Tenure : South Carolina
Identifying Effective Teachers Policy
Analysis of South Carolina's policies
South Carolina does not connect tenure decisions to evidence of teacher effectiveness.
Teachers in South Carolina are awarded tenure automatically after a two-year probationary period, absent an additional process that evaluates cumulative evidence of teacher effectiveness.
Recommendations for South Carolina
End the automatic awarding of tenure.
The decision to grant tenure should be a deliberate one, based on consideration of a teacher's commitment and actual evidence of classroom effectiveness.
Ensure evidence of effectiveness is the preponderant criterion in tenure decisions.
South Carolina should make evidence of effectiveness, rather than the number of years in the classroom, the most significant factor when determining this leap in professional standing.
Articulate a process that local districts must administer when deciding which teachers get tenure.
South Carolina should require a clear process, such as a hearing, to ensure that the local district reviews a teacher's performance before making a determination regarding tenure.
Require a longer probationary period.
South Carolina should extend its probationary period, ideally to five years. This would allow for an adequate collection of sufficient data that reflect teacher performance.
State response to our analysis
South Carolina asserted that while it does not technically have tenure, it does transition teachers from an Initial to a Professional certificate. This process is not based on time, but rather on successful demonstration of classroom effectiveness.
The state also contended that it seems contradictory to recommend that tenure be based on classroom success while also recommending a five-year probationary period. "If a teacher has demonstrated effectiveness in three or four years, why should they be subject to this arbitrary time requirement? As we transition away from 'seat time' for students, we should do the same for teachers."
Last word
The problem is not that effective teachers are subjected to arbitrary time requirements, but that early timelines offer professional status quickly to teachers who have not demonstrated classroom effectiveness. A system where the most outstanding teachers can earn tenure more quickly would be quite reasonable, provided the decision was based primarily on evidence of classroom effectiveness.
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South Carolina
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Delivering Well Prepared Teachers
- Admission into Preparation Programs
- Elementary Teacher Preparation
- Elementary Teacher Preparation in Reading Instruction
- Elementary Teacher Preparation in Mathematics
- Middle School Teacher Preparation
- Secondary Teacher Preparation
- Secondary Teacher Preparation in Science
- Secondary Teacher Preparation in Social Studies
- Special Education Teacher Preparation
- Assessing Professional Knowledge
- Student Teaching
- Teacher Preparation Program Accountability
Expanding the Pool of Teachers
Identifying Effective Teachers
- State Data Systems
- Evaluation of Effectiveness
- Frequency of Evaluations
- Tenure
- Licensure Advancement
- Equitable Distribution
Retaining Effective Teachers
Exiting Ineffective Teachers
Research rationale
For evidence on the potential of eliminating automatic tenure, articulating a process for granting tenure, and using evidence of effectiveness as criteria for tenure see D. Goldhaber and M. Hansen, "Assuming the Potential of Using Value-Added Estimates of Teacher Job Performance for Making Tenure Decisions." Center for Reinventing Public Education. (2009). Goldhaber and Hansen conclude that if districts ensured that the bottom performing 25 percent of all teachers up for tenure each year did not earn it, approximately 13 percent more than current levels, student achievement could be significantly improved. By routinely denying tenure to the bottom 25 percent of eligible teachers, the impact on student achievement would be equivalent to reducing class size across-the-board by 5 students a class.
For additional evidence see Robert Gordon, et al., "Identifying Effective Teachers Using Performance on the Job," Hamilton Project Discussion Paper, Brookings Institute, March 2006.