Tenure and Classroom Improvement

From the Marshall Memo #454

In this American School Board Journal article, Missouri middle-school teacher (and former businessman) Craig Waddell wonders whether abolishing tenure is the best strategy for getting rid of ineffective teachers. There are basically three categories of “bad apples”, he believes: those who are unqualified for their positions; those who are misplaced (for example, an English teacher in a high-school math class); and those who are underperforming because they are discouraged, disenchanted, disenfranchised, or past their prime. How do these folks wind up in front of students? Waddell lists these reasons:

• Ineffective teacher-education programs, including some diploma mills;
• Teacher shortages, leading districts to relax requirements;
• Inadequate recruitment efforts, missing qualified candidates who are out there;
• Senior teachers opting for “easier” assignments, leaving novices the toughest jobs;
• High turnover, which results in unqualified teachers joining faculties every year;
• Automatic tenure after a 3-5-year probationary period;
• The procedural difficulties involved in removing an ineffective tenured teacher.

Waddell argues that abolishing tenure doesn’t address any of these root causes. Instead, he says, “We must minimize the influx of unqualified teaches, stem the loss of competent educators, construct a nurturing work environment, and appropriately assign certified personnel… As long as the avenues into the teaching profession are inadequately structured and monitored, ‘bad teachers’ will infiltrate education. An experienced, ineffective teacher will be replaced by an inexperienced, untried candidate.” 

In addition, says Waddell, eliminating tenure would have the unintended consequence of reducing teacher loyalty. Tenure is an employee benefit like salary, vacation time, medical benefits, and sick leave. Job stability encourages teachers to invest personally and professionally in their schools. Without that security, teachers would feel at the mercy of administrators or test scores and flee to the safest, highest-performing schools at the first opportunity, leaving unqualified novices teaching the students who most need experience and competence. Some administrators might off-load experienced teachers to save money.

A second unintended consequence of ending tenure, says Waddell, is discouraging classroom risk-taking. “Professional learning communities and other teacher-involved process improvement ventures could be seriously diluted by a reluctance to contribute divergent, creative ideas,” he says. “Tenured teachers are more likely to invest time and effort in institutions where they perceive an enduring commitment… When a district reduces its allegiance to its staff, the faculty reciprocates.” Mentor teachers might be less willing to share their expertise with rookies if they saw them as a threat to their positions. “Ironically, eliminating teacher tenure could actually reduce the overall quality of teaching,” Waddell concludes.

“The Tenure Debate” by Craig Waddell in American School Board Journal, October 2012 (Vol. 199, #10, p. 25-27), www.asbj.com; Waddell is at craig.waddell@sbcglobal.net