This collection of papers focuses on the preparation of teachers by university-based education programs. The papers are: "The STEPS That Support P-12 Learning and Achievement" (Diana Rigden), which describes the Standards-based Teacher Education Project (STEP) for improving student learning; "The Responsibility for Assessing Beginning Teachers" (Gary R. Galluzzo), which presents three features essential to high quality beginning teachers (being smart, capable, and persevering); "'It Takes a College': Administrative Support for Teacher Preparation" (Thomas E. Dasher), which describes the administrator's role in a collaborative approach to preparing teachers; "Linking Teacher Quality to Student Achievement through Assessment" (Russell French), which looks at the level of accountability that has reached the teacher education community; and "A Case For A Certain Kind of Teacher Education" (Frank B. Murray), which discusses the need for a new teacher education degree, grounded in the liberal arts and pedagogy. (SM)