Teachers’ Union Strength and Student Literacy: New Analysis Highlights State-Level Divide
The relationship between teachers’ unions, education policy and student reading performance is drawing renewed attention after an analysis by education policy advocate Rachel Canter argued that states with stronger unions have generally adopted fewer of a set of recommended literacy reforms.
The analysis, highlighted in a Sept. 15 New York Post report and connected to a recent opinion piece by Canter, points to Mississippi’s education overhaul as an example of how changes in reading instruction, screening and intervention can coincide with improved student performance.
But the findings require an important distinction: a state-level correlation between union strength and literacy-policy adoption does not by itself establish that teachers’ unions cause lower reading scores. The Thomas B. Fordham Institute’s underlying union-strength research also measures union influence across multiple dimensions rather than directly measuring its effect on student achievement.
The Thomas B. Fordham Institute
What the Analysis Says About Teachers’ Unions and Literacy Reform
Canter is director of education policy at the Progressive Policy Institute and previously led Mississippi First, where she advocated for multiple education initiatives. PPI says she spent more than 16 years leading the Mississippi organization before joining the institute.
Progressive Policy Institute
According to the material provided, Canter compared states using literacy-policy recommendations from ExcelinEd alongside a recent assessment of teacher-union strength.
Her argument is that states where teachers’ unions wield greater influence have, on average, adopted fewer of the literacy policies she examined.
The supplied New York Post report says Canter examined 18 literacy-policy principles and found that Democratic-led states had adopted an average of nine, compared with an average of 13.5 among Republican and swing states.
Canter attributed at least part of that gap to organized labor, arguing that stronger unions can make some education reforms more difficult to enact. That remains her interpretation of the data rather than proof that union strength independently caused differences in student literacy.
New 2026 Research Measures Teacher-Union Strength Across the States
The union-strength data referenced in the story comes from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute’s 2026 report, “A Crowded Table: Teacher Union Strength in 2026.”
Published May 27, the study analyzed 59 measures using public datasets, information compiled by researchers and a survey of K–12 stakeholders across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Researchers evaluated union strength in five broad areas: resources and membership, political involvement, labor and bargaining policies, policy wins and losses, and perceived influence.
The Thomas B. Fordham Institute
The Fordham report ranked Vermont, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Hawaii as the five states with the strongest teachers’ unions. Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, North Carolina and Mississippi were at the other end of the ranking.
The Thomas B. Fordham Institute
New York ranked 10th overall for teacher-union strength, while California ranked second.
The Thomas B. Fordham Institute +1
Fordham itself describes its rankings as measures of each state’s union strength relative to other states, rather than an absolute measure of union power. The report also emphasizes that education policymaking has become more crowded, with unions operating alongside numerous other organizations and political interests.
The Thomas B. Fordham Institute
Mississippi’s Reading Gains Take Center Stage
Mississippi is central to Canter’s argument because its education performance has changed substantially over the past decade.
The reforms described in the supplied report included literacy screening for young students, additional teacher training and intervention for struggling readers. The state also established consequences for some third-grade students who failed to meet reading requirements, while providing additional support.
Canter has publicly argued that other states can learn from Mississippi’s experience. In a Sept. 9 piece highlighted by the Progressive Policy Institute, she said policymakers from around the country have contacted her about Mississippi’s improvement in reading and math. She also argued that similar reforms are possible in Democratic-led states, though political conditions may make them harder to enact.
Progressive Policy Institute
Mississippi also stands out in the Fordham rankings: its teachers’ unions were ranked 47th out of the 50 states and Washington, D.C., placing the state among those with the weakest union strength.
The Thomas B. Fordham Institute
Why Correlation Does Not Settle the Debate
The comparison raises a significant education-policy question, but the numbers should be interpreted carefully.
States differ in far more than teachers’ union strength. Student achievement can be associated with curriculum, instructional practices, funding, socioeconomic conditions, attendance, teacher preparation, state standards, accountability systems and other factors.
The Fordham Institute’s report also notes that research on teachers’ unions is not one-sided. Its review says previous studies have associated some union activities with benefits for students, while others have found reduced school efficiency.
The Thomas B. Fordham Institute
That makes it difficult to conclude from state rankings alone that stronger unions produce weaker literacy outcomes.
The more specific claim in Canter’s analysis concerns the relationship between union strength and the adoption of particular literacy policies. Establishing whether that relationship directly translates into changes in student achievement would require additional evidence that accounts for other differences among states.
Reading Performance Remains a National Concern
Whatever role union politics plays, weak reading performance remains a broader challenge for U.S. schools.
A 2025 Progressive Policy Institute report by Canter noted that national reading performance had declined after years of earlier improvement, with particularly serious difficulties among lower-performing students. The report said 40% of fourth graders were below the “basic” reading level in 2024.
Progressive Policy Institute
That broader decline has intensified debates over reading instruction and policies associated with the “science of reading.”
The Fordham Institute reported separately in April 2026 that reading instruction is moving toward science-of-reading practices, although gaps remain in teacher training, instructional materials and implementation, particularly in high-poverty schools.
The Thomas B. Fordham Institute
What the Debate Means for Parents and Schools
The emerging policy debate is ultimately about more than whether a state is Democratic or Republican, or whether its teachers’ unions are strong or weak.
The central question is which literacy policies consistently help children become proficient readers — and whether states can implement those policies effectively across schools with different student populations and resources.
Mississippi’s experience is likely to remain an important part of that discussion. At the same time, comparisons between union strength and literacy outcomes need to separate measurable relationships from claims about what caused them.
As more states change reading instruction, screening and intervention policies, longer-term student performance data may provide a clearer picture of which reforms have the greatest impact.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did the analysis say about teachers’ unions and literacy?
According to the supplied New York Post report, Rachel Canter’s analysis found a negative relationship between teacher-union strength and adoption of a group of recommended literacy policies. She argues that organized labor may help explain why some states have been slower to adopt certain reforms.
The comparison represents an association and does not, by itself, prove that teachers’ unions cause lower student literacy.
Which states have the strongest teachers’ unions?
The Thomas B. Fordham Institute’s 2026 assessment ranked Vermont first, followed by California, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Hawaii. The rankings are based on numerous measures of resources, political involvement, labor policy, policy outcomes and perceived influence.
The Thomas B. Fordham Institute
How strong are teachers’ unions in New York?
Fordham’s 2026 assessment ranked New York 10th among the 50 states and Washington, D.C., placing it in the report’s strongest tier.
The Thomas B. Fordham Institute
What literacy reforms did Mississippi adopt?
The source material describes reforms including repeated literacy screening in the early grades, additional teacher training, parental notification when children were struggling and a policy requiring some third graders with the lowest reading performance to repeat the grade.
Does the analysis prove teachers’ unions lower reading scores?
No. The evidence described here identifies relationships among union strength, policy adoption and state-level literacy performance. Those comparisons alone cannot establish that union strength caused lower reading achievement, because states differ across many educational, economic and demographic factors.
