The class of 2011, the first group of students exposed to the Michigan Merit Curriculum for their entire high school careers, saw mixed results, according to a study released today by a research consortium that includes Michigan State University.The introduction of the curriculum reduced graduation rates slightly for students who entered high school with weak academic skills. For those who entered with strong skills, there was no effect of the curriculum on high school completion rates.
Performance on standardized tests rose slightly for students who entered high school with strong skills. The impact on test scores was small or negative for those who entered high school with weak skills. The best-prepared students saw better performance in science, reading and math. All students experienced declines in writing scores, according to the analysis by the Michigan Consortium for Educational Research.
The consortium is a partnership between MSU, the University of Michigan and the Michigan Department of Education.
Results show that the merit curriculum reduced the five-year graduation rate among lower-achieving students by about 4.5 percentage points (from 49 percent to 44.5 percent). The curriculum also appears to have prompted some students to extend their stay in high school beyond the traditional four years, perhaps in an effort to meet the more rigorous curricular requirements.
In 2006 Michigan adopted the merit curriculum, a set of high school graduation requirements that emphasize math and science. The goal was to increase the rigor of high school courses and better prepare students for college. The first students covered by the curriculum started ninth grade in the fall of 2007 and would have been scheduled for an on-time graduation in spring 2011.
“As more students complete their high school years, we will find out whether the curriculum boosts college attendance and success, a key goal of the reform,” said Susan Dynarski, a professor at U-M.
The Merit Curriculum also appears related to some personnel changes. Teaching staff at Michigan’s high schools has shifted toward merit curriculum subjects, with those teaching these topics rising from 58 percent in 2004 to 71 percent in 2011.
"Between 2004 and 2011, the overall number of high school teachers in Michigan fell. However, with the introduction of the MMC it appears that schools and districts focused their limited resources on teachers who taught core academic subjects,” said Kenneth Frank, a professor in the College of Education at Michigan State University.
The merit curriculum requires that students take Algebra 1, geometry and Algebra 2, as well as Biology 1 and either chemistry or physics. Students must take four years of English language arts and complete two years of a foreign language.
“The findings of this first study are important and must be seen as a diagnostic tool for our teachers, administrators, and education leaders,” said state Superintendent Michael Flanagan. “The Michigan Merit Curriculum is the right direction and must be maintained. We need to delve deeper now and see how we can help schools deliver it successfully to every student in Michigan.”
The study uses data from 700,000 students enrolled in Michigan’s public high schools to examine the effects of the merit curriculum. The research was funded by a grant by the Institute of Education Sciences in the U.S. Department of Education.
Joining Frank and Dynarski on the study were Barbara Schneider, professor at the College of Education and Department of Sociology at MSU, and Brian A. Jacob from U-M.
The reports are available at the consortium website.