Early literacy instruction is improving in classrooms across Michigan-showing that targeted coaching can significantly strengthen how young students are taught to read-as a result of the state's investment in early literacy support for educators.
Michigan passed one of the most comprehensive literacy reform efforts in the United States in 2016. The Read by Grade Three Law was a response to growing concerns over students' performance on state and national reading assessments.
Michigan began funding early literacy coaches at the Intermediate School District level in 2016-17 with an initial $3 million investment. Since then, funding has expanded steadily, reaching $42 million annually by 2023-24.
Researchers Tanya Wright of the University of Michigan Marsal Family School of Education and Lori Bruner of the University of Albany examined how literacy coaching was implemented under the Read by Grade Three Law and the extent to which it supported improvements in teachers' instruction.
The findings are presented in a new policy brief released by the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative, now available on their website alongside additional briefs from the Read by Grade Three Study.
A distinctive feature of the policy is its funding structure, which gives each ISD flexibility to determine how its coaches are hired, assigned to districts and schools and what responsibilities coaches assume, allowing implementation to be tailored to local needs.
Although coaches consistently followed statewide frameworks, the amount and structure of coaching differed significantly across districts, shaping how teachers experienced support.
Coaching was most successful in schools and districts that provided clear roles, manageable caseloads, strong administrative support and access to high-quality instructional materials.
The study, which was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education and by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, highlights both the promise of Michigan's approach and opportunities to strengthen its impact.
The researchers' policy recommendations are designed to establish conditions that sustain and expand the most effective practices identified in their findings and ensure that all teachers benefit from high-quality literacy coaching:
- Expand access to coaching by increasing funding to enable more teachers to receive literacy coaching, reducing coach-to-teacher ratios and enabling districts to pilot and evaluate more scalable models, such as small-group, virtual or hybrid coaching.
- Clarify which research-aligned coaching and literacy instructional practices are core for coaching and provide concrete examples of structured adaptations.
- Strengthen infrastructure to support sustained, focused coaching. This includes establishing reasonable caseloads, clarifying roles and responsibilities, and maintaining regular statewide or ISD-level professional development for coaches and administrators.
- Establish clear expectations for coaching time.
"Improving literacy instruction at scale is possible when coaching is well aligned with research and supported by strong local systems," Wright said.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's proposed budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year, which was unveiled in February, prioritizes literacy. Wright and Bruner's study provides a clear framework for improving early literacy instruction across the state.
Written by Danielle Dimcheff, Marsal Family School of Education
