screenings or barriers to intervention services. In addition to eligibility for Individualized Education Programs, students with a disability may be eligible for school health services. Over half of children with a special education plan in Michigan are insured by Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).⁵

Medicaid can reimburse schools for medically necessary services that are part of a student’s Individualized Education Program as well as services provided to students through School-Based Health Centers, including preventive care, screenings and speech therapy.⁶

Despite making up just 15% of the public school population, students with disabilities account for over 30% of out-of-school suspensions and expulsions in Michigan. Disciplinary actions that require physical time away from school contribute to the achievement gap by causing learning loss and a loss of resources that students rely on like mental health services and special education supports.

Higher education access & completion

Access to higher education is important both for our state’s economy, which relies on a highly educated workforce, and for improving access to job opportunities as young people enter the workforce. Workers with an associate degree earn 17.7% more than those with a high school diploma, but young adults in Michigan lag behind other states when it comes to educational attainment.⁷

Just 41.4% of young adults in Michigan who entered community college in 2018 obtained a higher credential within six years.⁸ Although this represents an improvement over the past decade, it still places Michigan in the bottom 10 states nationally and below the rest of our neighbors in the midwest.

Although Michigan has seen high school graduation rates increase in recent years, college readiness has declined. Students who do not meet college readiness benchmarks are less likely to successfully complete entry-level college requirements without remediation courses.

Improving college readiness alone is not enough to increase higher educational attainment in Michigan; students also need a means to pay for it. Despite the important role a college education plays in driving economic mobility, states have largely failed to adequately invest in postsecondary education following the recession. Lack of state and federal investment puts a greater burden on students and families to cover the rising cost of higher education.

And having a postsecondary degree or credential has never been more important. Right now, over half of jobs in Michigan – 2.43 million jobs in total – are at risk of automation.⁹ The most vulnerable include real estate and rental and leasing alongside accommodation and food services roles. The greatest protection against automation is a higher degree.

Michigan is taking steps to lessen the financial burden of higher education through programs like the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, the Michigan Tuition Grant and Michigan Reconnect, but the majority of students who seek a higher education are still reliant on student loans to pay for college. Because of a legacy of intergenerational wealth gaps, 78% of Black students rely on undergraduate student loans compared to 60% of white students.¹⁰ Addressing college affordability will not just help Michigan achieve its Sixty by 30 goals, but also improve economic mobility and lessen racial disparities for young people entering the workforce.