Iowahawk: Longhorns 17, Badgers 1 (debunks the lefty argument for teacher unions)

Iowahawk | March 2, 2011 | David Burge

[xjcsa]

Please pardon this brief departure from my normal folderol, but every so often a member of the chattering class issues a nugget of stupidity so egregious that no amount of mockery will suffice. Particularly when the issuer of said stupidity holds a Nobel Prize.

[snip]

Similarly, The Economist passes on what appears to be the cut-'n'-paste lefty factoid du jour:

Only 5 states do not have collective bargaining for educators and have deemed it illegal. Those states and their ranking on ACT/SAT scores are as follows:

South Carolina – 50th North Carolina – 49th Georgia – 48th Texas – 47th Virginia – 44th

If you are wondering, Wisconsin, with its collective bargaining for teachers, is ranked 2nd in the country.

[snip]

The point being, I suppose, is that unionized teachers stand as a thin chalk-stained line keeping Wisconsin from descending into the dystopian non-union educational hellscape of Texas. Interesting, if it wasn't complete bullsh*t.

As a son of Iowa, I'm no stranger to bragging about my home state's ranking on various standardized test. Like Wisconsin we Iowans usually rank near the top of the heap on average ACT/SAT scores. We are usually joined there by Minnesota, Nebraska, and the various Dakotas; Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire...

... beginning to see a pattern? Perhaps because a state's "average ACT/SAT" is, for all intents and purposes, a proxy for the percent of white people who live there. In fact, the lion's share of state-to-state variance in test scores is accounted for by differences in ethnic composition. Minority students - regardless of state residence - tend to score lower than white students on standardized test, and the higher the proportion of minority students in a state the lower its overall test scores tend to be.

[xjcsa]

The bottom line: after controlling for race, Texas (a no-collective-bargaining state) actually outperforms Wisconsin; this destroys the recent lefty claim that test scores prove that unions are good for students.

Click here to read the rest.

[Cymbaline]

Thanks for posting. It’s unusual to see something serious from Iowahawk (His twitter posts are a daily source of belly laughs!) but it’s great info to have and confirms what we know instinctively.

And really, anyone who would seriously claim that teacher’s unions are better for students is either a paid union shill or willfully ignorant.

[justrepublican]

Surely, this will be on a point - counterpoint show soon.

pfttt

[Huskrrrr]

Thanks, I’m an ex-Hawkeye myself. Badgers? We need no stinkin Badgers!

[BenKenobi]

Shock n Awe! Shock n Awe!

[MurrietaMadman]

The author’s Conclusion: instead of chanting slogans in Madison, maybe it’s time for Wisconsin teachers to take refresher lessons from their non-union counterparts in the Lone Star State.

Mr.Krug and The Economist UNdoubtedly UNderstand the power of chanting...

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/socialist-mantra-hidden-in-grade-school-chants/

[Tex-Con-Man]

Iowahawk ...sardonic wit and content rich?

[Hardastarboard]

Liberals claim that those tests are biased. They’ve always got an “irrefutable” excuse for their failures.

[EveningStar]

I'm temporarily handling the Iowahawk ping list while dighton is away.

Please let me know if you want to be added to or removed from the list.

Please ping me to Iowahawk articles. Thanks. :)

[EDINVA]

I am so glad Iowahawk wrote this. It was pretty much my first question when I heard the “WI ranks second” canard. All those upper Midwest states and the more northern states in New England are whiter than white. Any comparison without this breakout is meaningless.

[joelt]

Iowahawk; Magnificent!

[GOPJ]

...a state's "average ACT/SAT" is, for all intents and purposes, a proxy for the percent of white people who live there. In fact, the lion's share of state-to-state variance in test scores is accounted for by differences in ethnic composition. Minority students - regardless of state residence - tend to score lower than white students on standardized test, and the higher the proportion of minority students in a state the lower its overall test scores tend to be.

This is totally believable...

[GOPJ]

Thanks for the ping.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

I am so glad to see this. I had looked at those very numbers and wondered, WTH, are all of those high scoring SAT students from private schools because their 8th graders are not exactly excelling

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

Iowahawk 1
Nobel Prize Winning Economist 0

Irrefutable truth and an absolute blast to read. Brilliant.

[NonValueAdded]

Cross-reference post: Iowahawk's excellent article just referenced in this American Thinker piece: The Stimulus: Jump Starting a Car with No Engine