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Shanker Blog
The Indiana Model
Indiana Republicans are well on their way to making the state a so-called "right to work" state, despite the unpopularity of the measure and the evidence suggesting that union rights improve worker productivity and economic performance.
A Dark Day For Educational Measurement In The Sunshine State
Florida's new district grading system is designed in such a manner as to virtually guarantee that districts serving more advantaged students will do well, while those serving less advantaged populations will have a tough time getting a high score no matter how well their students perform.
Performance And Chance In New York’s Competitive District Grant Program
Almost half of the points that will determine the winners of New York State's new competitive school district grant program are based on a flawed performance measure.
Burden Of Proof, Benefit Of Assumption
Former D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee is using the district's testing results as evidence supporting the performance pay plan she instituted two years ago. Not only is this a completely inappropriate use of data, but the actual results suggest the opposite conclusion.
Income And Educational Outcomes
The influence of students' background on their educational performance is well-established, but there is a scarcity of data with which researchers might examine these complex associations.
What's New
Does Money Matter in Education?
Over the past few years, due to massive budget deficits, governors, legislators and other elected officials are having to slash education spending. As a result, incredibly, there are at least 30 states in which state funding for 2011 is actually lower than in 2008. In some cases, including California, the amounts are over 20 percent [...]
Policy Brief: The Evidence on Charter Schools and Test Scores
Charter schools are among the most controversial issues in education today, with much of the debate focused on whether they produce better testing results than comparable regular public schools. Too often, these discussions either rely on a tiny handful of studies, or on raw, cross-sectional testing results, which are not valid measures of school effects. [...]
A Discussion on the Challenges Facing Government, Public Services and Public Sector Collective Bargaining in the U.S.
Based on a transcript of a seminar in Washington, D.C. sponsored by the Albert Shanker Institute entitled “The War Against Public Service and Public Employee Unions.” On June 8, 2011, leaders of U.S. public employee unions met in Washington, D.C. to discuss the crisis facing government and public services in the U.S. and to consider strategies and [...]
American Labor in U.S. History Textbooks
Albert Shanker Institute released a report on how labor’s story has been distorted in high school history textbooks.
Muslim Voices on Democracy: A Reader
A resource for American teachers and students on the turbulent events taking place in many Islamic countries.
Worthy of Attention
Democracy
Schools as Battlegrounds: Protecting Students, Teachers, and Schools from Attack
Of the 72 million primary school-age children not currently attending school worldwide, more than half — 39 million — live in countries afflicted by armed conflict.The Global State of Workers' Rights
A report from Freedom House, with help from the Shanker Institute, documents the state of labor rights around the world.
Education
Test Scores Often Misused in Policy Decisions
Misinterpretations of testing data not only plague our education debate, but they are also being used in high-stakes decisions by states and districts.How to Stop the Drop in Verbal Scores
E.D. Hirsch argues that the primary reason for falling SAT scores is not demographics or TV watching, but vast curricular changes, especially in the critical early grades.New School Year Brings Steep Cuts in State Funding for Schools
Elementary and high schools are receiving less state funding than last year in at least 37 states, and in at least 30 states school funding now stands below 2008 levels – often far below.
Labor
Ohio Public Employees Are Not Overcompensated
Jeffrey Keefe of the Economic Policy Institute rebuts a diversion from Senate Bill 5.Little Love for Labor
Coverage of our recent labor textbooks report in The Nation.