The Impact of Teacher Unions on Student Achievement

• In Event: Roundtable Session 15
  In Roundtable Session: Policy, Action, and Reaction: Teacher’s Work in Changing Contexts

Abstract

The overall impact of unions and collective bargaining agreements on student achievement has produced a literature with decidedly mixed results. Unions are seen to have both positive and negative influences on a teachers’ ability to perform the teaching act, and ultimately, a student’s ability to learn. This study researches the impact of unions on state level student achievement, controlling for socio-economic and expenditure differences among states. Collective bargaining depressed achievement for students eligible and not eligible for the lunch program, and depressed achievement was greater for students not eligible for the lunch program. Per capita educational expenditures were not significantly related to students’ educational achievement.

Author

• Mark J. Fenster, College of Notre Dame of Maryland