There is significant research that is well-referenced in this book:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...05425?v=glance
You will also find the relevant arguments listed in the information accompanying this title:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...books&n=507846
My own experience which corroborated first hand the experience my father discussed with me many times, made it clear to me that the teachers' unions are protectionist of teachers' benefits and defensive to the extreme regarding any proposal that would require or enforce any degree of accountability of their performance in the classroom and the performance of their students. The various systems of tenure that exist for public school teachers have everything to do with locking up the keys to accountability behind an unassailable fortress of job security.
Because teachers know the task of public education is nearly impossible, given the nature of contemporary culture and society and the lack of personal and parental responsibility that evolved during the decades they were organizing, teachers have created a system which ensures their employment and not a system that addresses the need for an educated population.