Mike Addonizio, professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in the College of Education, opined in Detroit News, "School improvement requires investment"
Detroit News, 5/21
Opinion: School improvement requires investment
By Mike Addonizio
Mike Addonizio, professor of Education Policy Studies at Wayne State and a School Finance Research Collaborative member, wrote an op-ed about investing to improve schools. "The recently released 2017 results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP, often called the "nation's report card") show little change in Michigan's dismal performance in fourth- and eighth-grade reading and math. Michigan's rank among the states in fourth-grade reading ticked up six places, but only because other states slipped. Our 2017 scale score was actually lower than our 2011 score and only 32 percent of our fourth-graders were deemed proficient in reading in 2017. And we ranked last in the Midwest in every category. Real and lasting improvement in our pre-K-12 system will require systematic statewide support for schools addressing curriculum, instruction and student needs. This cannot be done without adequate resources." Addonizio continues: "Real financial support for Michigan's public schools has been steadily eroded for more than 15 years. Since 2000, inflation-adjusted pre-K-12 spending in Michigan has fallen by $663 per pupil, while the U.S. average has increased by more than $1,400 per pupil. Our schools' resource deficits have been years in the making and we cannot expect to close them in a year or two. But if our policymakers can agree on a path forward, resource and program needs could be prioritized and implemented over time. Increasing support for our at-risk students is an excellent place to start."