Fewer than four in 10 Michigan students in grades 3 through 8 are proficient in math, and a state coaching program aimed at improving math instruction is ending in September.

The disparity between literacy and math funding is stark. Michigan dedicated $151.4 million to literacy materials over two years and plans to add $50 million more, Bridge Michigan reported Friday, Sept. 18. Math is getting $5 million to vet curricula and $8 million for STEM programs.

Statewide, just 35.5% of students in grades 3 through 8 met the math proficiency bar on spring 2026 standardized tests, compared to 44% in literacy, according to Bridge Michigan, citing a Chalkbeat analysis.

Ann Arbor Public Schools does not have a published district-wide math proficiency rate for comparison. But individual school results show wide variation, according to MLive's analysis of 2025-26 M-STEP data. Angell Elementary scored 86.1% proficiency in third-grade math and 85.5% in fifth grade. Bach Elementary hit 84% in third grade and 83.6% in fourth. South Arbor Charter Academy led the region with 71.2% overall math proficiency.

Those top performers sit well above the state average. But the 16,670-student district has not publicly addressed the statewide math funding gap.

The now-ended Early Mathematics project, run by the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA), placed 40 coaching specialists in 48 districts and 888 elementary classrooms over two school years. It drew $10.4 million from a $25 million state fund.

Rusty Anderson, MAISA's project director for Early Mathematics, told Bridge Michigan that elementary teachers face competing demands. "There's only so much time for professional learning … to support teacher transformation of instruction," he said.

Unlike reading, Michigan has no law requiring specific math curricula or teacher training. The state's new budget requires districts to screen students for signs of dyslexia starting next school year, and elementary teachers must complete science-of-reading training by the 2031 school year. No equivalent math requirement exists.

Pioneer High School's math scores have held relatively steady through the post-COVID period. The school's standardized test mean was 65.6% before COVID-19 and 64.6% after, math department chair Joe O'Connell told the Pioneer Optimist student newspaper in November 2025. On the 2026 SAT, 61.9% of Pioneer test-takers met combined reading and math college-readiness standards, second in Washtenaw County behind Washtenaw International High School at 63.6%, according to MLive.

The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) plans to release a voluntary "Michigan Mathematics Framework" this fall. MDE spokesperson Ken Coleman said the department will add math improvement to its strategic plan, expected to be updated by early 2027.