The Michigan Department of Education has announced it will reduce the overall score students need to receive on an English-proficiency test after an earlier change made it more difficult for students to transition out of English learner status.
MLive reportsthat educators and school districts in the state expressed concern about the WIDA ACCESS test's rigorous scoring system after fewer than 1 percent of Michigan students reached the minimum score during the 2016-17 school year.
Data from the department says typically between 13 and 15 percent of the state's more than 97,000 English language learners receive a high enough score to transition.
In addition to a minimum score on the test, students must demonstrate proficiency on state reading assessments in order to move out of English language learner classes.
