A well-known authority on teacher induction programs offers the most comprehensive, up-to-date review of all recent research on the effectiveness of mentoring and induction support for new teachers. Michael Strong provides a revealing analysis of teacher induction programs and their consequences for education, teacher quality, teacher effectiveness, and teacher development. Because mentoring programs can be costly, particularly in large urban school districts with high teacher turnover rates, there is a rapidly growing body of research on program structures and their outcomes. This valuable book synthesizes the relevant research in a manner that is accessible, straightforward, and useful. This critical review will benefit educational decision makers by: (1) Bringing together the most important research findings in one volume; (2) Offering the author's expert opinion on the research, some of which he conducted at the New Teacher Center at the University of California, Santa Cruz; (3) Describing the specific contexts in which the research took place; (4) Detailing what is needed to implement and evaluate induction/mentoring programs; and (5) Outlining how to obtain the data necessary to determine whether a program is effective. [Foreword by Richard M. Ingersoll.]