Questions about optimal routes to becoming an effective teacher have fueled an ongoing debate for more than 50 years--also, not coincidentally, a time of increasing regulation of teacher preparation programs. A number of alternative pathways have been investigated (Darling-Hammond, 2010; Darling-Hammond, Holtzman, Gatlin, & Heilig, 2005), yet the question of how teachers should be prepared to teach remains. Schools of education, once the bastion of teacher preparation, are under siege (e.g., Wiseman, 2012). A central issue in the debate is the effectiveness of schools of education and their impact on candidates' teaching practices. In this study, the authors (10 literacy teacher educators) report findings from a cross-institutional, longitudinal research project on the impact of preparation programs on teacher knowledge and practices.