Abstract
One of the most powerful investments a school can make is in developing its teachers’ skills and knowledge. Ample research confirms what we all know from experience: some teachers are more effective at helping students learn than others. In fact, a recent study showed that the quality of a teacher’s instruction is the most important factor in a student’s academic achievement, more important even than that student’s past achievement. Said differently, even students who have struggled in the past can make great learning strides with a highly skilled teacher.