In nearly every category, Michigan’s standings in national rankings for student performance are near the bottom. As lawmakers, we have a duty to deliver more for our parents and students.

The solution is clearly not about handing over more money. Over the past decade, school funding has broken record after record in the annual budget process. Overall, state spending on education has risen from $12.9 billion in 2011 to nearly $22 billion in 2024. In that same time period, enrollment is down by more than 175,000 students. And yet, Michigan students rank 43rd nationally for high school graduation rates and fourth-grade reading proficiency. Only 32% of fourth-graders are proficient in math and our average SAT scores are the lowest since the test became statewide in 2015.

We need to demand a better return on investment. To do that, we must have standards, and most importantly, there has to be accountability.

Making sure students have access to a quality education, and in some cases, additional resources like tutoring, is a critically important piece of achieving success both academically and professionally. We need to begin by putting a priority on the fundamentals of reading, writing and math, and holding everyone accountable, which includes rewarding highly effective teachers.

This seems like common sense. However, last term, the current Democrat majority made a dramatic turn toward the opposite direction. They eliminated an incentive to ensure third-graders are proficient in reading, ended required annual evaluations of teachers, eliminated the easy-to-understand A-F grading scale for parents to see how their child’s school is performing and blocked Republican efforts to provide additional resources, like tutoring, for students who are falling behind. These are major steps in the wrong direction and will put Michigan students at an even further disadvantage.

I do not believe diminishing standards and failing to hold anyone accountable is an appropriate response to our current poor performance as a state. No other business on earth would respond to failing results by easing up on internal standards, and I certainly do not believe removing teacher evaluations and leaving parents in the dark as to how their child’s school is performing is going to boost student performance. Parents need to be informed, and we need to encourage an active and healthy relationship between parents, students and schools.

Our kids and their futures must be our top priority, and I refuse to sweep these problems under the rug, which is why I joined my colleagues in introducing the MI Brighter Future plan that would give students, teachers and parents the help they need to raise the bar for everyone.

The Senate Republican MI Brighter Future plan would:

• Set the bar high. Our plan strengthens key provisions of the third-grade reading law, requires student progress to be part of every teacher’s evaluation process, and restores the A-F grading scale that makes it easy for parents to understand how their child’s school is performing.

• Attract good teachers to where they’re needed most. Our plan would provide bonuses to highly effective teachers who take positions in schools where they can have the biggest impact.

• Give every kid a chance. No student should ever be left behind because of their means or their ZIP code. Our Student Opportunity Scholarships would help families afford educational assistance for their children, like tutoring. Our reading scholarships would help with the cost of summer or after-school reading programs.

• Stress the basics. Reading is the foundation of a successful education, yet too many schools have gone away from teaching the basics and reading scores have plummeted. Our plan will ensure teachers are trained in proven phonics-based reading methods that have worked for decades.

Fostering student success is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor, and the Senate Republican plan is structured to provide standards and expectations while giving schools and parents flexibility on how best to meet the needs of different schools and different students.

— Sen. John Damoose, R-Harbor Springs, represents Michigan’s 37th Senate District.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: My Take: MI Brighter Future plan devoted to student success, improving outcomes