Time to Graduate from Outdated Graduation Standards

K-12 education wasn’t on the official agenda at this year’s Mackinac Policy Conference—but it found its way to the center of the conversation anyway. And that didn’t happen by accident. It’s the result of years of steady, strategic work to elevate what our students need and deserve.

At Launch Michigan, we’re proud to be leading that work, alongside a broad coalition of partners. We’ve been focused on big, systemic change—rethinking how our education system functions, and what it should deliver for today’s students. We’ve developed tools that let us compare Michigan’s districts with top performers in other states—so we’re not guessing about what works. We’ve dug into how grant funding flows and what moves the needle. And we’ve brought folks to the table—sometimes from opposite sides—to find common sense, shared solutions. We’ve also pushed Michigan beyond outdated ideas of “accountability” toward a more reciprocal model where everyone—educators, families, state leaders—has a role to play in student success.

It has been encouraging to hear gubernatorial candidates, former governors, and standing-room-only panels all echoing the same message: Michigan’s education system needs serious attention, and it needs it now. The good news? We’re not starting from scratch. The groundwork has been laid. We’re ready to move from ideas to action.

But we must avoid one of the fatal flaws of education reform: each new group or new effort wants to start over, study the problem, arrive at a glossy report calling for change. And the clock resets for our kids again. Michigan has studied and debated what to do numerous times, more recently through two main efforts.

Created in 2021, the Launch Michigan framework provides a roadmap to system transformation with three pillars: reinvention, responsibility, and resources. Later in 2023, the bi-partisan, nationally and internationally benchmarked Growing Michigan Together Council released a report with recommendations, including a reset of the state’s graduation standards, the Michigan Education Guarantee. There is no better time than now to see it done.

Change of this scale isn’t instant—but it is possible. And here’s where we start: it’s time to redefine what it means to graduate from high school in Michigan. For the past 20 years, our high school diploma has been built around one question: What do I need to get into a four-year university? That path still matters, but it’s not the only one.

Our students need more. They deserve a diploma that reflects a broader, bolder question: What do I need to thrive in the future I choose, whether college, career, the military, or something else entirely?

That’s what the Michigan Education Guarantee is all about. It’s a shared vision created by educators, business leaders, labor, and philanthropists. It’s not a slogan. It’s a promise: that every student in Michigan will graduate with both strong academic foundations and real-world skills like communication, digital literacy, teamwork, and financial know-how.

We’re not lowering the bar; we’re raising it. We’re saying yes to rigorous academics and to career-connected education that meaningfully prepares students for life beyond the classroom.

Michigan has a window right now. We have the chance, before the next election cycle ramps up, to set a clear, future-ready standard for graduation. But we need leaders at every level—Governor Whitmer, the legislature, candidates, educators, families, and community partners—to come together and set a graduation standard that reflects today’s world and tomorrow’s needs.

It’s not the end of the changes we need but it’s where we start, and we can start TODAY.

Let’s not miss this moment.