A large-scale sociological study of teacher burnout in the public schools is summarized. Data presented in the study consist of: a sample of 3,500 teachers in Houston, whose attitudes were monitored in 1977; exit interviews of every teacher in the initial sample who subsequently quit teaching over a 5-year period; achievement and attendance behavior data on over 2,200 students taught by the teachers; and a sample of teachers who remained in teaching as of 1981-82. The study sought to determine: (1) links between teacher burnout, teacher commitment, and teacher turnover; (2) how social support and social buffering variables affect the links between stress, school violence against teachers, burnout, and attitudes toward quitting teaching; and (3) how teacher burnout affects student achievement and attendance. Data revealed that teacher burnout does not lead to teacher turnover; rather, burnout is more likely to lead to teacher "entrapment" (remaining in a hated career beause of few saleable skills). Principals who support teachers and treat them as colleagues break the functional link between stress and burnout. Except for high-achieving students, the assignment of a student to a burned-out teacher did not adversely affect Iowa Test scores. (CB)