The National Conference of State Legislatures convened a bipartisan group of legislators, legislative staff, and private sector partners to perform an 18-month study of best practices and policies of the highest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) performing countries. The initial findings call for states to boldly reimagine and reengineer their own education systems. This report identifies the integral role that teacher preparation programs play in building a world-class instructional system. It also offers a framework of policy and practice to raise the rigor, expectations, structure, and status of the teaching profession.