PolitiFact takes on the strong union state/strong student performance claim, repeated by Randi Weingarten in her ABC’s This Week appearance. They declare it half-true: Yes, strongly unionized states tend to rank above non-unionized ones in test scores, but the data suggests mere correlation rather than causation. That weak link goes both ways: It hasn’t been proven that unionization, per se, brings achievement down either.
While you’re at it, check out all the Truth-o-Meters on education.
Since the education reform viewpoint (unfortunately promoted by the L.A. Times and much of the rest of the mainstream press, "Waiting for Superman," the Obama/Duncan administration and many other forces) would have it that teachers' unions are the CAUSE of low performance and troubled schools, it IS extremely significant that strongly unionized states tend to rank above non-unionized ones in test scores. It's not relevant whether it's correlation or causation -- the point is that today's most powerful voices are declaring loudly that unionization per se DOES bring down achievement, and the facts show that they're wrong. (And please don't forget the principle "fool me twice, shame on me" when those powerful voices speak again.)
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