LANSING – Business Leaders for Michigan announced Thursday it is producing a study intended to boost K-12 school performance in the state.

The organization said it has supported school reforms in the past, but this is the first time it has created a project to identify specific actions that could affect student outcomes.

PricewaterhouseCoopers will conduct the study expected to be released in early 2018. The report will include data analyses of student performance researched by grade, subject, ethnicity and location, according to a release by the organization.

The report will also compare professionals from Michigan and other states with better education performance “to identify and consolidate the education approaches into a prioritized set of high impact actions Michigan’s schools can use to address student achievement gaps,” according to the release.

BLM will also consult with Michigan education groups and the findings of the Governor Rick Snyder‘s 21st Century Education Commission.

“Our state’s educational achievement has declined relative to other states during the past decade,” Doug Rothwell, BLM president and CEO, said in the release. “The purpose of this report is to provide an objective, third-party view of leading practices that can have a positive influence on K-12 outcomes in Michigan.”

A 2016 report by Education Trust-Midwest found Michigan was in the bottom 10 states for key subjects and grades, including early literacy.

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