The federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation aims to achieve the national goal of ensuring that every child meets rigorous standards of academic achievement. In particular, California is challenged to meet the NCLB requirement that by 2005-2006, all teachers be "highly qualified," meaning they must have a bachelor's degree,…

While policymakers have tried to improve teacher workforce effectiveness by raising certification requirements, research shows that credentials correlate little with teaching excellence, as measured by student performance. School districts do little additional screening and commonly award tenure after two or three years regardless of performance.…