I do not want to leave you with the impression that other factors, such as socioeconomic status, or race, do not make a difference. In poor schools, pupils are much more likely to encounter less effective teachers than pupils in affluent schools. Black pupils are more likely to be assigned to less effective teachers than white pupils are. But, irrespective of race or socioeconomic condition, when pupils encounter highly effective teachers, they show remarkable gains. When all factors are controlled, it is the quality of the teacher that makes the difference in student learning.
Teacher quality is more important than any other variable.
And that brings me to my second point. The answer is, we are. The fact is that today all teachers are educated at the nation's colleges and universities. Now that we know that the most important factor in improving the quality of the nation's schools is improving the quality of teaching, we can conclude that colleges and universities have the capacity significantly to elevate the academic performance of the nation's schoolchildren. Of course, we do not yet know from careful research studies what the specific characteristics are of highly effective teachers.