LANSING, Michigan — Elementary and middle school students in the Lansing School District have had some of the lowest standardized test scores in the country over the past decade, losing ground each year compared to their peers across the country.
That’s according to Stanford University’s Educational Opportunity Project, which tracked the test results of third through eighth graders from 2009 to 2018.
“Let’s just take it for what it is, that is, if you compare Lansing to other counties in the state and across the country, they’re low,” Lansing School District Superintendent Ben Shuldiner said directly.
Lansing students’ test scores average 2.2 grades below the US average.
Additionally, students in the district learn at a rate of -36 percent, meaning they continue to fall below the national average for each year they attend school. It is the lowest rate in the state and one of the lowest rates in the country.
Sean Reardon, Professor of Poverty and Educational Inequality at Stanford University and leader of the project. explained that test scores show whether students are performing well, but a learning rate is a determination of how much students are learning in the classroom year after year, regardless of where they started. A learning rate shows whether students are being taught well.
The fact that Lansing students are falling behind 36 percent each year is a reflection of their school system, he said.
“So the fact that learning rates are low in Lansing suggests that not only are children entering school with below-average abilities, but also that they are not receiving the same educational opportunities while in school as the average child in the country.” said Reardon.
Shuldiner, who was hired as Lansing’s new superintendent in 2021, said it came as no surprise.
“See, I came here with my eyes wide open. I was looking at test scores, state test scores for all of our schools. There are some schools that do well and some schools that need to do better. What does that tell us? It just tells us there’s work to be done,” he said.
The district’s low scores can be attributed to several factors, including a high teacher turnover rate, lack of funding, and the fact that many children with higher scores are leaving the district.
“The kids who have more parental involvement or who have teachers who recognize them as gifted and help them, you know, those are the kids who often leave those districts,” said Katharine Strunk, director of the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative in Michigan State University. “And then those who are left behind are the ones who struggle the most.”
Reardon included socioeconomic status in the data and found Lansing to be below the national average.
“There are big differences across the country in how well children do in math and reading in a given subject. And that’s very much related to the socioeconomic conditions in their community,” Reardon said.
For example, Reardon said that eighth-grade students in the lowest-income counties in the US have about the same math skills as third-grade students in the wealthiest counties.
“So there are huge differences in performance. But that means there are huge differences in educational opportunities,” Reardon said. “As if children aren’t born smarter in rich places than in poor places.”
But that doesn’t mean schools in poorer communities can’t educate their students well.
The study found that there are many less affluent areas where students learn at a high speed and there are many affluent areas where students learn at a low speed.
For example, look at the data for the Detroit School District, where students are most likely to be of lower socioeconomic status, but their learning rates are closer to the national average.
“I think that’s kind of good news,” Reardon said. “Because it says schools and school systems have the ability to reverse some of the inequality created by socioeconomic inequalities between communities.”
The data used in the study was collected before Shuldiner came to Lansing. Now that he’s here, he has big plans to improve the district.
“I think you should watch Lansing,” Strunk said.
Shuldiner’s plans prioritize teacher selection. Traditionally, the district appoints educators to a school, but now Shuldiner has its principals hire their teachers directly.
The strategy is to ensure that every teacher hired is the best person for that particular role and someone who wants to stay and contribute to the growth of that school.
“The best thing you can do to improve test scores, but who cares about test scores, the best thing you can do for student success is have a highly qualified, great teacher in every room,” Shuldiner said .
To combat some of the disadvantages students face, Shuldiner is working with Big Brothers Big Sisters to start 6-year mentorships.
“So that when they start in seventh grade through high school, they can really support their social emotional learning, but also know that there will be an adult in their life who will help them succeed,” he said.
Shuldiner says he wants Lansing to hold him and his team accountable as they work to create better opportunities for Lansing students.
“All children can learn if they are given the right environment,” he said.
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