The purpose of the Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study (BTES) was to identify teaching activities and classroom conditions that foster student learning in elementary schools. The study focused on instruction in reading and mathematics at grades two and five. During the multi-year series of substudies comprising BTES, a variety of issues were addressed, and data from several samples of teachers and students were collected and analyzed. Depending on the question being asked, various data collection techniques were used, including: ethnography, stimulated recall, interviews, teacher and student self-report, objective observation, and testing. As the study progressed, a model of classroom instruction and student learning evolved and provided the conceptual framework that guided the final empirical stage of the study. The development of the model is in itself one of the more important outcomes of the study. The discussion presented in this article will present: (1) a brief description of the model as it applies to the acquisition of reading and mathematics skills in elementary schools; (2) an overview of the methods used in the final field study; (3) the major findings of the study; and (4) some implications of the study for the practice of teaching.