Since 1990 the New York-based Teach for America (TFA) program has placed more than 7,000 teachers in some of the nation's most challenging school districts. Most TFA recruits serve in schools that qualify for funding under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act due to their high concentrations of students living in poverty. These schools often find it difficult to fill teaching positions with strong candidates. In number of teachers trained each year, TFA is one of the nation's largest suppliers of teachers. According to the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, which represents university- or college-based teacher-preparation programs, only 10 percent of programs offering undergraduate-level training produce more teachers each year. TFA recruits clearly help to alleviate teacher shortages in the school districts in which TFA operates. But how do these recruits perform once they are hired? The evaluation results reported here provide the first evidence of TFA recruits' actual performance in the classroom. In the elementary grades 3 through 5, students of new Teach for America teachers gained an average of 5.8 percent of a standard deviation more on the TAAS reading exam than did students with other new teachers, a difference that fell just short of statistical significance. The students of the entire sample of Teach for America teachers made gains that were essentially similar to those made by students of all teachers in the Houston district. Elementary students benefited from having a TFA teacher in math as well. The achievement gains of students with new TFA teachers were 12 percent of a standard deviation higher than those with other new teachers, a result that was statistically significant. Students of all TFA teachers gained 2.9 percent of a standard deviation more in math than did students of all teachers in the Houston district, a difference that was not statistically significant. These and other findings of the evaluation are discussed. (Contains 3 figures.)