This report evaluates how good a job the states are doing when it comes to putting policies in place that will improve teacher quality. Forty-nine states are included; Oregon and the District of Columbia did not participate in the survey. States receive grades in whether: (1) they hold schools, principals, and teachers accountable for results; (2) they have empowered schools to make personnel decisions; (3) they have quality control systems to ensure that teachers know their subjects, but that do not involve needless regulation; and (4) they have opened the doors into teaching to talented candidates who have not attended schools of education. Grades are based on 29 indicators, each linked to a policy designed to boost the quality of the teaching force. Overall, the states earn a grade of "D+" for their teacher quality policies, although Texas and Florida both receive "A's." The report describes what these two states are doing to earn these grades. Across the United States, accountability is still more talk than action, as state-by-state reports demonstrate. (SLD)