Insults fly as State Board of Education discusses declining literacy

A recent meeting of the State Board of Education turned contentious as participants discussed ways to improve students’ reading literacy and traded insults.

Over 60% of third graders in Michigan were not proficient in English on Michigan’s latest statewide standardized test, and 70% of sixth graders were not proficient in math, as measured by the 2024 Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress.

At its Sept. 10 meeting, the board discussed a complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. The federal office reported that the Michigan Department of Education had released misleading or incorrect guidance to public schools about how to serve special needs students during Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s pandemic-era lockdowns.

Board member Nikki Snyder said that the 207,000 students who did not get what they needed from the state deserved an apology. Board President Pamela Pugh responded, saying, “Perhaps some of our board members cannot understand or comprehend what has been provided.”

Snyder did not take those comments favorably. “You come to the table every month and you attack us personally,” she replied. She added, “You go at the character of who we are as individuals.”

An outside expert on education sees the incident as an example of a deeper problem. “It’s clear that many of the board members are not taking seriously the critical state of education in Michigan,” Molly Macek, director of education policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, told Michigan Capitol Confidential.

“While they argue over which member has a better grasp of literacy, 60% of third through seventh lack proficiency in reading,” Macek said. Nearly 70% of students in grades five through seven were not proficient in math, she added.

Board member Tom McMillin said the Legislature had discussed requiring schools to use the Science of Literacy approach to teaching reading. He added that local school boards could be hamstrung if they found problems with the curriculum. He then turned to another curriculum as an example.

The Lucy Calkins Units of Study curriculum was long touted as a successful model, he said, but many schools no longer use it. It, too, he said, was touted as backed by science and evidence. But, he said, “it was a complete abject failure and has been a really large part of why Johnny can’t read.” 

Michigan Superintendent Michael Rice replied that schools were using the LETRS curriculum. McMillin replied that it was not as good as phonics.

“Well, I’m not sure you know anything about literacy,” Rice told McMillin.

“I know a lot better than you do,” McMillin replied. Rice then asked McMillin to teach the board about literacy. Speaking again to McMillin, he said, “You’re wrong.”

McMillin argued with Rice, saying Rice and others had “destroyed the literacy of so many kids throughout the decades.” Rice, he said, should acknowledge the “complete failure” of his work and that of others.

Board members are passionate about educating children, said Bob Wheaton, spokesperson for the MDE. “That can lead to lively conversations.”

Rep. Jaime Greene, R-Richmond, expressed her concerns over MSTEP results. “Giving our students the best foundation they can have is essential to our workforce pipeline, and as our test results show we could use improvement to ensure we have leaders in the future,” Greene wrote in an email to Michigan Capitol Confidential.

Early in the meeting, McMillin twice mispronounced the word “egregious” when reading a resolution.

(Editor's note: This article has been updated to clarify that McMillin, not Rice, mispronounced “egregious.”)