Policymakers, educators, and researchers all agree that teacher quality is critical to student learning. High quality teachers are needed to meet the unprecedented demands on schools and prepare students to be successful in the 21st century. In order to meet this challenge, ongoing efforts are needed to improve teacher learning and student achievement. The search for comprehensive measures of teacher quality encompassing all outcomes expected of schools must remain at the forefront of research and policy discussions. A thematic research study approach focusing on Wyoming teachers was utilized to explore the relationship of certification level (National Board Certification or non-National Board Certification) and teacher education level (bachelor's degree or advanced degree) with four correlates of teacher quality: instructional practice, classroom management, teacher efficacy, and teacher leadership. Five comprehensive and interrelated studies encompass the dissertation; the thematic study and four individual studies. The purpose of the thematic research study was to provide an extensive exploration of teacher quality and to more clearly understand the collective relationship of certification and teacher education level with the four correlates of teacher quality. The purpose of the individual research studies was to examine each of the four correlates independently to consider the effects of certification and teacher education level. In the thematic study, a significant difference was found within the certification variable (NBC and non-NBC) for frequency. National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) reported more frequent engagement in the indicators of teacher quality than teachers without certification. Means for importance of teacher efficacy indicators were significantly greater than the other correlate areas of instructional practice, classroom management and teacher leadership. Frequency of engagement in the correlate areas of instructional practices, classroom management and teacher efficacy indicators were significantly greater as compared to teacher leadership. In addition, frequency of engagement in teacher efficacy indicators was significantly greater than frequency of engagement of classroom management indicators. In the individual studies there were significant differences on the certification variable (NBC and non-NBC) for frequency of classroom management and teacher leadership with NBCTs reporting greater frequency of classroom management and teacher leadership characteristics than those teachers who do not have NBC. Additionally, the importance of teacher leadership resulted in a significant difference with NBCTs reporting greater importance of teacher leadership characteristics than non-NBCTs. Each individual study resulted in a ranked list of teacher quality indicators from most important to least important. The results from the study further identified the frequency with which teachers reported engaging in the characteristics. Finally, significant differences were found to exist between the perceptions of Wyoming teachers regarding the importance and frequency of engagement in the indicators of teacher quality. Wyoming teachers perceive they have a significantly higher frequency of engagement in instructional practice and classroom management indicators compared to the importance of these indicators. A significantly higher level of the importance of teacher leadership indicators compared to the frequency of engagement in these indicators was reported. There was no significant difference reported between importance and frequency of engagement on the teacher efficacy indicators. The results of this study add to the research on understanding the perceptions of the importance of and frequency of engagement in high quality teaching indicators. The study provides evaluative information for the Wyoming National Board Certification Initiative (WNBCI) and informs the initiative's efforts to strengthen the quality of teaching in Wyoming schools. Recommendations from the study may also be helpful in informing future educational policy decisions concerning the role of teacher quality and ultimately the learning of all students. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]