Teacher education in the USA lives in a policy shadow world that is jumbled and unfocused because decision-makers do not see teacher education as a public good in and of itself. Rather, it is viewed as an instrument to achieve other, more important, policy goals. Consequently, teacher education policy tends to be parsed across fields and levels of instruction, compartmentalized, and often isolated; these circumstances thwart development of consistent and coherent policy on how teachers are prepared. This article considers whether two recent national reports, "A Test of Leadership: Charting the Future of U.S. Higher Education" and "Tough Choices or Tough Times" clarify or further confound teacher education policy directions, and concludes with the caution that both reports continue the instrumental definition of teacher education, a situation that will hinder development of comprehensive and more effective policy options. (Contains 2 notes.)