Michigan Senator: Third Graders Must Read Well or Be Retained

Senator Wayne Kuipers of Michigan recently proposed a bill that would require Michigan schools to hold back all third graders whose reading scores are deemed too low to advance to fourth grade.

As a local TV station reports, Senator Kuipers ”says he’s viewed studies that show students with poor reading skills in the third grade have a much smaller chance of later success in life than better readers.

‘Reading is key to success in subjects like math, science, and other studies,’ Sen. Kuipers says.”

I wonder if Senator Kuipers has also viewed the many studies that show incredibly negative future academic results from students who have been retained. 

Also, as Nancy Flanagan so eloquently points out, “Isn’t a third grade reading level (however defined) theoretically the average reading skill of an 8-year old? So—wouldn’t some kids necessarily be ahead and behind on the developmental path to reading facility? Has Senator Kuipers confused the Lake Woebegon effect with the Lake Michigan effect—and woe indeed to the child plugging along at the second grade reading level after reaching the third grade?”

This is similar to No Child Left Behind, which states that 100% of students need to be at grade level in reading and math by 2014. 

The fact that both Senator Kuipers and NCLB seem to forget is simple: some students will always struggle, and retaining those students is not always the best option. 

Here’s hoping this bill never gets out of committee.