In an effort to close the achievement gap between students of minority and majority populations and between students in higher and lower economic circumstances, the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) added instruction and evaluation of teacher dispositions to its requirements for credentialing prospective teachers. This study tests for correlations between these dispositions and student academic growth on state standards tests. Teachers' dispositions were measured using responses on three teacher surveys, and teaching effectiveness was measured using value-added scale score growth of their students on the state standards assessment. Teachers and students involved in the study were from four schools in a low-income urban district with a large English Learner population. The data were first analyzed looking for significant correlations between teachers' rankings as a low, average, or highly effective teacher in terms of scale score growth, and the strength of the teachers' responses to disposition items on the three surveys, to confirm whether the dispositions required by teacher education institutions were correlated to student progress. Subsequently, stepwise regressions were run to look at individual survey items to further check the validity of the required dispositions, and to explore two other potential correlates to teaching effectiveness: classroom management, and personal efficacy for teaching challenging students. Results reveal significant positive correlations between student achievement and the dispositions for classroom management and personal-efficacy in terms of confidence in one's ability to teach all students. No significant correlations were found between student achievement and dispositions for instructional strategies or addressing diversity. This study suggests that characteristics other than those emphasized by NCATE may be most significant in developing highly effective teachers for diverse populations. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]