Given the importance of teacher quality, how can we attract and retain high
quality teachers in all school districts in the country?
This policy brief examines this question by looking at the relationship between
the distribution of educational funding, teacher salaries, and teacher quality
across school districts in New York and California; both large, diverse states with
significant low-income and minority populations. It further analyzes how in-
equalities in these areas underpin disparities in achievement between more- and
less-advantaged students. Finally, it outlines strategies for recruiting qualified and
effective teachers to high-need schools and concludes with implications for state
and federal policy that may, finally, resolve this dilemma that has, for so long,
reinforced the achievement gap.