Project Activities
Partners assessed the implementation, impact, and cost of the Michigan "Read by Grade 3" law intended to increase early literacy outcomes for Michigan students by: 1) improving literacy instruction in all Michigan schools; 2) implementing early monitoring and identification systems; 3) requiring interventions for struggling readers; and 4) requiring that students unable to read at grade level by the end of the third grade be retained for extra intervention.
Structured Abstract
Setting
This project took place in all public school districts (including charter schools) in the state of Michigan.
Sample
Participants included K-5th graders in Michigan public schools from 2011-2012 through 2023-2024.
Michigan's 2016 "Read by Grade 3" law specified a set of requirements to be fully implemented by the 2019-2020 school year that were intended to improve literacy instruction for all K- 3 students and to ensure monitoring, remediation and retention for students falling behind. Literacy instruction was improved through the adoption of specific components of literacy instruction and the provision of teacher professional development and coaching in these components. Districts were required to administer valid, reliable reading assessments to all K-3 students at least three times a year and students identified at risk of failing to reach proficiency by the third grade were required to receive additional supports that intensified in Grade 3. Districts retained third grade students (with exemptions available for certain types of students) who were a year behind or more on the state's third-grade Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP) English/Language Arts assessment and provided additional interventions for the retained students.
Initial research
The research team used two quasi-experimental designs to examine impacts on student outcomes. They used an interrupted time series design to compare pre- and post-Law trends in student achievement, retention, mobility, and teacher retention and mobility. In addition, researchers used a regression discontinuity design to examine the impacts on students designated as one grade level below reading proficiency in grade 3. In addition, they included an implementation study based on surveys to the population of teachers, principals, district superintendents and literacy coaches; interviews with key policymakers; and classroom observations assessed the fidelity of implementation and examined why implementation may or may not have gone as planned. They incorporated measures from the implementation study into the impact analyses to better understand how implementation and variation in implementation were associated with the success of the law.
Control condition
For the interrupted time series analysis, students in K-3 before the "Read by Grade 3" law (school year 2015-16 or earlier) was implemented served as the comparison group. For the regression discontinuity design, students not designated as at least one grade below proficiency in grade 3 but near the cutoff point served as the comparison group.
Key measures
Key measures in this project included: 3rd-grade English/Language Arts scores; K-3rd grade diagnostic assessment outcomes; student retention; student mobility; teacher mobility; reported literacy instruction; and perceived quality of literacy instruction.
Data analytic strategy
The research team estimated variants of an interrupted time series model and used a regression discontinuity analysis. They conducted additional analyses for specific subgroups based on student, school, and district characteristics. They used descriptive statistics and regression models to analyze fidelity of implementation and the relationships between implementation and outcomes.
Cost analysis strategy
Researchers collected cost data from a purposive sample of 50 Michigan school districts and addressed costs for: (1) parents or guardians, (2) teachers, (3) literacy coaches, (4) local school district administration. They aggregated these costs for part of the total costs for school districts and intermediate school districts. Fixed or administrative costs for the implementation of the program that were not related to per student costs were obtained by surveying districts and intermediate school districts.
Key outcomes
The main findings of this project are as follows:
- Comprehensive Policies Can Meaningfully Improve Student Achievement: The Law’s 8.7% of a standard deviation improvement in 3rd-grade ELA scores—equivalent to approximately a quarter of a grade level—represents substantial educational progress that benefited students across the state.
Identification and Support Systems Drive Positive Outcomes, Not Retention: Students flagged as retention-eligible showed meaningful academic improvements (0.045 standard deviations in reading) even in districts where no students were actually retained. (Berne, et al., 2025)
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Project contributors
Partner institutions
Michigan State University
Michigan Department of Education
University of Michigan
Products and publications
The partnership team provided evidence on the implementation, impact, and cost of the "Read by Grade 3" law. The team provided the evidence directly to the Michigan Department of Education through the participation of department personnel on the project and through ongoing joint meetings, briefings, and policy papers. The team presented results to the research community through presentations and peer-reviewed publications to the practitioner and policymaker communities through a series of policy briefs, reports, seminars, and conferences. The partnership team will create datasets from administrative data and make them available through the Michigan Education Data Center.
Project website:
Publications:
ERIC Citations: Find available citations in ERIC for this award here.
Berne, J. S., Jacob, B. A., Weiland, C., & Strunk, K. O. (2025). The impacts of grade retention policy with minimal retention (Working Paper No. 33764). National Bureau of Economic Research.
Cummings, A., Strunk, K. O., & De Voto, C. (2023). “A lot of states were doing it”: The development of Michigan’s Read by Grade Three law. Journal of Educational Change, 24(3), 107-132.
Westall, J., Strunk, K. O., & Uter, A. (2023). Challenges in implementing teacher–student assignment policies: Evidence from Michigan’s Read by Grade Three law. Education Policy Innovation Collaborative. ERIC.
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
