Abstract
I examined the possible correlation between collective bargaining and student achievement as measured by college entrance exams. Twenty-four public school districts were included in the study. The districts were categorically grouped based on whether collective bargaining practice was used to settle teacher employment contracts. Three research questions were identified and explored. The first question examined the possible correlation between the SAT Mathematics subtest score and collective bargaining. The second research question examined the possible correlation between the SAT Verbal subtest score and collective bargaining. The third research question examined the possible correlation between the ACT Composite Score and collective bargaining. Three levels of analysis were conducted. The first level included a weighted t-test of the collective bargaining and non-collective bargaining districts for each of the three tests. The secondary level of analysis included a Multivariate Analysis of Variance to determine if the three sets of testing data had internal correlation. The third level of analysis included nine individual Analyses of Covariance, testing the three exams, categorically by use of collective bargaining, against racial composition of district, free and reduced lunch rate of the district, and per pupil funding rate of the district, respectively. Differences were found among the groups, with the districts that used collective bargaining scoring higher on both SAT subtests, but noncollective bargaining groups scoring higher on the ACT Composite. None of these differences was statistically significant, however.