News Photo by Crystal Nelson Kindergarten teachers Natalie Nowakowski and Tonya Smigelski teach students heading into third grade about reading strategies on Thursday as part of Besser Elementary School’s summer school program.

ALPENA — Northeast Michigan school administrators say they will not hold third grade students back because of low reading scores.

Michigan’s Read by Grade Three law requires the Michigan Department of Education to recommend retention for students who score more than one year below grade level on the English Language Arts portion of the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress.

However, school districts are able to issue Good Cause Exemptions for students who are exempt from being held back or for parents who don’t agree with the decision to hold their student back.

Alpena Public Schools Assistant Superintendent for K-12 Curriculum Meaghan Gauthier said 204 out of 243 third graders were tested this spring. She said 11 students were recommended for retention.

Gauthier said she will first look to see if the students meet the criteria for an exemption. If a student does not meet the criteria for an exemption, Gautheir said she would notify parents to find out what they would like to do.

“Based on that conversation, our intention is to promote unless the parent believes otherwise,” she said.

Gauthier said district administrators had concerns about retention because studies have shown retention has a negative impact on kids and causes disengagement in school.

She also noted there were 39 students in the district who did not come into the schools to take the test because parents had coronavirus-related concerns. She said those students are not subject to retention.

“That right there, regardless of your belief of retention, is not a fair shake,” she said.

Meanwhile, Rogers City Area Schools Superintendent Nick Hein and Alcona Community Schools Superintendent Dan O’Connor said they, too, would not be holding students back.

O’Connor said although fewer than 2% of the district’s third graders were recommended for retention, those students qualified for exemptions under the law.

Hein said a couple of students in his district were recommended for retention, but it would be between the building principal, teacher, and parent to decide whether a student should move forward.

“I think the biggest thing is, it’s harder than just a test score because kids develop so differently,” he said, noting that’s why the decision should be handled on a case-by-case basis. “Our district will not, by any means, ever just retain a kid just because of a test score.”

Posen Consolidated School District Superintendent Michelle Wesner said all of the district’s third graders scored high enough on the test to move on.

“That means all of our interventions are working,” she said.

Atlanta Community Schools and Hillman Community Schools Superintendent Carl Seiter and Onaway Area Community School District Superintendent Rod Fullerton were not immediately available to comment.