WASHINGTON, D.C. (WOWO) — A new analysis from the Progressive Policy Institute is examining the relationship between teachers’ union strength and states’ approaches to early-literacy policy, finding that eight of the 10 states with the lowest scores in the institute’s assessment of liter acy policies had what the analysis classified as strong teachers’ unions. The analysis, conducted by PPI Director of Education Policy Rachel Canter and colleagues, compared rankings of teacher-union strength with state adoption of policies intended to improve early reading outcomes. The institute’s findings do not establish that teachers’ unions caused lower reading performance. Rather, they identify an association between union strength, the adoption of certain literacy policies and states’ reading outcomes. Other factors — including poverty, early-childhood education, state funding, teacher preparation and differences among student populations — also affect educational performance. The PPI analysis found that among the states scoring in the top 60% for early-literacy policies, four had strong teachers’ unions. States with weaker unions, including Mississippi, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina and Indiana, were among those highlighted by the analysis for stronger literacy outcomes. At the same time, the relationship was not consistent across every state. Maryland, which has a strong teachers’ union and Democratic leadership, has posted relatively strong reading results, while South Dakota, with weaker union influence, has faced weaker performance in some measures. Those examples underscore that union strength and political control do not by themselves explain differences in student literacy. Federal testing provides additional context. The National Center for Education Statistics’ 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress found substantial differences in reading performance among states at both the fourth- and eighth-grade levels. In fourth-grade reading, for example, Indiana’s 2024 average NAEP score was 220, compared with 214 nationally, while Illinois scored 214. Mississippi scored 219. The same assessment showed significant variation among states regardless of their political or union profiles. The PPI analysis focused more specifically on whether states had adopted 18 early-literacy policies recommended by ExcelinEd. According to PPI, Democratic-led states had adopted an average of nine of those policies, compared with 13.5 among Republican and swing states. Canter argued that teachers’ unions can affect both education policy and the way new policies are implemented in classrooms. “States dominated by Democrats have been slower to embrace similar reforms,” Canter said. “Organized labor might explain some of this gap.” Canter also said that Democrats she has spoken with have questioned whether Mississippi’s approach could be replicated in states where teachers’ unions wield substantial political influence. The Mississippi example is central to the analysis. Mississippi was once among the states with the lowest-performing students on national education measures, but the state has made significant gains in reading over the past decade. PPI says Mississippi rose to seventh nationally in literacy and 13th in math by 2024. The state’s reforms included literacy screening beginning in kindergarten, reading plans for individual students, literacy coaches and a policy allowing third-graders who failed the state reading test to be held back under specified circumstances. Mississippi also adopted phonics-based instruction, expanded teacher training and strengthened licensing requirements. PPI has identified the state’s approach as an example of how sustained policy changes can affect literacy outcomes. The institute’s analysis argues that some of those changes can be more difficult to implement where teachers’ unions have greater influence, because union representatives can object to policies they believe add responsibilities or burdens for educators. The relationship between unions and student performance, however, remains a matter of interpretation. The PPI analysis identifies a pattern across states, but the available state-level comparisons do not demonstrate that union strength alone determines reading achievement. The 2024 NAEP results illustrate why that distinction matters. Indiana, for example, had an eighth-grade reading score of about 262, while Illinois also scored about 262, despite differences in their political and labor environments. Ohio’s eighth-grade score was about 260. Nationally, the 2024 NAEP reading assessment measured fourth- and eighth-grade performance across states and jurisdictions and included results by demographic and other student characteristics. The federal assessment provides a broad measure of student achievement, while PPI’s analysis examines state literacy-policy adoption and union strength. PPI’s analysis also places renewed attention on the debate over how quickly states adopt changes in reading instruction, teacher training and early intervention. Canter has previously argued that Mississippi’s improvement was the result of years of coordinated policy changes rather than a single reform. PPI has specifically cited science-of-reading instruction, teacher training, early-childhood investments and interventions for struggling readers as components of Mississippi’s broader strategy. The findings arrive as states continue to grapple with reading achievement following significant declines during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal NAEP assessment remains one of the principal sources for comparing student performance across states and tracking changes over time. The PPI analysis therefore presents teachers’ union strength as one potential factor in the policy environment surrounding literacy, rather than as a standalone explanation for why students in one state read better than students in another. The post Study Examines Link Between Teachers’ Unions and State Literacy Policies appeared first on WOWO News/Talk 92.3 FM and 1190 AM. ...read more read less