(via jacobjoaquin)

This is a big deal. Scholastic and The Gates Foundation surveyed a truly massive number of teachers. The resulting mass of data paints a picture that simply wasn’t possible to paint before.

•Only 10% say tenure — a kind of job-for-life security based on a few years of satisfactory job evaluations — is a “very accurate” indicator of teacher quality;
•71% say paying teachers more for improved student performance would have only a “moderate” impact or no impact at all.
•97% say supportive leadership is an “absolutely essential” or “somewhat important” factor in teacher retention, while only 25% say the same about pay tied to performance.
•And while most teachers say that traditional textbooks help student achievement, fewer than half say textbooks “engage my students in learning.”