Analysis: Michigan Public Education Financing Policy Recommendations

QUALITY TEACHING FOR EQUITY AND SUCCESS: MICHIGAN’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS 1 Robert Gracin 3 May 2019 Michigan’s Public Schools: Present and Future Michigan’s public education system lacks a centralized stream of accountability in three key areas: equitable school financing, teacher development practices, and curriculum development and assessment strategies. In 2017, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder commissioned a team of state-wide stakeholders to draft a report of Michigan’s public school proficiency and recommendations for change. The Commission report, titled “The Best Education System for Michigan’s Success: A Blueprint for Educating Michigan’s residents to Build the Best Businesses, Win the Best Jobs, and Achieve the American Dream” reports that less than half (46%) of Michigan residents born in the 1980s are earning more than their parents at the same point in their lives (Commission Report 2017, p. 11). The report offers nine guiding principles to ensure access to quality education in Michigan, ultimately to forge a stronger state economy. On the national level, “highly educated states, such as Massachusetts and Connecticut, also boast the highest per-capita incomes in the country. Michigan, however, ranks 35th for educational attainment and 33rd for per-capita income” (Commission Report 2017, p.

13). Thus, change is needed in the key areas funding, talent development, and proficiency metrics to prepare Michigan’s students for the 21st century.

Funding Inequity in Michigan’s Public Schools Michigan’s current public education finance structure, known as Proposal A, only partially achieves equity in education access; more robust vertical equity policies could be

QUALITY TEACHING FOR EQUITY AND SUCCESS: MICHIGAN’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2 implemented to close achievement gaps for at-risk students. Proposal A’s foundation allowance of $7,076 per pupil across Michigan achieves horizontal equity by treating each student the same, but does not accommodate unique needs of students. ‘Vertical equity’ policies aim to directly accommodate a disadvantaged student by providing funding and resources uniquely tailored to address achievement gaps. These gaps could be due to socioeconomic factors that make students vulnerable, learning disabilities, or below grade-level achievement. Overall, “it costs more to educate a low-income than a high-income child to a given education standard.

Equity of outcomes, therefore, requires higher funding for students with greater educational needs” (Arsen, Delpier, and Nagel 2019, p. 9). Vertical equity measures could help Michigan’s black fourth graders, who have the lowest reading performance in the country, or Hispanic students in Michigan who are ranked 32nd nationally in reading comprehension (Commission Report 2017, p. 15). Both horizontal and vertical equity policies inherently aim to achieve adequacy in student performance, however data clearly shows that Michigan’s horizontal equity per-pupil-funding model is not helping all students reach adequacy.

In the 25 years since its creation, Michigan’s state-controlled education revenue stream has not “calibrated funding levels to the resources needed for students to meet outcome standards, even as the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act and the Michigan Merit Curriculum dramatically increased achievement expectations” (Arsen, Delpier, and Nagel, 209, p. 1). Thus, public schools do not have the money or resources to enable students to master curriculums that are created both in Michigan’s capital city of Lansing or in Washington, D.C. The per-pupil funding model accommodates school-of-choice policies, allowing students and families to choose schools they think will best educate their students. Per-pupil funding allows

QUALITY TEACHING FOR EQUITY AND SUCCESS: MICHIGAN’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS 3 for easier movement across school districts and systems, theoretically giving access to choices of ‘best schools.’ However, school-of-choice mentality inherently assumes that school districts have unequal achievement levels, because families will naturally choose to enroll in high-performing schools. As a result of this enrollment away from lower-performing schools, failing schools are left with even less funding to address shortcomings, as their revenue stream is directly attached to each student (priced at $7,076). While attention must be paid to the cost of educating each student, this calculation must be more inclusive of students who have different educational needs, and closing achievement gaps before they grow too wide.

Low Proficiency and Inept Assessment Practices Across School Systems Michigan’s per-pupil funding model sets underperforming public schools for failure. As these schools are marked ‘failing,’ charter schools have been seen as an alternative to underfunded, low-performing schools, because charters are subject to different funding mechanisms and administration that are often able to perform better than a public school. For this reason, many charter schools follow alternative curriculums, fostering unequal standards and gaps in knowledge acquisition across school districts. Further, many charter schools do not participate in the same standardized assessments as public schools, further creating separate expectations between public school districts and charter schools as they relate to achievement measures.

President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind law in 2002 to establish national measurable standards of school performance. NCLB established the Common Core curriculum to allow for juxtaposition of school performance, which can be subject to a calculated school

QUALITY TEACHING FOR EQUITY AND SUCCESS: MICHIGAN’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS 4 success formula to determine a school as ‘successful’ or ‘failing.’ NCLB allows ‘failing schools’ to turn their students over to a market-based education, which encourages public school districts to close existing schools and build new “choice schools,” known as charter schools (Lipman (2008) p. 125). Essentially, NCLB allows policymakers to privatize underperforming schools in hopes that market forces and private management will make schools more competitive, accountable, and ready for the 21​st​ century’s global technology-driven economy.

This separation of systems, expectations, and resource allocation is detrimental to Michigan’s economy overall, as the future workforce is being unequally educated in very different environments. Further, the lack of a universal curriculum and assessment of all Michigan schools does not allow educators or policy makers with an analysis framework for which practices are making progress, and which can be re-thought with student success in mind.

While Michigan education policymakers have defined student performance goals and accountability standards to measure school success in the Michigan Merit Curriculum, their finance policies and resource provisions aimed to enable student success are underdeveloped and contradictory (Commission Report 2019 p. 80).

Lack of Teacher Development “Guiding Principle 1” for Michigan’s education success in former Governor Snyder’s report is to “Elevate the Teaching Profession” (Commission Report 2017 p. 37). Michigan is not alone in struggling to retain its teachers, as different states offer more appealing incentives to their education professionals. The Commission Report cites that “as many as one-third of teachers leave the profession in their first three years, and almost 50 percent leave after five

QUALITY TEACHING FOR EQUITY AND SUCCESS: MICHIGAN’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS 5 years. Half of new principles leave the profession within their first three years, and enrollment in teacher prep programs is down by more than one-third from 2009-2010” (Commission Report 2017 p. 38). Low salaries and Michigan’s lack of career advancement opportunities within the public K-12 system can be attributed to low teacher retention. Further, Michigan’s absence of a universal teacher apprenticeship program and evaluations of classroom readiness for new teachers does not make the profession seem robust or secure, and contribute to the overall lack of organization and blurred expectations for teaching adequacy (Commission Report 2017, p. 41).

Aside from formal classroom readiness, Michigan’s teachers are not equipped to navigate the diversity of the state’s students; education policy scholars would say that teachers lack ‘pedagogy’ awareness. Pedagogy is influenced by the ethnic and cultural diversity present in school environments, originally introduced by Brazilian education reformist Paulo Freire in the 1970s. Pedagogy in curriculum aims to help students understand their identity, and how it relates to their position in the world (Freire 1972, p. 58). Snyder’s 2017 Report cites that 90% of Michigan’s public school teachers are white, while 33% of Michigan students are nonwhite (Commission Report 2017 p. 38). This is a concern for minority students who do not have an identifiable representative in their school day, which could bridge the gaps between students and teachers. Thus, in the same way that teachers must be trained for diversity and inclusion awareness, minority students need a diverse range of teachers to connect with to foster a relatable, pedagogical classroom experience.

QUALITY TEACHING FOR EQUITY AND SUCCESS: MICHIGAN’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS 6 Best Practices: Singapore’s Teacher Development and Curriculum Singapore is one of the most densely populated places in the world as well as a regional and global center for commerce and business. With a highly internationalized and technology-driven economy, about 29% of Singapore’s residents are foreign and multilingualism is encouraged (Darling-Hammond et al 2017, p. 44). Singapore has a very centralized public education system, in which 75% of public schools are run by the government. The small fraction of private, religious schools in the country are able to receive up to 95% of the funding as traditional public schools, subjecting them to the same curriculum, assessments, and accountability measures as public schools (Darling-Hammond et al 2017, p. 44). Thus, standard, consistent inputs into slightly different school systems--private and public--establish clear accountability, proficient outputs and high academic achievement across the country. Singapore has almost no natural resources, so it “aims to develop internationally minded, culturally competent citizens with a degree of literacy and technical expertise” (Darling-Hammond et al 2017, p. 43).

In Singapore, all teachers are trained by the National Institute of Education for free (Darling-Hammond et al 2017, p. 43). While the initial teacher education program is paid for by the government, teachers enjoy high salaries and opportunities for career advancement. The school systems have a “well-developed career ladder to recruit and train highly talented and knowledgeable teacher leaders and system leaders… who deeply understand how all aspects of the system operate” (Darling-Hammond et al 2017, p. 44). With emphasis placed on collaboration, sharing of teacher-inquiry methods, and action research, teachers play an integral role in continually revising teaching strategies to update curriculum with the most effective

QUALITY TEACHING FOR EQUITY AND SUCCESS: MICHIGAN’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS 7 practices. Teachers strive to master areas of specialty and apply their research to their classroom strategies, while also sharing this knowledge with other educators (Darling-Hammond et al 2017, p. 45).

Singapore’s 1997 “Thinking Schools, Learning Nation” initiative sparked an innovative curriculum to develop students for the country’s internationalized, technology-driven economy (Darling-Hammond et al 2017, p. 45). Under this curriculum, students participate in less standardized tests and more interactive assessments to hone each student’s potential, and prepare them for a collaborative workplace. This education system “regards all students as being diverse learners with different potentials, with the role of the government as one of equalizing educational opportunities to enable students to meet their full potential” (Darling-Hammond et al 2017, p. 45). The country also implemented the 2004 “Teach Less, Learn More” policy to reduce curriculum content quantity, and open more class time for inquiry and discussion. This curriculum cultivates 21st century competencies including “critical and creative thinking, global awareness, civic literacy, and cross-cultural skills” (Darling-Hammond et al 2017, p. 45). As a result, 75% of young people attain a post-secondary or technical degree (Darling-Hammond et al 2017, p. 45).

Singapore’s teacher development programs and assessment mechanisms can address some of Michigan’s achievement gaps. While Singapore’s centralized teacher training system is different from Michigan’s, its career ladder model could help “elevate the teaching profession” as suggested in Snyder’s 2017 report (Commission Report 2017 p. 37). The structured, diverse career pathways for educators in Singapore allow teachers specialize in areas where they can best help students. The population density and size of the nation allow for a centralized system with

QUALITY TEACHING FOR EQUITY AND SUCCESS: MICHIGAN’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS 8 high standards and best practices. Further, its curriculum reflects the nation’s technology-reliant economy, and the assessments are inclusive of all student’s ability levels, working with them.

Michigan’s public schools should prepare students for the diverse economy in Michigan, the Midwest, and the global market.

Best Practices: Ontario’s Equity Pedagogy linked to Proficiency Canada is similar to the United States in the way that its provinces determine school curriculum, as American states administer their own education systems. There is no federal education administration in Canada, leaving each province to develop its curriculum. Ontario is Canada’s most populous and internationalized province, holding 40% of the nation’s immigrants speaking more than 100 languages (Darling-Hammond et al 2017, p. 27). 27% of students within Ontario’s public school system were born outside of Canada in 2014 (Darling-Hammond et al 2017, p. 27). Ontario’s diversity levels are impressive, as are the minimal achievement gaps between immigrants and non-immigrants within the public education system. Canada ranks in the top 10 globally for reading, math, and science, with the provinces of Ontario and Alberta leading the way (Darling-Hammond et al 2017, p. 27).

Like Michigan, Ontario has some degree of local governance of school systems. Each Ontario school “has a school council elected annually and composed of parents, students, staff members, and community volunteer members” actively engaged in enhancing public education (Darling-Hammond et al 2017, p. 27). Another similar presence in both America and Canada are teachers unions, which are collaborative with Ontario’s school system and foster relationships among education professionals: “Teacher’s Associations are also involved in the development of

QUALITY TEACHING FOR EQUITY AND SUCCESS: MICHIGAN’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS 9 many professional development programs and are often actively involved in partnerships with government to facilitate their implementation” (Darling-Hammond et al 2017, p. 31). Ontario’s teachers complete a two year New Teacher Induction Program, in which they are mentored and assessed for classroom readiness. Further, teachers collaborate for “job-embedded capacity building” and sharing of best practices within schools and across districts (Darling-Hammond et al 2017, p. 31).

All Canadian provinces and especially Ontario “seek to equalize educational resources at the local school level and provide additional support for students with greater needs. This includes factors such as socioeconomic background, First Nations status, geographic location of the school, and disability status” (Darling-Hammond et al 2017, p. 29). Thus, Ontario employs policies based on vertical equity measures to allocate student support. Vertical equity is found to be effective in Ontario, closing achievement gaps and boosting overall school performance: “An initiative that provided underperforming schools with additional resources, technical assistance, and professional development supports led to the number of these schools falling from 20% to about 6% even though the threshold for intervention was raised and achievement gaps between first-language English speakers and English language learners were reduced” (Darling-Hammond et al 2017, p. 27). Thus, Ontario recognizes that increased funding for low-performing schools closes achievement gaps and boosts school proficiency overall. As mentioned, Michigan’s education finance structure does not adequately accommodate underperforming schools, leaving them to ‘fail’ under NCLB standards.

While the federalist structures of Canada and the United States are similar, the social safety nets are very different. All Canadians receive a universal childcare benefit to offset the

QUALITY TEACHING FOR EQUITY AND SUCCESS: MICHIGAN’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS 10 cost of preschool education. “As a consequence, even when children come from families with low incomes, most experience less deprivation than they might in other countries” (Darling-Hammond et al 2017, p. 27). Thus, student success in the classroom is linked to access to social services. While America’s social services are meager compared to Canada, some school districts have re-imagined the public school system as a community center for various social mobility opportunities and programs.

QUALITY TEACHING FOR EQUITY AND SUCCESS: MICHIGAN’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS 11 Figure 1: Comparison of education infrastructure: Michigan, Ontario, Singapore.

Michigan

Ontario

Singapore

Governance

Federalism, state-administered education

Federalism, province-administered education

Central government administers most aspects

Curriculum

-Minimal national curriculum (NCLB) -Michigan Merit Curriculum

-No national curriculum -Province reassesses curriculum -continuous curriculum review by Ministry

-National curriculum -“Thinking Schools, Thinking Nation” -“Teach Less, Learn More”

Teacher

-various programs and expectations -content knowledge-based licensure exam

-capacity sharing across schools -2 year clinical experience -high compensation and societal respect -many have Master’s degree

-initial teacher training paid for -capacity sharing across schools -career ladder system -high compensation and societal respect

Role of teachers

-unionize -ongoing learning often through teachers unions

-unionize -mentor new teachers -capacity sharing across schools

-capacity sharing across schools -develop curriculum

Assessments

-yearly M-STEP (grades 3-11) -11th grade ACT -multiple choice exams

-4 assessments throughout k-12 system -teachers develop assessments using application-based projects, essays, etc.

-3 assessments throughout k-12 system -tests are open-ended problem solutions

Proficiency

-MI ranks 41st nationally on 4th-grade reading performance -39.9% of Michiganders 25-64 have Associate’s degree or higher

-53% of Canada has tertiary degree

-75% of young people attain post-secondary or technical degree

Diversity

-33% of Michigan students are nonwhite

-40% of Canada’s immigrants -27% of public school students born outside of Canada

-76% Chinese, 15% Malay, 7.5% Indian

Development

QUALITY TEACHING FOR EQUITY AND SUCCESS: MICHIGAN’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS 12 Source: ​Empowered Educators: How high-performing systems shape teaching quality around the world Policy Recommendations for Michigan’s Public Education System Increase tax efforts to provide more equitable funding to reach proficiency The 2019 Michigan School Finance at the Crossroads Report explains that “while the state increased expectations, it has steadily decreased real funding. Michigan’s inflation-adjusted school-funding growth since 1995 ranks 50th among the 50 states. Real total revenue has declined by over 30 percent since 2002. This decline is due primarily to a sharp drop-off in the state’s tax effort over the last decade” (Arsen, Delpier, and Nagel 2019, p. 78).

Under Proposal A, the state government collects money from state sales tax, and allocates that funding to school districts. An increased tax effort would enable educators to properly implement both the state and national curriculum and meet the proficiency levels. Further, a tax raise would help support the Snyder Commission’s guiding principle for elevating the teaching profession through salary raises and robust professional development programs. “Michigan ranks 46th among states in the growth of real average teacher salaries between 1999–2000 and 2016–17, with an 11.5 percent decline. Michigan citizens understand the importance of high-quality teachers, but compensation has not matched those values” (Arsen, Delpier, and Nagel 2019, p. 78). The only way to address the current shortages and declines articulated by policy experts is to increase the inputs into the public education system, which could be achieved through higher tax efforts.

Snyder’s Commission Report mentions the need for more efficient funding methods to address the inequities fostered by Proposal A, however offers minimal solutions to level the

QUALITY TEACHING FOR EQUITY AND SUCCESS: MICHIGAN’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS 13 playing field. The Report’s Guiding Principle 8 is “Invest Early,” suggesting increased investments in pre-kindergarten programs, and a consistent assessment for kindergarten readiness (Commission Report 2017, p. 99). Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Executive Recommendation for the 2020 Fiscal Year allocates $500.1 million School Aid Fund dollars to supporting k-12 pupils, moving this money from the previous Higher Education budget to k-12 systems. Specifically, $40.2 million are reserved for improved data collection and reporting (Fiscal Year 2020 Executive Recommendation 2019, p. 23). Thus, increased funding should assess students from the beginning of their educational career, and into their workforce transition through a P-20 system suggested in the 2017 Commission Report. This system would track longitudinal growth through the entire k-12 system, giving a comprehensive assessment system to revise and build over time.

Empower teachers to adequately deliver Michigan’s curriculum and critical pedagogy Priority must be placed on teacher training, professional development, and empowering school districts to effectively deliver a 21st century curriculum with the best classroom practices.

First, the State licensure measures must be reformed to test teacher readiness for the classroom.

Currently, most of the licensure tests analyze a teacher’s content knowledge in the main areas of social studies, science, reading and math (Commission Report 2017, p. 41). While this knowledge is important, the licensure test should “accurately assess best-practice pedagogy and readiness to teach at a high level. Michigan should investigate adopting an observation-based licensure examination that evaluates mastery of pedagogy and readiness to teach” (Commission Report 2017, p. 41). The new licensure program should also be aligned with a universal teaching

QUALITY TEACHING FOR EQUITY AND SUCCESS: MICHIGAN’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS 14 apprenticeship requirement for collaborative assessment, similar to the way that the medical profession operates with residency requirements (Commission Report 2017, p. 41). With a wide variety of different teacher education programs across institutions, this experience requirement would ensure statewide accountability to place the best prepared teachers in front of students.

Once employed, Michigan’s teachers need multiple career pathways and incentives that reflect their skillset as educators, and encourage ongoing learning and professional development (Commission Report 2017, p. 40). Singapore’s career ladder system can inspire Michigan’s framework for talent development, skill mastery, and career advancement within existing school systems. With freedom and encouragement to assess teaching methods with peers, educators can consistently update which classroom methods are working to help close achievement gaps.

Michigan’s teacher retention struggle could be alleviated if educators were offered with career growth incentives and structured development.

As mentioned, Michigan educators must be trained in diversity and inclusion concepts, developing a pedagogical awareness for the diverse enrollment across the state. An updated state licensure system could implement more diversity initiatives for educators, and teachers unions should be partnered with to facilitate pedagogy training.

Rethink the public school as a community center to enhance social mobility This recommendation is rooted in the phenomenon that factors inside and outside of the classroom determine student success, which is proven true in Ontario’s vertical equity policy implementation (Darling-Hammond et al 2017, p. 27). Although the federal and state governments may not administer as many social services that can help both students and parents,

QUALITY TEACHING FOR EQUITY AND SUCCESS: MICHIGAN’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS 15 public schools should “connect human services to schools with effective caseworkers who can help families navigate resource channels and get better support,” especially for highest-need students (Commission Report 2017, p. 74). Schools should, as Guiding Principle 5 in the Commission Report suggests, “Partner with Parents” (Commission Report 2017, p. 74).

Dr. Nikolai Vitti has implemented unique reforms to the Detroit Public Schools Community District since his appointment as Superintendent in May 2017. The most innovative is the Parent Academy, which Vitti explains is “built on the foundation that parents care about their children's education” (EPIC Lecture 4/17/19). The Parent Academies offer capacity building resources for parents to understand, advocate for, and promote their child’s academic success. Further, programs are designed to develop parents professionally as well, offering credit counseling, job search resources, and resources to further their education. Currently completing year two of his 5-year systems approach reform, Superintendent Vitti’s Parent Academy now has over 7,000 registered members. Thus, public school systems must engage with students, parents, and communities to radiate a shared value for education and social mobility.

To accommodate the 21st century economy, Michigan must revitalize its public education system to engage students in meaningful learning that cultivates their unique skill sets.

This must be a systems approach, beginning with funding changes to reach students more equitably and efficiently. With proper inputs, Michigan educators can help students reach their full potential in the classroom and beyond. “Equity and excellence are not a zero-sum game: They reinforce one another. This is because teacher quality policy is a critical component of a larger system driving toward equity - and because policies supporting a broader equity agenda

QUALITY TEACHING FOR EQUITY AND SUCCESS: MICHIGAN’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS 16 enable capable teachers to accomplish their goals with the supports that they need” (Darling-Hammond et al 2017 p. 185).

Works Cited Arsen, D., Delpier, T., & Nagal, J. (2019). ​Michigan School Finance at the Crossroads: A Quarter Century of State Control ​(pp. 1-86, Rep.). East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University.

Darling-Hammond, L. Burns, D., Campbell, C., Goodwin, A. L., Hammerness, K., Low, E., … & Zeichner, K. (2017). ​Empowered Educators: How high-performing systems shape teaching quality around the world.​ San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, John Wiley & Sons.

Freire, P. (1972). ​Pedagogy of the oppressed.​ New York: Herder and Herder.

Lipman, P. “Choice and Empowerment: The Cultural Politics of Charter Schools”. London: Routledge Publishing.

21st Century Education Commission (2017). ​The Best Education System for Michigan’s Success: A Blueprint for Educating Michigan’s Residents to Build the Best Businesses, Win the Best Jobs, and Achieve the American Dream​. Retrieved from https://www.michigan.gov/documents/snyder/Final_Report_-_The_Best_Education_Syst em_for_Michigans_Success_588111_7.pdf​.

“Fiscal Year 2020 Executive Recommendation” (2019). Retrieved from https://www.michigan.gov/documents/budget/FY20_Exec_Budget_Issue_Papers_648086_7_648 301_7.pdf​.