Publications

The Evidence on the "Florida Formula" for Education Reform

A review of the high quality evidence on the "Florida Formula for education success," a package of policies put in place during the late 1990s and 2000s, which focus generally on test-based accountability, competition, and choice.
Literacy Ladders

This curated collection of essays for early childhood educators and others examines the research on increasing young children's language, knowledge, and reading comprehension.
Democracy's Champion

This report chronicles Al Shanker’s contributions in the international arena. It documents Shanker's many international endeavors to support democracy and workers’ rights and records the living memories of those who worked with him.
Spending by Major Charter Management Organizations in Three States

A detailed analysis of spending by the major Charter Management Organizations in three states.
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
American Labor in U.S. History Textbooks

The study conducted by the Institute in cooperation with the American Labor Studies Center (ALSC) makes the argument that labor history is central to an accu
Muslim Voices on Democracy: A Reader

A resource for American teachers and students on the turbulent events taking place in many Islamic countries.
Preschool Curriculum: What's In It For Children and Teachers

Preschool Curriculum is an accessible research synthesis of how and how much young children learn in the academic domains of oral language, literacy
A Cry for Justice: The Voices of Chinese Workers

This publication tells the stories of workers, in their own words, as they protest for a redress of greivances — usually in defiance of their employers, gove
Why We Need New Workplace Partnerships for Skills Development

This report, signed by a diverse group of labor, business and policy experts, calls for far-reaching changes in the way our country manages its work-force skills and training efforts.

Recent Blog Posts

Publications

Constitution Day 2022 Resources and Blog Series
As we recognize Constitution Day this year, so much is stake—our institutions, our rights and our ability to teach—making these lessons about civics and democracy more important than ever. So the Albert Shanker Institute and Share My Lesson are launching a series of teach-ins on the Constitution and its principles, such as the rule of law; constitutional freedoms; the Civil War amendments, which dealt with slavery; voter rights; and tribal sovereignty. These teach-ins will provide content knowledge on the rights granted in the Constitution, with teachable strategies for the classroom, and will tackle the very issues eroding our democracy and freedoms today, from book banning to protests and more. Our country’s educators will continue to do their part to help ensure our children know the basic tenets of our democracy and why they’re worth protecting.*

In honor of Constitution Day 2022, we have launched another blog series. Please check back for new additions to the series by experienced educators and other experts:
Ensuring Adequate Education Funding For All: A New Federal Foundation Aid Formula
A proposal for and simulation of a new "foundation formula" approach to federal K-12 funding, one in which federal funds are allocated based not only on student need (as is currently the case), but also on “effort”—that is, whether states contribute a reasonable minimum "fair share" of their economies to their public schools.
Segregation and School Funding: How Housing Discrimination Reproduces Unequal Opportunity
A descriptive analysis of the historical and contemporary relationship between racial segregation and K-12 school funding.

Blog Archives

Our Mission

The Albert Shanker Institute, endowed by the American Federation of Teachers and named in honor of its late president, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to three themes - excellence in public education, unions as advocates for quality, and freedom of association in the public life of democracies. With an independent Board of Directors (composed of educators, business representatives, labor leaders, academics, and public policy analysts), its mission is to generate ideas, foster candid exchanges, and promote constructive policy proposals related to these issues.

This blog offers informal commentary on the research, news, and controversies related to the work of the Institute.

Publications

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