👋 We’re excited to join our colleagues at the 2026 AEFP Annual Conference to showcase research with consequence. If you are still finalizing your schedule visit https://tinyurl.com/883ar7zd to check out these EPIC presentations! Can’t wait to see you there!
This March, we’re applauding the educators, families, and students who make reading a priority every day. 💡 #MarchIsReadingMonth #EarlyLiteracy #MichiganEducation
📖 March is Reading Month! EPIC is committed to strengthening literacy across Michigan. Our research examines how state literacy policy is implemented in schools and the impact it has on students and educators.
We appreciate the work of the authors Tara Kilbride, Salem Rogers, Jennifer Moriarty, Tyler Powell and our collaborators Michigan Department of Education and
Center for Educational Performance and Information - without whom this report would not have been possible.
Mismatch between teachers’ clinical training and eventual job placements could contribute to early-career attrition. Teachers are more likely to work in urban, low-income, or racially diverse areas than they are to complete student teaching in these settings.
Early-career teachers—especially those with less pre-service training—leave their positions at the highest rates, contributing to continued instability even as new certifications increase.
2.8% of all teaching positions remained vacant. The rate was nearly twice as high for special education positions, which also face the highest turnover and widespread reliance on under-credentialed teachers.
Statewide, 5.3% of all teachers in 2024-25 were not certified. Charter schools’ reliance on uncertified teachers was especially high at 23%, compared to 3% in traditional public schools.
Nearly 8k MI teachers left the workforce in 2024-25. The 5.4k new teachers certified that year—a decade-high for the state—were only enough to replace 68% of those who left. Uncertified teachers and former teachers returning to the profession filled most of the remaining gap.
EPIC’s 2026 teacher shortage report builds on previous analyses using newly-available data to paint a picture of school staffing challenges across Michigan. See 🧵⬇️ and visit tinyurl.com/yf67zs89
Thanks to authors Tara Kilbride, Wei-Chu Chen, @vcrumlish, & Seth Walker, the EPIC team, & our amazing collaborators and partners in #ResearchWithConsequence that make these studies happen: MDE, CEPI, MiDataHub, & Education Policy Initiative.
5+ years since COVID-19 began, assessment data show signs of progress & enduring challenges. Math gains are strong but short-term, not fully translating into longer-term growth. Reading gaps are narrowing in upper grades, but show little change at the elementary level.
In 2020-21, students with no access to in-person instruction were the least likely to make “typical” growth (i.e., the median growth of similar students pre-COVID). 4 years later, their growth has “caught up” to the rest of the state but their achievement remains lower.
Gaps between high- and low-performing students widened in 2020-21. Reading gaps have since narrowed in middle school grades due to improvements at the 10th & 25th percentiles. Math and elementary reading gaps changed little since spring 2021, staying wider than pre-COVID norms.
Students experienced rapid growth in math achievement in both 2023-24 and 2024-25, but larger-than-typical setbacks over the summer meant that not all progress carried over from one year to the next. Reading achievement has remained mostly stagnant since 2021.
📢 Just released! EPIC’s latest benchmark assessment report incorporates the newest available school year data and expands on our previous analyses about COVID-19 learning recovery for Michigan’s K-8 students. bit.ly/4rOFbJ6
EPIC is hiring! Check out our research specialist position at: bit.ly/3Wex2z9
Read the full report and methods here: bit.ly/47UWWPq
Research shows investing more, especially on instructional salaries, improves student outcomes. In Michigan, instructional spending is mostly flat and a larger share now goes to legacy retirement costs, meaning fewer dollars reach classrooms.
Flexible dollars declined. The foundation allowance buys less than it did two decades ago, and it now makes up a much smaller share of district revenue. This has been replaced by more restricted funds, which makes budgeting harder.
Adjusting for inflation, funding rose through the early 2000s, fell for an extended period, and has partially rebounded since 2022. Even with recent gains, totals remain below the early-2000s peak, and some growth came from time-limited aid related to the pandemic.
Student needs have grown. The shares of students with disabilities, at risk, and English learners are all higher today than two decades ago. Serving students with higher needs takes more resources to achieve the same outcomes.
Understanding Michigan’s K-12 funding story starts with demographics: statewide enrollment has fallen since it peaked in the early 2000s. Smaller systems have higher per-pupil fixed costs, but in Michigan when enrollment falls, revenues do too.
New EPIC report: three decades of Michigan school finance—what’s changed, what $ reaches classrooms, and what that means for students. Read: bit.ly/47UWWPq
“Low pay makes it tougher to recruit and retain great teachers at a time that they are desperately needed,” says EPIC’s Dr. Jason Burns. Dig into the full report ➡️ bit.ly/4lVIsCW #MIed #TeacherPay
How to fund teacher raises?
1- 73 % back more state funding for K-12 education.
2- A majority favors shifting $$ from non-education budget areas.
3- Fewer than 1 in 5 would cut school programs or grow class sizes.
Michiganders support action on teacher pay: 75 % say starting pay should rise, tagging a “fair” salary at $54.6k, a raise of about $13k. There is also strong support for raising average teacher pay, with support for a raise of about $2,400.
Average salaries have also fallen, with Michigan teachers earning almost $3000 less than the national average and raking 19th in the country, dropping 3 spots since the 2021-22 school year.
Since 2021, MI starting pay has inched up slightly, while other states sprinted ahead. Average starting salaries are nearly $4,900 below the national average, and the state is now 44th on this measure, sliding 5 spots in recent years.
NEW from EPIC: Michigan teacher pay keeps sliding, but public opinion signals a desire for action. Teacher salaries have declined relative to inflation, other states, and other industries. Read on for more on our findings bit.ly/4lVIsCW. #MIed #TeacherPay
