Excellent Educators: A Wise Giver's Guide to Cultivating Great Teachers and Principals

The strongest influence on whether a student learns (and how much) is the teacher. Never mind fancy facilities, new technology, top curricula, or more school spending—research shows that the intelligence, skill, and dedication of the instructor is two to three times as important as any other contribution to student outcomes. If we want to improve schools, we must raise the quality of teachers.

Yet credentials, degrees, years on the job have little to do with classroom excellence. Fascinating...