Recognizing that teachers are the single most important school-level factor influencing student achievement, policy leaders have invested tremendous public resources in new systems to both assess and address teacher effectiveness. Yet the research that informs teacher effectiveness policy leaves many important questions unanswered. These questions relate to the professional experiences and supports that effective teachers themselves view as critical for equipping teachers with the skills and knowledge they need to help their students succeed.

From Good to Great: Exemplary Teachers Share Perspectives on Increasing Teacher Effectiveness Across the Career Continuum helps to fill these gaps through a first-of-its-kind exploratory survey of National and State Teachers of the Year. These teachers are chosen by their states as among the best, and one teacher each year is selected as among the best in the nation. The report provides insight into the professional experiences and supports that these effective teachers believe most contributed to their growth and eventual excellence as a teacher. Reflecting back on their careers, from preparation through mastery and even into retirement, the National and State Teachers of the Year surveyed in this study provide education leaders and policymakers with needed information about the professional experiences that help teachers move from good to great.