In a time of limited means and continued calls for higher student achievement, school leaders need to be wise in their use of resources. Earlier research has called for greater levels of teacher preparation, and, while many school districts provide greater compensation for teachers with graduate degrees, some districts have begun phasing out this type of compensation. Complicating the question of the value of compensating teachers for graduate training is an absence of quantitative data that supports or rejects the concept that teacher graduate education positively contributes to student achievement. The purpose for this research was to ascertain the degree to which teacher graduate training supports student reading achievement. Results of this research demonstrated master's degrees have a limited positive impact on student reading achievement. However, more study is needed.