Do Strikes and Work-to-Rule Campaigns Change Elementary School Assessment Results?

This paper uses data from the Grade 3 and 6 assessments conducted in Ontario schools to examine the association between student achievement and both strikes and work-to-rule campaigns by teachers. Between 1998/99 and 2003/04 approximately 5 percent of schools in Ontario were exposed to strikes (including one lockout) and over 10 percent of schools experienced a work-to-rule campaign (the withdrawal of many school activities normally carried out by teachers). This study finds large reductions in academic achievement associated with strikes at disadvantaged schools in both Grade 3 and Grade 6, and substantial reductions in results associated with work-to-rule campaigns. The reductions associated with work-to-rule campaigns vary across schools with the largest reductions at disadvantaged schools in Grade 3 and at advantaged schools in Grade 6.