{"id":5179,"date":"2019-10-31T17:18:07","date_gmt":"2019-10-31T17:18:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/senatedems.com\/polehanki\/?p=5179"},"modified":"2019-10-31T17:18:07","modified_gmt":"2019-10-31T17:18:07","slug":"sen-polehanki-legislation-to-revamp-third-grade-reading-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/polehanki\/2019\/10\/31\/sen-polehanki-legislation-to-revamp-third-grade-reading-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Sen. Polehanki Legislation to Revamp Third Grade Reading Law"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

LANSING \u2014 Today, Sen. Dayna Polehanki<\/strong> (D-Livonia) introduced legislation to reform the state\u2019s third grade reading law that, in its current form, could flunk 5,000 Michigan third graders this spring.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs many as 5,000 Michigan students could be retained in the third grade based on their performance on a standardized test that they take this spring,\u201d said Sen. Polehanki, a former English teacher with nearly 20 years of experience in the classroom. \u201cRetaining kids based solely on a test score isn\u2019t innovation \u2014 it\u2019s regression. In this revamped legislation we retain the best parts of original bill, but not the students.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experts who have studied grade retention agree that, at best, it\u2019s neutral. At worst, it yields negative effects on academic outcomes \u2014 including increased rates of high school dropouts, reduced college attendance<\/a>, and psychological stress, even in elementary-aged students<\/a>. Additionally, retention may disproportionately penalize African American, special education<\/a> and economically disadvantaged students<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senate Bill 633 would eliminate mandatory grade retention based on a student\u2019s test score while maintaining provisions to: <\/p>\n\n\n\n