COMMENTARY

Let's Stop Blaming Teacher Unions

March 12, 2010

BEN LEVIN, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Education Leadership and Policy. University of Toronto, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE)

A lot of education rhetoric these days includes mention of the supposedly negative impact of teacher unions on reform.  For a few commentators, eliminating union opposition is one of the most essential, or even the single most important component in creating improvement, while for many others it is part of the package. 

But here’s an interesting observation.  Virtually all the top performing countries on international education measures have strong teacher unions, including Finland, Korea, Japan, Canada, Australia and others.  Of course such a relationship does not imply causation, but it does suggest that there is no necessary conflict between strong teacher unions and good outcomes. Moreover, some countries or sub-national units that took steps to weaken the influence of their unions did not demonstrate any subsequent improvements and in some cases, such as England, later had to take many measures to improve the situation of teachers to get an adequate supply and thus to improve student results. READ MORE...

In the 2006–07 academic year, 66 percent of the 4,160 2-year and 4-year Title IV degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the nation offered college-level distance education courses.  The overall percentage includes 97 percent of public 2-year institutions, 18 percent of private for-profit 2-year institutions, 89 percent of public 4-year institutions, 53 percent of private not-for-profit institutions, and 70 percent of private for-profit 4-year institutions.

SOURCE: Institute for Education Sciences

THE NEWS

ACADEMIC PREPARATION

Administration Unveils ESEA Renewal Blueprint
By Alyson Klein, Education Week
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has released broad principles for renewing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that seek to address perennial complaints that the law’s current version—the No Child Left Behind Act—is inflexible and doesn’t set a high enough bar for academic achievement. The Obama administration’s long-anticipated blueprint for overhauling the Bush-era NCLB law seeks to maintain the current statute’s focus on disaggregating data and improving the performance of particular student groups, such as students in special education.

How to handle students cheating
By Jay Mathews, Washington Post
What should we do about the computer hackers at Winston Churchill High School in Montgomery County who changed dozens of grades? What is the solution to student cheating in general? Research suggests that rising pressure to get into good colleges has led students to cut corners. One study cited by the Educational Testing Service said only about 20 percent of college students in the 1940s said they cheated in high school, while that proportion is four times as large today.

Texas Conservatives Win Curriculum Change
By James C. McKinley, Jr, New York Times
After three days of turbulent meetings, the Texas Board of Education on Friday approved a social studies curriculum that will put a conservative stamp on history and economics textbooks, stressing the superiority of American capitalism, questioning the Founding Fathers’ commitment to a purely secular government and presenting Republican political philosophies in a more positive light. The vote was 10 to 5 along party lines, with all the Republicans on the board voting for it. The board, whose members are elected, has influence beyond Texas because the state is one of the largest buyers of textbooks. In the digital age, however, that influence has diminished as technological advances have made it possible for publishers to tailor books to individual states.

In Hard Times, Lured Into Trade School and Debt
By Peter S. Goodman, New York Times
One fast-growing American industry has become a conspicuous beneficiary of the recession: for-profit colleges and trade school. At institutions that train students for careers in areas like health care, computers and food service, enrollments are soaring as people anxious about weak job prospects borrow aggressively to pay tuition that can exceed $30,000 a year. But the profits have come at substantial taxpayer expense while often delivering dubious benefits to students, according to academics and advocates for greater oversight of financial aid.  

This isn’t your parents’ college dorm
By Jodi S. Cohen, Chicago Tribune
At a time when college students bring more electronic equipment than ever to school, there is one item missing this year in University of Illinois dorm rooms: land-line phones. For the first time in about 50 years, dorm rooms don't have working connections for land-line phones — which have joined ironing boards, boom boxes, hot pots and alarm clocks on the list of things no one brings to college anymore.
"It was very close to nobody noticing," said Kirsten Ruby, the U. of I. housing marketing director. "Most of them said, ‘Uh, duh, why would I need a phone?'"

The Shrunken Student Aid Bill
By Doug Lederman, InsideHigherEd.com
As Congressional Democrats and the White House begin a last-ditch push to pass legislation to overhaul health care this week, it remains far from certain that a plan to revamp the student loan programs will be merged into the health legislation. While the odds of that happening are better than not, it is still possible that Democrat leaders will decide to ditch or postpone action on the student aid measure if they conclude that it could discourage even a few key lawmakers from supporting the health care bill.

Haiti, land of higher learning
By Mireille Mathieu, Université de MontréaL
The violence of the earthquake that crushed Haiti and the scale of the suffering that ensued continue to shake the world at large. A new chapter now opens in Haiti: the post-emergency phase, a crucial period following any humanitarian disaster. It is a complex phase that is less scrutinized by international observers yet has many risks. Haiti can rebuild successfully with the help of its allies. Health care is necessary, but higher education is an equally fundamental part of a successful reconstruction.

THE World University Rankings
Phil Baty, Editor, The Times Higher Education
Times Higher Education's World University Rankings have become something of a benchmark for governments and higher education experts worldwide. So if the rankings have become an accepted reference point, why are we making such dramatic changes, switching our data provider and revamping our methodology? We are doing so precisely because the rankings have become such a respected reference point. If they are starting to influence strategic thinking and even government policy, we have a responsibility to make them as rigorous as possible.

Teachers quit over 'US-style' program at Aurukun, Coen State Schools
By Evan Schwarten, The Australian
SEVEN teachers have left a Cape York school following the introduction of a controversial teaching program. Aurukun State School is one of two schools running a trial program of "direct instruction" based on competency rather than age. "Instead of just bumping the kids up year to year it gives a much greater interrogation of their skill level," Education Queensland deputy director-general Ian Mackie told AAP.

How Many Schools Have Not Made Adequate Yearly Progress Under the No Child Left Behind Act?
The Center on Education Policy (CEP) released new findings on the total numbers and percentages of schools not making adequate yearly progress (AYP). Based on tests administered in 2008-09 by each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, CEP found that about one-third of U.S. public schools did not make AYP in school year 2008-09. The percentage of public schools not making AYP varied greatly by state, from 6% in Wisconsin to 77% in Florida.
 
Can I Get a Little Advice Here? How an Overstretched High School Guidance System is Undermining Students` College Aspirations
Based on a national survey of young adults aged 22-30, a new Public Agenda report examines the perceived effectiveness of high school counselors across the nation and finds most to be overworked and underprepared to help students make decisions about their postsecondary future. According to the report, a majority of survey respondents characterized their interactions with guidance counselors as anonymous and inadequate, with six in ten giving counselors fair to poor grades for their college advice. Results also show that young people who found their counselors to be unhelpful were less likely to go directly from high school into a postsecondary program, a decision that reduces their chances of earning a college degree. Part of the problem is the disproportionate student-to-counselor ratio in most states, but the report also concludes that degree programs need to do a better job of preparing counselors and that states need to offer increased professional development opportunities.

NATIONAL CAPITOL SUMMIT, April 12-13, 2010, Washington, DC

RETENTION 2010, International Conference on Student Success, June 9-11, 2010, Chicago, IL