We asked a simple question:

"Will our nation’s boldest efforts to recruit more top teachers and remove the least effective teachers put an excellent teacher in every classroom?” We ran the numbers and discovered a disappointing answer: No. Even if these reforms were wildly successful, nearly two-thirds of classrooms still would not have excellent teachers. Why does this matter? Only excellent teachers – those in the top quartile – achieve the student learning progress needed to close our nation’s achievement gaps and raise our bar to internationally competitive levels. Others do not.

But approximately 64,000 top teachers leave teaching every year. And the best teachers who stay reach no more children than the very worst teachers. If we add high-performer retention and reach extension to bold recruiting and dismissal, 87 percent of classes could be taught by gap-closing, bar-raising teachers—in a mere half-decade. This outcome is within our reach—but only if we vastly expand opportunities for excellent teachers by:

Building an Opportunity Culture for America’s Teachers.