In 1996, the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future's (NCTAF's) first groundbreaking report made five bold recommendations that changed teaching and learning across the country. "What Matters Most" challenged the nation to provide every American child with his or her educational birthright: access to competent, caring, qualified teaching in schools organized for success. In the twenty years since its publication, its message that strengthening the teaching profession was the key to addressing America's education crisis has been felt from the classroom to the legislative chamber. "What Matters Most" called for higher standards for teachers and students, a reformation in teacher education, and for schools to be organized for success. "What Matters Now: A New Compact for Teaching and Learning" consists of two reports. The first issues a call to collective action, and this, the second, "What Matters Now: A New Compact for Teaching and Learning. The Evidence Base" provides a robust online base of research, examples, and case studies to support the call to action. This report is designed for state and local policymakers who are interested in how to comprehensively transform teaching and learning for the students they serve, leveraging the opportunities presented by the recent federal legislation that provide more autonomy to states and districts, advances in the science of how people learn, transformational technologies, and student populations with increasingly diverse backgrounds and global connections. Throughout this report, examples of states, districts, schools, and teachers who are working to modernize and personalize learning for all students are offered. Reform--even revolution--can emerge from any layer of the system, depending on the resource and policy conditions. By highlighting a range of innovations, catalysts, and essential conditions, this report offers many different ways to bring about long lasting and effective education reform. [For "What Matters Now: A New Compact for Teaching and Learning. A Call to Action," see ED572432. The Commission also acknowledges the NEA Foundation and Total Wine & More for their support of this report.]