This paper explores teachers' ethnotheories of the "ideal student" in five western societies: Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and the US. Quantitative and qualitative methods are used to derive culture-specific profiles of the "ideal student" as described by kindergarten and primary school teachers in semi-structured interviews (sample n's = 12 to 21). Discriminant function analysis shows that teachers' descriptor profiles can be correctly assigned to their own cultural group in up to 94% of all cases. Qualitative analysis of the interviews suggests both shared themes (e.g. motivation, independence) and culturally specific understandings of their meaning and significance. Contrary to the prevalent focus on cognitive qualities emphasized by western educational assessment practices, teachers in all the samples talked more about the importance of social intelligence and self-regulation for success in school. (Contains 1 table.)