A proposed bill in Michigan would help keep some third graders from being held back.

Right now, third graders must pass the state's reading assessment or not move to fourth grade.

One local superintendent is all for repealing this policy.

She says telling a third grader this test determines if they get held back or not is way too much pressure.

But not everyone agrees.

Senate Bill 12 is being championed by state senator Dayna Polehanki.

After a five-to-one vote in the Senate Education Committee, it moves to the full Senate.

Buchanan Community Schools superintendent Patricia Robinson says she is in full support of repealing this policy.

“It's punitive, it punishes kids for not making a mark, and there's a number of variables that go into that when we think about testing, like is their environment right, does the student get stressed when they're testing, can they show their best on this state assessment, have they shown their best in other places throughout the school year, so utilizing that test is not the best strategy for students,” said Robinson.

Michigan's Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Michael Rice confirms what Robinson says.

"The Read by Grade Three law simply requires too much time spent justifying a determination of retention or not at the expense of focus on the children's literacy needs in early education," said Rice.

But not all are on-board with eliminating this law.

Edwardsburg school superintendent Jim Knoll remarks:

"The third grade reading barrier is an important concept. Kids need to be able to read at their grade level in order to move on to the next grade. However, we need to consider the effect COVID has had on children's language development and factor that in."

Robinson understands Knoll's concerns but points out schools need to make sure they are monitoring kids in danger of falling behind.

“There should be points put in place at a school district that would not allow that to happen. With our interventions that we have in place, we do our data checks, we do our benchmark assessments, we have our professional learning communities that happen in our district, they happen every week,” said Robinson.

The bill will now be considered by Michigan's 38 senators.