St. Joe-Benton Harbor News

There was a decrease in the number of Buchanan Community Schools students considered ready for math classes in college in the 2021-22 school year, according to the MI School Data. Based on their performance on the math portion of the SAT, 20.4% of the students were set for college during the school year.

In contrast, college-level math readiness in Buchanan Community Schools the year before was 26.7%.

Buchanan Community Schools ranked fourth lowest in college readiness for math this year, compared to other districts in Berrien County. In the previous year, it was ranked fifth.

Overall, students in Michigan are still performing below pre-pandemic levels. According to the test results, their scores are on average 4.5% lower than the pre-pandemic levels.

A recent study in the state suggested this could be caused by remote schooling. Students who learned remotely experienced more learning loss compared to those who attended in-person classes during the pandemic.

"This is hurting kids in ways we can't even imagine, and not just academically," Senator Thomas Albert said during his time as the House Appropriations Chairman. "The disruption of sports and other extracurricular activities also takes a major toll. It's going to take years for some of these students to recover academically."

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was criticized for trying to address these academic failures by using more tutors in the public school system.

"Relying only on the system that caused academic and mental health setbacks is not looking out for the best interest of children," Jamie A. Hope wrote in the Michigan Capitol Confidential.

Due to the suspension of state assessments, SAT data for the 2019-20 academic year are not available.

Rank	District	Math average score overall
1	Bridgman Public Schools	542.9
2	St. Joseph Public Schools	533
3	Lakeshore School District (Berrien)	517.4
4	New Buffalo Area Schools	515.7
5	Brandywine Community Schools	472.2
6	Niles Community Schools	463.6
7	River Valley School District	456.8
8	Buchanan Community Schools	453.9
9	Watervliet School District	443.1
10	Coloma Community Schools	438.7
11	Berrien Springs Public Schools	416.3