Retaining Effective Teachers Policy
The state should require that tenure decisions are based on evidence of teacher effectiveness. This goal remains unchanged in 2021.
NCTQ commends the 13 states—Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington—that consider teacher effectiveness, as measured by objective measures of student growth, when making tenure decisions.
Yes. State requires cumulative evidence of effectiveness to be considered in tenure decisions.: CO, CT, DE, HI, IL, LA, MA, MI, NJ, NV, NY, TN, VA, WA
Partially. State requires some evidence of effectiveness to be considered in tenure decisions.: AZ, ID, SC
No. State does not require evidence of effectiveness to be considered; tenure is granted virtually automatically.: AK, AL, AR, CA, DC, GA, IA, IN, KY, MD, ME, MN, MO, MS, MT, ND, NE, NH, NM, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SD, TX, UT, VT, WV, WY
Not applicable. State does not offer tenure.: FL, KS, NC, WI
Footnotes
MA: However, a principal may waive effectiveness requirement, subject to review and approval by the superintendent.
9B: Tenure
Tenure should be a significant and consequential milestone in a teacher's career. The decision to give teachers tenure (or permanent status) is usually made automatically, with little thought, deliberation or consideration of actual performance.[1] State policy should reflect the fact that initial certification is temporary and probationary, and that tenure is intended to be a significant reward for teachers who have consistently shown effectiveness and commitment.[2] Tenure and advanced certification are not rights implied by the conferring of an initial teaching certificate. No other profession, including higher education, offers practitioners tenure after only a few years of working in the field.[3]
States should also ensure that evidence of effectiveness is the preponderant (but not the only) criterion for making tenure decisions.[4] Most states confer tenure at a point that is too early for the collection of sufficient and adequate data that reflect teacher performance. Ideally, states would accumulate such data for four to five years. This robust data set would prevent effective teachers from being unfairly denied tenure based on too little data and ineffective teachers from being granted tenure.