Aargh, I hate it when the "facts" are false

My larger point about attacking the teacher unions as the wrong approach to take if you want to attract good teachers, stands. That said, my post from last night is clearly flawed. How flawed? PolitiFact rates it as false. Ack!

Here are the real numbers from PolitiFact:

Mean SAT scores by state, 2010:
 

State	Overall Score	National Rank	Participation Rate
Wisconsin	1778	3rd	4 percent
Virginia	1521	34th	67 percent
North Carolina	1485	38th	63 percent
Texas	1462	45th	53 percent
Georgia	1453	48th	74 percent
South Carolina	1447	49th	66 percent

Mean ACT scores by state, 2009
 

State	Overall Score	National Rank	Participation Rate
Wisconsin	22.3	13th	67 percent
Virginia	21.9	22nd	20 percent
North Carolina	21.6	26th	15 percent
Texas	20.8	35th	30 percent
Georgia	20.6	40th	40 percent
South Carolina	19.8	46th	50 percent

The fact pattern still holds up, but nowhere near as clearly and decisively as I'd like (in order for my point to be bullet-proof). Once again, this data DOES support my argument, it just doesn't clinch it.

Below is a link to the full PolitiFact article:

PolitiFact | Labor union supporters say Wisconsin test scores vastly outpace those in five states without collective bargaining for teachers