{
  "id": 10764762,
  "title": "K-2 reading growth slowed last year in the Detroit district. Here’s what administrators say caused it.",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/k-2-reading-growth-slowed-last-year-in-the-detroit-district-heres",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-29T10:00:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Chalkbeat",
    "slug": "chalkbeat",
    "url": "https://www.chalkbeat.org/detroit/2026/09/29/data-shows-growth-in-k-2-dpscd-reading-scores-slowed-in-2025-26/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Last school year, reading growth for students in kindergarten to second grade in the Detroit Public Schools Community District slowed, according to administrators. In 2025-26, only 27.3% of K-2 students were proficient in reading, an increase of less than 1 percentage point from the previous year. This came after a 4.5 percentage point gain in 2024-25 from 2023-24. The analysis by MarGrady Research, a third-party firm, showed that the district's results were compared to 12 similar school systems across the county. The district's K-2 students reached grade level at a rate of 27.2%, while the statewide average was higher at 31.4%. However, the district's students showed more growth over the 2022-23 to 2025-26 period, with a 7.7 percentage point increase compared to a 2.6 percentage point increase in the other districts. Despite the settlement money aimed at improving early literacy, there are concerns about slower progress. LaTrice McClendon, chair of the board, expressed concern that 80% of the district's students are not proficient in reading. The funding from the 2016 federal \"right to read\" lawsuit was used to hire additional literacy interventionists, reduce class sizes, and offer merit pay to teachers who met literacy goals. However, obstacles like individualized student support for those with undiagnosed disabilities, extreme behaviors, and chronic absenteeism are preventing faster progress.",
  "summary": "Did you know search engines like Google are changing the way you see news? Keep Chalkbeat’s valuable education coverage at the top of your feeds by clicking here and checking the box next to our name. After the first year of the Detroit district’s $94.4 million literacy lawsuit settlement, which paid for hundreds of academic interventionists and after-school tutoring, there were big improvements…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}