Texas has made good progress in education since the school reform movement began in earnest 15 years ago. State test scores are up for all groups of students in all grades in all subjects. On the National Assessment of Educational Progress, Texas is close to the top in student performance in math, and has finally begun to make real progress in reading scores. Texans have come a long way in improving education in our state. Yet, Texas has a long way to go to get to excellence. Texas simply cannot rest until an education system that assures that all young Texans graduate high school ready for college and the workplace is developed. Texas has much of the foundation of solid education policy in place. Now is the time to focus on that area that matters most - the effectiveness of teachers to create excellence in the classroom across Texas. The basic elements of this plan are to: (1) Strengthen standards and align coursework and achievement tests with these standards; (2) Improve the statewide collection of information about student, teacher, administrator, and school performance; (3) Create the best tools to measure the academic progress of students in order to increase teacher effectiveness; (4) Dramatically improve the evaluation of teacher performance; (5) Pay more to teachers who perform well and who take on greater and more difficult assignments; (6) Support and retain teachers through improved professional development and other proven academic programs; (7) Remove persistently ineffective teachers; (8) Improve principal leadership; and (9) Improve teacher preparation to increase the supply of more effective teachers.