The "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" examines what is arguably the single most powerful authority over the teaching profession: state government. This Rhode Island edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the first of what will be an annual look at the status of state policies impacting the teaching profession. It is hoped that this report will help focus attention on areas where state policymakers could make improvements to benefit both students and teachers. This policy evaluation is broken down into six areas that include a total of 27 goals. Broadly, these goals examine the impact of state policy on the preparation, certification, licensure, compensation and effectiveness of teachers across the elementary, secondary and special education spectra. Rhode Island's progress toward meeting these goals is summarized. Overall, Rhode Island's teacher policy lags behind that of most states. There is significant room for improvement in all areas. Rhode Island completely missed 14 goals, met a small portion of six, partially met three, nearly met three and fully met only one. While the state is weak in all areas, it has the most work to do in Area 5, "Alternate Routes to Certification. "Rhode Island's best performance is in the area of teacher compensation reform. The state is commended for supporting differential pay for the recruitment and retention of teachers in subject areas with shortages. The state, however, should consider implementing a performance pay program that would reward teachers for student-achievement gains. The state should also work to create at least one genuine alternate route to teacher certification. The body of the report provides a more detailed breakdown of the state's strengths and weaknesses in each area. Detailed rationale and "Food for Thought" for each area and corresponding goal are appended. (Contains 72 figures.) [Additional funding for this first edition of the "State Teacher Polic Yearbook" was provided by the Achelis Foundation, Bodman Foundation, Daniel's Fund, Fisher Family Foundation, Gleason Foundation, and The Teaching Commission. This state report is part of NCTQ's State Teacher Policy Yearbook series. For the national summary, see ED506661.