Just 1 in 4 Michigan juniors are ‘college ready,’ SAT scores indicate

Michigan slipped once again this year in college readiness, as measured by how well high school students perform on the SAT.

According to the latest results, only a fourth of 11th graders in Michigan are college ready, a slight dip from 26.6% last year. A decade ago, it was 35%.

“It’s true that SAT scores are only one predictor of college readiness,” said Charlotte Pierce, senior policy analyst at EdTrust-Midwest, which released a report earlier this year about the need for more rigorous coursework .  “However, these results align with other concerning opportunity gaps we see across Michigan schools, particularly those serving students with the greatest needs.”

The decline in college readiness comes as the state continues to struggle in other academic performance measures, including low reading scores and an absenteeism rate that remains above 27% .

Success in college is critical as Michigan strives to remain competitive . The state’s goal is that 60% of its population have a post-secondary credential by 2030. As of 2024, less than 52% had one, according to one report.

The College Board, the group behind the SAT, says a student is college ready if they score above a certain level on the math test and the reading and writing test.

Statewide, 26.5% of students met the math benchmark during the 2025-2026 school year and 52.1% met the reading and writing mark.

In interviews with Bridge, high school principals and others acknowledged the low scores, but cautioned that the SAT is only one metric to measure student success.

“A student might not score college ready, but if they’re hard workers and we’ve made them leaders and good individuals that work hard, they’re going to be ready to go off to college,” said Sarah Allen, principal at Grayling High School. “That one score doesn’t necessarily determine if they are or are not — although I understand we have to have a benchmark that we strive for.”

The College Board defines college ready as having a 75% chance of getting at least a C “in first-semester, credit-bearing college courses” in specific subjects.

For example, a student who is college ready in math by the SAT has a 75% chance of earning at least a C in algebra, statistics, precalculus or calculus, according to the College Board. “It’s important to note that college readiness is a continuum — students scoring below the SAT benchmarks can still be successful in college, especially with additional preparation and perseverance,” the College Board says on its website .

College ready or not, Michigan high school students are graduating at a record rate . The four-year graduation rate in 2025 hit 84%. Meanwhile, about 54.6% of graduates enroll in college within six months .

Emily McEvoy, director of data and assessment at the Anchor Bay School District, pointed to state data that shows that more students earn college credit within a year or four years of graduating high school than the share of students deemed college ready.

“For that reason, I would argue that college credit attainment is a stronger indicator of whether Michigan students are prepared to succeed after high school. While SAT results provide useful information about academic preparedness at a single point in time, actual college performance provides evidence of what students can accomplish in real-world postsecondary settings.”

Still, Michigan scores are trending downward.

In the last decade, Michigan students’ college readiness has dropped from 34.9% to 25.3%, according to state data . In that time, the test switched from paper to online, the pandemic deeply disrupted school and some colleges made submitting test scores optional.

It’s unclear what led to the drop in scores.

Students’ socioeconomic status has long correlated with test scores . Statewide, only 11.5% of students who are economically disadvantaged are considered college-ready compared to 36% of students who are not economically disadvantaged.

US News & World Report ranks Michigan 32nd for college readiness . Michigan is one of only a handful of states that require juniors to take the SAT. Many other states use the ACT.

As Michigan leaders wrestle with how to measure success in educating K-12 students for life after high school, other states are also making changes.

Massachusetts eliminated a high stakes test that was used to determine if a student graduates and New York is aiming to end a similar type of test and phasing in new graduation requirements . Meanwhile, Indiana is implementing new graduation standards aimed at giving students needed skills.

The SAT, administered to juniors, is one of three components of the Michigan Merit Exam , which “provide a measure of individual performance based on Michigan’s high school content standards as well as college and career readiness.” The scores are also used in Michigan’s school accountability system .

While the majority of colleges are test-optional , some Michigan high schools are taking steps to help their students prepare for the test.

At Grayling High School, the vast majority of juniors take a test prep course for one trimester, where teachers “try to talk through the importance of the test, even if you’re not going to college” and keep students motivated to persist through the test, said Allen, the principal.

Later this month, ninth, 10th and 11th graders will take the PSAT/NMSQT , a practice test that allows the district to track students’ progress over time and gives students options to qualify for scholarships .

In Belding High School in Ionia County, juniors also take a prep course.

While the state does not require a test preparation course, high school principal and assistant superintendent Michael Ostrander said many schools offer them because it helps the school’s metrics, helps the student get into the college they want and potentially earn scholarships.

Brandy Johnson, president of the Michigan Community College Association, told Bridge that if a student isn’t ready for college but enrolls in college, they may need more support to pass their entry-level courses.

That ultimately could mean it takes longer for a student to graduate and if they drop out, “that doesn’t help us get closer to 60 by 30,” said Johnson, referring to the state’s goal of getting 60% of working age adults with a college degree or skills certificate by 2030.

Steven Snead, supervisor of curriculum and assessment at Oakland Schools, told Bridge the SAT results should be used for districts to look at curricula, coaching for teachers and “perhaps, most importantly, listen to students.”

“Big data like SAT doesn’t really answer questions for practitioners on the ground but it can be a direction pointer to say, ’hey, take a look at this over here, look at your own local data, look at your own local curricula because there might be some issues we need to address. And again, my encouragement to everybody, we all have work to do.”

Bob Kefgen, associate director for government relations at the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals, said leaders should also consider how many students are close to meeting proficiency and how many students are deemed college ready in one subject rather than both.

“I think we are, as a state, not doing perfectly, but doing far better than what people think of when they see a statistic of only 25% of students are college ready when they graduate. That statistic is misleading.”

Meanwhile, the Michigan Department of Education pointed to several other stats on student achievement.

State Superintendent Glenn Maleyko “has been very clear that Michigan needs to improve student achievement on assessments, however, there are other metrics besides SAT scores that need to be considered to tell the complete story,” said MDE spokesperson Bob Wheaton.

Among them: an increase in students taking and scoring well on Advanced Placement tests, participation in dual enrollment, early middle college and career technical education programs. “These programs are producing thousands of credentialed, college-credit-earning students each year — a direct contribution to the state’s Sixty by 30 goal. When we look beyond one test score, we see a system that is providing students with multiple, meaningful opportunities to access college, careers and high-wage, high-demand occupations.”

Allen looks at pass rates for students who take Advanced Placement courses and if students who are participating in work-based learning programs are doing well. Similarly, Belding schools looks at if students are participating in dual enrollment, career and technical courses, Advanced Placement and getting internships.

“Are we giving them experiences that prepare them for life after high school?,” said assistant superintendent and high school principal Michael Ostrander. “Because college is for some, but it’s not for all. And you know, any standardized test can’t really measure communication skills. It can’t always measure problem-solving skills. It can’t measure collaboration skills. And those are things that we want students to be prepared for.”

Snead, of Oakland Schools, also sits on the board of the Michigan Assessment Consortium. He said the state has a good balance of ways to test students.

How can the state improve? He said he wants to see Michigan continue to spend on early literacy efforts and provide opportunities for high schoolers to explore science, technology, engineering and math options. He also wants investments in teachers, project-based learning for students and efforts for equitable funding.

This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.