The study finds that California does not suffer from low uniform salaries or a general teacher shortage, and that simply paying teachers more will not improve student performance. California teachers lack incentives to perform in the classroom and are not held individually accountable for the academic progress their students make. Teacher compensation is determined not by classroom performance but rigid salary schedules, based on credentials and seniority. Even more damaging is the state's tenure law, originally passed in the 1920s. California teachers automatically receive tenure after just two years, without even having to pass a test.
Tenured teacher are virtually impossible to fire, however devastating their impact on children.
A maze of procedures, often taking years to complete, makes firing a tenured teacher practically impossible. Unsatisfactory Performance cites the latest research confirming that teachers are the most important factor in a child's education. The difference between a good and bad teacher can amount to a grade level, and successive years of bad teachers can be devastating. According to state records, between 1990 and 1999, only 227 tenured teachers went through the dismissal process from start to finish. Since they were spread out over 10 years and not every case resulted in a dismissal, the actual number of firings is lower, a virtual proxy for zero.