This literature review of teacher qualification standards consolidates information from various national groups and takes a historical approach to the development of current trends in such standards. We differentiate between teacher "qualifications" (the legal requirements for a credential) and teacher "quality" and summarize the stipulations of prominent organizations. This analysis of highly qualified teaching characteristics revealed two patterns: (1) some concurrence in the numerous denotations of professional teaching commissions, and (2) dissonance in the criteria of policy-making bodies, conservative foundations, and critical multiculturalists. James Banks, Gloria Ladson-Billings, Carl Grant, Valerie Ooka Pang, Christine Sleeter, and other leading multiculturalists shed light on diversity frameworks and societal changes, a theme that is virtually nonexistent in the standards. Education preparation programs and professionals whose existence is governed by the teacher qualification standards should find this overview useful for questioning their development, relevance, and power.