The High School Assessments reports show how high school students are performing on statewide assessments of learning. Michigan’s current assessments include:
- M-STEP - a summative assessment that measures what students know and are able to do based on Michigan’s Academic Standards in science and social studies.
- MI-Access - a test based on Michigan’s alternate content expectations, designed for students who have a significant cognitive disability, and whose Individualized Education Program indicates that M-STEP, even with accommodations, is not appropriate.
- SAT – a standardized college entrance exam that assesses Reading and Writing and Mathematics. SAT benchmark scores are 480 for Reading and Writing, and 530 for Math.
The assessments provide teachers and parents a snapshot of individual students’ knowledge and performance in key content areas. They also satisfy requirements of the Every Student Succeeds Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Assessment reports include all valid tests taken by public school students. Scores for nonpublic and home-schooled students are excluded.
Trend line breaks may be seen between assessment years. These breaks are described in the Historical Changes section for the years in which they occur.
The reports are available in three forms. Use the buttons near the top of the screen to switch between:
- Performance Level - Rather than specific scores, this report shows how many students fall into performance categories such as “Advanced,” “Proficient,” “Partially Proficient,” and “Not Proficient” (M-STEP) or “Emerging Towards,” “Attained,” and “Surpassed” (MI-Access).
- Scaled Scores - This report includes a snapshot of the Mean Scaled Score by assessment content area. Scaled scores convert the total points a student earned into a standard scale that allows direct and fair comparisons of scores from different forms of a test. Established psychometric procedures are used to ensure that a given scale score represents the same level of performance regardless of the test form. The Snapshot display includes the proficiency cut score, which can be hidden. The Trend display presents line graphs with data points for each year of assessment. The Distribution view provides a box plot that shows the distribution of scaled scores by low value, 25th percentile, 50th percentile, 75th percentile and high value. (Distribution view is not available for SAT data.)
- Proficiency - This report provides a snapshot and trend view of the number and percentage of students who scored as proficient or advanced for each M-STEP subject of Science and Social Studies.
For additional help in interpreting these scores, please refer to the Interpretive Guide to M-STEP Reports and the Interpretive Guide to MI-Access Reports.
Historical Changes
- In Spring 2024 the College Board SAT Suite of Assessments transitioned to a new online assessment design.
- In 2022, the MI-Access, Michigan’s science assessments were aligned to the new alternate content expectations for grades 5, 8, and 11 (formerly grades 4, 7, and 11). This alignment necessitated a standard setting process to provide appropriate performance level cut scores for all three levels of MI-Access to measure the Alternate Content Expectations for Science with Michigan range of Complexity. When looking at trend data within these reports, please note that the science trend line across the years does not capture the alignment to these new expectations.
- M-STEP Science was operational for the first time in Spring 2021. Therefore, scale score ranges have shifted due to the standard-setting process completed in 2021. The standard-setting process is a result of the M-STEP Science test being based on the new Michigan Science Standards (MSS). When looking at trend data in these reports, the trend line breaks across the years during which the M-STEP Science test that is based on the MSS was being field tested and are necessary to ensure accurate interpretations of the data.
- The Science M-STEP Field Test was administered in Spring 2018. The purpose of a field test is to determine whether the test is measuring the intended Michigan Science Standards. Because this was a field test, scores will not be reported for individual students or schools within MI School Data.
- In 2016, MI-Access was re-aligned to measure the Essential Elements with Michigan range of Complexity for English/language arts and mathematics. As a result, the Michigan Department of Education needed to complete the standard-setting process to account for these changes and apply them to the Spring 2017 assessment. When looking at trend data in these reports, the trend line breaks across these years are necessary to ensure accurate interpretations of the data.
- MI-Access tests from years prior to 2014-15 will show the content tested, not the grade in which the test was taken. MI-Access FI tests also included reading and writing in place of ELA from 2009-10 to 2013-14, while SI and P tests continued to use ELA.
- In 2015, the MI-Access, Michigan’s alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards, test administration window shifted from a fall to a spring testing window. Because of this sizeable shift in the timing of when students take the assessment a standards setting process was necessary. In 2016, MI-Access was re-aligned to measure the Essential Elements with Michigan range of complexity for English/language arts (ELA) and mathematics. As a result, the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) needed to complete the standard setting process to account for these changes and apply those changes to the Spring 2017 assessment. When looking at trend data within these reports, please note that the trend line breaks across these years are due to standards setting processes and that these breaks are necessary to ensure accurate interpretations of the data.
- The 2013-14 year was the last year the MME that was composed of the MEAP assessment and the ACT.
Use the Edit Report screen to review data by school year, assessment program, grade, subject and report category.
Use the buttons near the top of the screen to switch between Performance Level, Scaled Scores and Proficiency. If you’ve selected specific options in the Edit Report screen, those options should be retained when switching between the reports.
Data view options include:
- Snapshot (a graph and table of the selected data)
- Trend (a graph and table showing changes over time)
- Distribution (for scaled score)
Options can be set to either percent or student count.
See the MI School Data Quick Start Guide for the basics of navigating the site and customizing a report.
Location and Comparison Options
These options can be customized in the Edit Report screen.
Locations Setting options: Statewide, ISD, District and School
Use the Add Comparison Location option to compare your selected location with data for the State of Michigan, a specific location within Michigan, system-generated peer districts or peer districts by distance. System-generated and distance peer comparisons are available for district-level comparisons only.
Logged-in Users
Logged-in users can see student breakdown data for the entities they have access to.
CEPI collected the data used to compile this report.
- CEPI’s Michigan Student Data System was used to locate students’ building, district, and intermediate school district as well as demographics.
- The MDE Office of Educational Assessment and Accountability, which sets policies for M-STEP and MI-Access administration, provided the test data.
Reports are aggregated by the building, district and ISD where the test was taken, not where the student was enrolled.
For the current high school M-STEP, students are tested in grade 11 for science and social studies. The SAT assessment is also administered in grade 11. Please refer to the College Readiness reports on MI School Data for publicly reported information.
MI-Access high school tests are also administered in grade 11 in mathematics and English language arts, science, and social studies (Functional Independence only).
MI-Access reflects how students with significant cognitive disabilities are performing on assessments based on alternate content expectations.
If you have questions not addressed here or in the linked resources, please contact CEPI customer support at cepi@michigan.gov.
Disclosure Avoidance
CEPI uses data suppression rules to protect the privacy of individual students. Please see Grades 3-8 and High School Assessments Disclosure Avoidance for more details.
Report Labels
See the Glossary for additional terms and acronyms used on MI School Data.
M-STEP Performance Levels:
Advanced: The student’s performance exceeds academic content standards and indicates substantial understanding and application of key concepts defined for Michigan students. The student needs support to continue to excel.
Proficient: The student’s performance indicates understanding and application of key academic content standards defined for Michigan students. The student needs continued support to maintain and improve proficiency.
Partially Proficient: The student’s performance is not yet proficient, indicating a partial understanding and application of key academic content standards defined for Michigan students. The student needs assistance to improve achievement.
Not Proficient: The student’s performance is not yet proficient and indicates minimal understanding and application of key academic content standards defined for Michigan students. The student needs intensive intervention and support to improve achievement.
MI-Access Assessment Types:
Functional Independence: (FI) assessments are for students whose IEP goals and objectives and course of instruction align most closely with the “High” range of complexity of the Essential Elements or Extended Grade Level Content Expectations. Typically, these students can, with assistance, assess their personal strengths and limitations, and can access resources, strategies, supports, and linkages to help them maximize their independence.
Supported Independence: (SI) assessments are for students whose IEP goals and objectives and course of instruction align most closely with the “Medium” range of complexity of the Essential Elements or Extended Grade Level Content Expectations. These students may also have both cognitive and physical disabilities that impact their ability to generalize or transfer learning; however, they usually can follow learned routines and demonstrate independent living skills.
Participation: (P) assessments are for students whose IEP goals and objectives and course of instruction align most closely with the “Low” range of complexity of the Essential Elements or Extended Grade Level Content Expectations. These students may have both significant cognitive and physical disabilities that limit their ability to generalize or transfer learning, and which makes determining their actual abilities and skills difficult.
MI-Access Performance Levels:
Surpassed Performance Standard: Student has met and surpassed the alternate content expectations on MI-Access.
Attained Performance Standard: Student has met the Alternate Content expectations on MI-Access.
Emerging Toward Performance Standard: Student has not met the alternate content expectations on MI-Access.
Mean Scaled Score: The average scaled score for students who took the test (FI only).
Number Assessed: The total number of students tested.
Scaled Score: A scaled score is calculated from a total number of score points, statistically adjusted and converted into a consistent, standardized scale that permits direct and fair comparisons of scores from different forms of a test. Scaled scores are provided for FI only, while earned points out of points possible are reported for SI and P but not publicly available.
Standard Deviation: Shows how widely scores vary from the mean; a high standard deviation indicates that scores are farther from the mean (more spread out) a low standard deviation means scores are clustered closer to the mean.
Data Calculations
Data calculation information is available in each assessment’s Interpretive Guide to Reports and Technical Reports on the Michigan Department of Education website in the Office of Assessment and Accountability resources.
