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QUINCY, ILL. -- Illinois lawmakers are looking at a new way to hire and fire teachers

It's called Performance Counts.

Teachers generally are fired by seniority.

This proposal says you should look at the performance of a teacher, now how long they've been at the school.

Executive Director of Advance Illinois Robin Steans knows it will be difficult but decisions have to be made.

"In order for us to do a good job making performance based decisions, we've got to be sure we've got a prety good handle on what peoples' performances look like. And that means, the evaluations that teachers and principals are getting need to be really thoughtful, they need to be rigorous, and they need to be fair. And if they're not, that obviously makes this work much less reliable," said Executive Director of Advance Illinois Robin Steans.

Other parts of the bill include dismissal.

The proposal says dismissal must be easier and less expensive. Dismissing a teacher who, with the use of student performance data and classroom observations, has been found ineffective - should not require an unreasonably prolonged hearing.

Another part of the bill has to do with certification.

Certification to teach should be linked to teachers' demonstrated ability in the classroom.