Since 1990, the privately organized Teach For America has deployed more than 10,000 graduates to disadvantaged schools plagued by teacher shortages. The recruits take part in five-week summer institutes that include four weeks of student teaching. Because states have begun stepping up their requirements for Teach For America participants, most also continue their education coursework on the job. Teach For America recruits take part in five-week summer institutes that include four weeks of student teaching. The Peace Corps-style program recruits promising young liberal-arts graduates to teach for two years in disadvantaged rural and inner-city schools. Because states have begun stepping up their requirements for Teach For America participants, most also continue their education coursework on the job. Critics have accused the program of gambling with poor children's futures because few of its recruits come to the program with education backgrounds. This article reports a Mathematica study to test whether the teaching corps was making an impact in the classroom.