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4401-A
Connecticut Avenue, Box 294, Washington, DC
20008
Tel: (202) 244-7535, Fax: (202) 244-7584
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Education Exchange
Volume 3, Issue 6 -- June
1999
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Focusing on
Education Reforms at Your School, in Your State
Legislature, and in Congress
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What
"Could" Journalists Write About Teacher Unions?
Quick, how many objective news stories can you find that
dig into issues surrounding the national teacher unions?
Yes, there are the periodic rah-rah pieces that come out of
National Education Association (NEA) and American Federation
of Teachers (AFT) public relations shops, but in terms of
seriously researched and analyzed news, there is not much to
be had.
A few months ago a lone reporter, Tiffany Danitz, of
Stateline.org (Pew Center on the States), submitted this
question to a short-lived Public Agenda listserv aimed at
education writers: "Lets talk about the unions - what are
some new story ideas regarding unions? Anyone?"
Pleased that someone, anyone, was finally approaching the
need for exposing information about the teacher unions
through the written press, the Education Policy Institute
gladly prepared a list of story ideas (see below). To date,
we are still waiting to see press reports covering these
substantive issues.
Considering that both national teacher unions will hold
annual conferences in July, union-spun press releases will
soon be arriving in a newspaper near you. EPI would
challenge reporters and readers alike to suggest and pursue
stories that uncover what goes on behind the silky smooth
surface of teacher union propaganda. For instance:
- Take a look at legislation affecting unions (e.g.,
paycheck protection is an issue in many states, dues and
PAC collections occurring on school property has been
litigated in Florida).
- Look at how "new unionism" is taking over principals'
responsibilities.
- Review union involvement in election races --
partisan and non-partisan (school board, judges,
legislators, etc.).
- Take a look "inside" union contracts and show your
readers what you find. (Many local union contracts are
available on the web.)
- Dig into the union cartel (the teacher unions are
intimately involved in virtually every facet of
education, from accreditation agencies, to insurance
benefits, pension funds, board certification, etc.) and
see what turns up.
- Take a hard and critical look at the teacher
union/PTA connection.
- Identify for your readers the connections of the NEA
and its many coalition friends (the same organizations
show up repeatedly, so the connections should not be hard
to find).
- Look into organizations that have a high percentage
of NEA leadership on their boards and how this may
present a hidden (to the public) conflict of interest.
The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
(NBPTS) and the National Council for Accreditation of
Teacher Education (NCATE) are two good examples.
- Give your readers a look at the relationship the NEA
and AFT have with the media itself. Both union presidents
receive massive publicity and generally very favorable
press. Do reporters know enough about the issues to ask
and follow-up with thoughtful and provocative questions?
NCATE
Expert Refutes ETS Study
EPI pointed out in the March issue of Education
Exchange that readers be cautious and use critical
analysis skills when reviewing new studies. In a letter to
the editor of Education Week (June 9, 1999),
Dr. Michael Podgursky, an expert on NCATE initiatives,
describes the questions raised by a recent Educational
Testing Service study. The letter is reprinted in full
below.
Arthur E. Wise, the president of the National Council for
Accreditation of Teacher Education, argues that data from a
recent study by the Educational Testing Service show that
"NCATE-accredited institutions are producing proportionally
more qualified teachers than nonaccredited institutions"
("On Teacher Quality: A Hard-Won System Begins To Pay Off,"
May 19, 1999).
He [Wise] bases this claim on the fact that 91 percent of
candidates from NCATE-accredited programs passed PRAXIS II
licensing exams as compared with just 83 percent from
nonaccredited programs. This result is all the more
surprising since the same ETS data show that the SAT and ACT
scores of NCATE graduates who pass their licensing exams are
below those of their non-NCATE peers. We are thus led to
believe that the ETS data provide reliable evidence that
NCATE programs are superior.
In fact, the NCATE/non-NCATE statistics reported by the
ETS have several limitations which make conclusions about
program quality problematic. One is that 14 percent of the
researchers' sample of PRAXIS II test-takers never enrolled
in a teacher-training program. The ETS researchers assigned
test-takers to NCATE categories based on the college they
attended, not whether they were actually enrolled in a
teacher-training program. The never-enrolled group has a
lower pass rate (74 percent) as compared with candidates
currently enrolled in a teacher-training program (91
percent).
Both the NCATE and non-NCATE samples contain unreported
shares of the never-enrolled. However, it is likely that the
non-NCATE population will have a proportionately larger
share of the never-enrolled, since test-takers who graduated
from colleges without a teacher-training program will always
be classified as "non-NCATE."
A more appropriate test of the effect of accreditation
would compare only those test-takers who were currently
enrolled in a teacher-training program. Unfortunately, the
data reported by the ETS do not permit such a comparison.
A second problem with the ETS comparison is that
institutional differences in pass rates are affected by the
mix of tests taken by their graduates as well as the state
in which the tests are taken. For example, a student in
North Carolina, where NCATE accreditation is mandatory, can
pass the PRAXIS II elementary exam with a score of 153,
whereas the minimum passing score is 164 in Pennsylvania,
where roughly 60 percent graduate from NCATE programs.
The pass rates also depend on the exam taken, ranging
from 91 percent on the elementary education exam down to 76
percent on math and 75 percent on social studies. The
Educational Testing Service could have clarified this matter
by reporting mean NCATE/non-NCATE test scores for the major
PRAXIS II exams or by disaggregating their results by state.
Perhaps the researchers will do so in future reports.
In short, one cannot reliably compare the quality of
NCATE vs. non-NCATE teacher training programs on the basis
of the PRAXIS II pass rates reported in the recent ETS
study. We can hope that ETS researchers will address these
problems as their project continues. In the meantime, NCATE
should be more modest in its claims.
Michael Podgursky
Professor and Chairman
Department of Economics
University of Missouri-Columbia
Columbia, Mo.
Minnesota
to Begin Pilot Teacher
Training Program in Public Schools
As part of its 1999 Omnibus K-12 Education Act (Art. 9,
Sec. 47) approved in May, the Minnesota legislature put
forth a plan whereby students training to become teachers
would receive much of that training at the hands of K-12
teachers in public schools. Instead of receiving virtually
all of their education in college and university classrooms,
the pilot program aims to coordinate efforts between
universities, K-12 schools, and business and community
groups.
Joe Nathan, Director of the Center for School Change at
the University of Minnesota, advocates the program. Although
Gov. Ventura vetoed the funding request, which amounted to
$100,000, Nathan says the program will go forward without
the state funding. Tuition paid by individuals who
participate in the program will be divided between the K-12
school and the participating university. Business and
community groups that play a role in parts of the training
will also share in associated revenues. State matching
grants may also be available in some instances.
The legislation calls for five schools to take part in
the pilot program; however, the "application" has not yet
been created according to Nathan. Sites have not been
selected, though "activity is underway involving two
universities and two school districts," said Nathan.
Some reasons the legislation was developed include
concern about teacher preparation and retention in the
state. In a 1998 survey of school administrators undertaken
by the Center for School Change, recent education school
graduates proved competent in subject matter, but less
prepared in dealing with students, families, and community
groups. This program would aim to improve the latter.
Reacting to Education Minnesota's (the NEA/AFT merged
state teacher union) stated fear that the program will lower
teacher standards, Nathan said, "There are so many teachers
who are so frustrated with teacher training, this just
stunned me." He added that seniority provisions were built
into the legislation.
Nathan says the program may be implemented as soon as the
fall of 2000, or perhaps the fall of 2001. Several other
states have inquired about the program.
NTU
Conference Brings Out Possible Effects
of Major Tax Reform on Teachers
The 30th anniversary meeting of the National Taxpayers
Union, June 10-12 in Washington, D.C., was devoted to
several issues which relate to teachers and teacher unions.
One of the most important was the identification of the
teacher unions as the major component of the coalitions
seeking to raise taxes; about two of every three speakers
mentioned this to the conferees.
One of the major issues discussed at the conference was
tax reform, especially in terms of a flat tax or a national
sales tax. Either reform would have a profound impact on
educational reform and teacher unions &endash; in fact, on
public employee unions generally. However, there was general
agreement that neither would materialize at the federal
level in the absence of a president devoted to such a
reform.
The conferees agreed that a national sales tax would be
desirable if, and only if, it replaced all or most existing
federal taxes; if it is proposed simply as an addition to
existing taxes, taxpayer organizations would be strongly
opposed.
A critical point is that under a national sales tax,
employees would be paid in full; there would be no federal
withholding. Under one proposal, workers would pay no
federal taxes until they bought goods or services. The
upshot would be that everyone could see how much taxes
reduce the purchasing power of their paychecks. This would
make it much more difficult to raise federal taxes.
Education, like so many government services, relies
partly on taxes that are more or less hidden from view. In
fact, from the standpoint of the legislators imposing new
taxes, the more "hidden" they are, the better. Furthermore,
except for increases resulting from more consumer spending,
any increase in tax revenues would require increased sales
tax rates, hence it would be more difficult politically to
raise taxes.
Another advantage of a federal sales tax is that it would
be possible to abolish the IRS. A very small number of
employees would be required to administer the tax if it
replaced the complex tax code that we have today.
Of course, only 6-7 percent of school revenues comes from
the federal government, so the immediate effect of a
national sales tax would not lead to a major change in
school revenues; however, this could change quickly if
states began to add a state sales tax to the federal one.
A flat tax would be even more effective in publicizing
the amount of the tax bite. Under a sales tax, taxpayers
would have to add up their sales taxes over the year to
learn the amount of their total tax; not so under a flat
tax. Once a year at least, taxpayers would see just how much
of their income was going to the federal government.
Although the teacher unions would oppose both a flat tax
and a federal sales tax as a replacement for all existing
federal taxes, the impact of such a change on teacher taxes
would vary considerably. Beginning teachers facing 40-50
years of sales taxes would be worse off, especially
considering their major purchases of houses, furniture, and
cars, would be subject to the tax.
Retired teachers, or teachers close to retirement would
be much more likely to support a sales tax, since they would
have purchased most of the big ticket items by the time the
national sales tax went into effect.
Nevertheless, we can expect most teachers to respond to
tax reforms in terms of how the reforms would affect their
own taxes, not in terms of the impact of the changes on
school revenues generally. In this connection, it should be
noted that the federal income tax on individual incomes
generates only about 45 percent of federal revenues.
Minnesota
Education Tax Credit Program Off to Good Start
Minnesota's tax credit program is in the midst of its
second year of implementation. Barbara Zohn, Project
Consultant Senior with the Department of Children, Families,
and Learning, says, "The tax credit program gathered so much
support so fast that we feel it is not vulnerable any longer
-- we hear nothing negative at all at this point...even from
the teacher unions."
The tax credit covers a broad range of educational
expenses, but excludes private school tuition.
Zohn said that since the tax credit is not available for
private school tuition, the financial boost it can provide
is not large enough to greatly impact private school
enrollments. Still, because the program is so new, in-depth
research and analysis of enrollment and related statistics
will probably not be accomplished for at least another year
and a half. She adds, however, that families are applying
for higher amounts of credit than had been expected by the
Dept. of Revenue.
Kristin Robbins, President of Minnesotans for School
Choice, explained that State Education Commissioner
Christine Jax has made some public statements about the tax
credit availability, though this program has not been as
high a priority with the current administration as with the
previous Arne Carlson administration.
Robbins says the Minnesota Dept. of Revenue is projecting
that 50,000 families will use the tax credit this year.
EPI's
Education Quick Facts
- By 1998, 41 states, plus the District of Columbia,
reported having some type of alternative teacher
certification program. It is estimated that more than
80,000 persons have been licensed through these programs.
Thousands more are being licensed to teach who are
participating in college alternative teacher preparation
programs. (Source: "Teacher Quality and alternative
Certification Programs," Testimony before the House
Committee on Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on
Postsecondary Education, Training and Life-Long Learning
by Dr. C. Emily Feistritzer, National Center for
Education Information, May 13, 1999)
- Moore Information Inc., a professional public opinion
research firm, conducted a public opinion poll on union
political spending of 500 voters in Washington state on
May 21, 1999. Eighty-four percent believe that a union
should get permission before spending dues money on
campaign activities. Eighty-one percent believe that a
union should even get permission for indirect political
expenditures like phone banks, polls, consultants and
get-out-the-vote activities that affect elections. And,
78 percent believe unions should be required to disclose
to the public any expenditures intended to influence
elections. (Source: "Union dues for politics? Public Says
Not Without Permission," Paycheck Protection Project,
Evergreen Freedom Foundation, June 7, 1999)
- Institute for Justice Outreach Coordinator Maureen
Blum reports that between 1,500 and 2,000 people showed
up outside the capitol in Harrisburg, PA for a school
choice rally on June 8. Among those in the crowd were two
busloads of Teamsters -- that's right, Teamsters --
helping support the move toward parental choice in
education. (Source: Institute for Justice, June 9 1999)
Copyright 1999
Education Policy Institute, PMB 294, 4401-A Connecticut
Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20008-2322 202/244-7535, Fax
202/244-7584 http://www.educationpolicy.org
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