Given the tremendous impact teachers have on learning--they are the single most important school-based determinant of student achievement--the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) believes that no education improvement strategy states and districts take on is likely to have a greater impact than one which seeks to maximize teacher and principal performance. Joining the chorus of advocates calling for moving from highly qualified to highly effective teachers, NCTQ offers recommendations for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) so that Congress and the U.S. Department of Education can help states: (1) Develop value-added measures and teacher evaluation systems to determine teacher effectiveness; (2) Fix highly qualified teacher (HQT) requirements; (3) Collect meaningful data and develop workable policies to ensure that all students have access to effective teachers; (4) Remove any remaining barriers to alternate routes; (5) Strengthen accountability for all teacher preparation programs; and (6) Tie federal grant opportunities to the adoption of "break the mold" state and district policies. (Contains 7 figures and 3 footnotes.)