New analysis from the Progressive Policy Institute, hardly a conservative institution, has found that blue states with stronger teacher unions produce lower reading scores.
This reinforces what we have seen unfolding in Arkansas under Republican Governor Sarah Sanders, who has eschewed activism in favor of going back to the basics.
FOX News reports:
Powerful teachers’ unions share striking link with states struggling to teach kids to read
States with stronger teachers’ unions tend to have weaker literacy performance and have adopted fewer of the policies credited with improving reading outcomes, according to a new analysis from a center-left think tank.
Eight of the 10 states to score among the worst in the Progressive Policy Institute’s (PPI) assessment of early-literacy policies were home to powerful teachers’ unions. Among the top 60% of states in terms of early-literacy policy scores, only four had strong teachers’ unions.
Mississippi, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina and Indiana, all Republican-leaning states with weak unions, were among the states with the best literacy outcomes. Maine, New York, Illinois, Hawaii, Washington and Rhode Island, blue states, were among the worst.
The pattern isn’t universal. Maryland, a blue state with a strong teachers’ union, has posted strong reading results, while South Dakota, a red state with a weaker union, has struggled. The differences suggest union strength and party control alone don’t explain states’ reading performance.
The stronger the teachers unions, the fewer early literacy reforms states have adopted.
Blue states average just 9 of 18 key literacy policies, compared with 13.5 in red and purple states.
Children’s ability to read should come BEFORE union power. pic.twitter.com/mSLhEahRrY
— Stephen Moore (@StephenMoore) September 14, 2026
More from the New York Post:
The assessment was conducted by the PPI’s Director of Education Policy, Rachel Canter, who spent nearly two decades in Mississippi advocating for systemic reforms, which transformed the state’s students from having among the lowest literacy rates in the nation to having some of the highest
And Canter’s study found one overwhelming and shocking throughline — the stronger the state’s teachers’ union the worse its student literacy scores were, results which did not exclusively follow party lines but strongly trended that way and often to the detriment of Democrats.
“Democrats, however, don’t often ask me how to replicate Mississippi’s success,” Canter said. “They ask if it’s possible at all, given the power of teachers’ unions in their home states.”
One reason for the disparity, Canter argued, is that states where teacher unions have a strong grip are slower to enact better programs.
She looked at 18 literacy policies recommended by ExcelinEd and found Democratic states had undertaken nine of them on average, while Republican and swing states had adopted an average of 13.5.
Democrats are usually seen as better on education, as an issue.
This story challenges that idea.
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