Study Disputes Bennett View of Teacher Unions

Teacher unions have not been a major obstacle to the school reform movement, according to a RAND Corp. study released Monday that contradicts frequent charges made by Education Secretary William J. Bennett.

The study, commissioned by the U.S. Department of Education, said rank-and-file teachers do not want their unions to forsake such “traditional bread-and-butter items” as class size and the length of the school day in negotiating new contracts.

But it said they are generally willing to accommodate efforts to make teachers more professional and to improve the quality of their instruction, such as career ladders and other forms of performance-based pay, as long as they are not at the expense of the bread-and-butter improvements.

“If past experience is any indicator, rank-and-file teachers will not support such trade-offs,” according to the study, “Teacher Unions and Educational Reform,” which was funded by the Department of Education’s Office for Educational Research and Improvement.

Bennett has repeatedly charged that obstructionist unions are the major obstacle to improving America’s schools. His spokesman, Loye Miller, said Monday that Bennett had not yet seen the RAND report and had no immediate reaction.