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EducationQuiet 6d · day 8

Study finds lower literacy in blue states with strong teachers' unions

Progressive Policy Institute analysis shows states with politically powerful unions lag in student reading proficiency.

newest coverage 6d agosummary written 6d ago4 pieces Newswires

What to know

  • A Progressive Policy Institute study finds eight of ten worst-performing states for student literacy are Democratic strongholds with powerful teachers' unions, while top performers are predominantly Republican.
  • Democratic states adopted 9 of 18 evidence-based literacy policies on average, compared to 13.5 in Republican and swing states.
  • PPI Director Rachel Canter attributes the gap partly to union resistance to reforms, pointing to Mississippi's dramatic improvement after her reforms were implemented.
  • The study's framing emphasizes union political power as a barrier to literacy improvement, a narrative being amplified by conservative outlets.

“The fact that literacy rates are inversely correlated with the strength of teachers' unions tells you everything you need to know about the goals and priorities of teachers' unions.”

American Greatness, Conservative outlet editorial framing · American Greatness ↗

Rachel Canter PPI Director of Education PolicyProgressive Policy Institute Think tank conducting education research

Study finds lower literacy in blue states with strong teachers' unions
NY Post

How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articles

Peak 2 pieces in two hours at Sep 17, 10 AM; 4 pieces over 8 days (4 articles) Sep 15, 6 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 15, 8 PM — quietSep 15, 10 PM — quietSep 16, 12 AM — quietSep 16, 2 AM — quietSep 16, 4 AM — quietSep 16, 6 AM — quietSep 16, 8 AM — quietSep 16, 10 AM — quietSep 16, 12 PM — quietSep 16, 2 PM — quietSep 16, 4 PM — quietSep 16, 6 PM — quietSep 16, 8 PM — quietSep 16, 10 PM — quietSep 17, 12 AM — quietSep 17, 2 AM — quietSep 17, 4 AM — quietSep 17, 6 AM — quietSep 17, 8 AM — quietSep 17, 10 AM — 2 pieces · 2 articles — Newswires 2Sep 17, 12 PM — quietSep 17, 2 PM — quietSep 17, 4 PM — quietSep 17, 6 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 17, 8 PM — quietSep 17, 10 PM — quietSep 18, 12 AM — quietSep 18, 2 AM — quietSep 18, 4 AM — quietSep 18, 6 AM — quietSep 18, 8 AM — quietSep 18, 10 AM — quietSep 18, 12 PM — quietSep 18, 2 PM — quietSep 18, 4 PM — quietSep 18, 6 PM — quietSep 18, 8 PM — quietSep 18, 10 PM — quietSep 19, 12 AM — quietSep 19, 2 AM — quietSep 19, 4 AM — quietSep 19, 6 AM — quietSep 19, 8 AM — quietSep 19, 10 AM — quietSep 19, 12 PM — quietSep 19, 2 PM — quietSep 19, 4 PM — quietSep 19, 6 PM — quietSep 19, 8 PM — quietSep 19, 10 PM — quietSep 20, 12 AM — quietSep 20, 2 AM — quietSep 20, 4 AM — quietSep 20, 6 AM — quietSep 20, 8 AM — quietSep 20, 10 AM — quietSep 20, 12 PM — quietSep 20, 2 PM — quietSep 20, 4 PM — quietSep 20, 6 PM — quietSep 20, 8 PM — quietSep 20, 10 PM — quietSep 21, 12 AM — quietSep 21, 2 AM — quietSep 21, 4 AM — quietSep 21, 6 AM — quietSep 21, 8 AM — quietSep 21, 10 AM — quietSep 21, 12 PM — quietSep 21, 2 PM — quietSep 21, 4 PM — quietSep 21, 6 PM — quietSep 21, 8 PM — quietSep 21, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 12 AM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 4 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 8 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — quietYesterday, 12 PM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 4 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 8 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quietToday, 12 AM — quietToday, 2 AM — quietToday, 4 AM — quietToday, 6 AM — quietToday, 8 AM — quietToday, 10 AM — quietToday, 12 PM — quietToday, 2 PM — quietToday, 4 PM — quietToday, 6 PM — quietToday, 8 PM — quietToday, 10 PM — quiet 12
Sep 16Sep 17Sep 18Sep 19Sep 20Sep 21yesterdaynow · 11:20 PM ET
  1. 2

    American Greatness frames study as evidence of union misalignment with student outcomes

    Conservative outlet American Greatness published the study findings, characterizing the correlation between union strength and low literacy as revealing unions' "goals and priorities," amplifying the narrative to a conservative audience.

    “We found a strong, negative correlation between the two — the more powerful the unions, the fewer literacy policy principles the state had adopted.”
    — Rachel Canter, PPI Director of Education Policy · source
    1. 4 outlets Study: Students Show Lower Literacy in Blue States With Strong Teachers' Unions

      first by American Greatness, 6d ago · also Progressive Policy Institute, NY Post, ZeroHedge

      2 more headlines
  2. 1 day quiet
  3. 1

    PPI releases study linking teachers' union strength to lower literacy scores

    The Progressive Policy Institute's analysis of student literacy and teachers' union power across states found that eight of the ten worst-performing states for literacy were liberal strongholds with politically powerful unions, while the 23 top-performing states were overwhelmingly conservative with weaker unions. The assessment was conducted by PPI Director of Education Policy Rachel Canter.

    “The stronger the state's teachers' union the worse its student literacy scores were, results which did not exclusively follow party lines but strongly trended that way.”
    — Rachel Canter
  4. background

    Canter cites Mississippi reforms as model for literacy improvement — Canter highlighted her own work in Mississippi, where literacy reforms transformed the state from having some of the worst test scores in 2013 to ranking seventh nationally in literacy by 2024. Reforms included requiring struggling third graders to repeat the year, extra teacher training at low-performing schools, and literacy screenings three times yearly for kindergarten through third grade.

  5. background

    Study details policy adoption gap between Democratic and Republican states — Canter's analysis examined 18 literacy policies recommended by ExcelinEd and found Democratic states had adopted an average of nine, while Republican and swing states adopted an average of 13.5. Even extending the comparison to the top 32 best-scoring states, only 7 were Democratic, per Wall Street Journal reporting.