This report presents a balanced picture of the debate on teacher quality in the U.S. and focuses on the aspects of teacher policy dealing with attracting, recruiting, developing and retaining effective teachers by synthesizing relevant research, identifying innovative and successful policy practices, facilitating exchanges of lessons among countries and identifying policy options. Fully vetted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), no other publication includes comprehensive data about such a diverse group of topics. Covering issues from teaching requirements to retirement, this is a large 25-nation study and is the first of its kind on teacher issues. This U.S. background report is organized into six chapters, corresponding to the common framework set by the OECD Directorate for Education, Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, Division of Education and Training. These chapters are: (1) The National Context: Trends in U.S. Education; (2) The School System and Teaching Workforce; (3) Attracting Highly Qualified People into the Profession; (4) Educating, Developing, and Certifying Teachers; (5) Recruiting, Selecting, and Assigning Teachers; and (6) Retaining Effective Teachers in Schools. (Contains 1 table and 3 figures.) [The National Council on Teacher Quality in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education International Affairs Office prepared this report as part of an international project with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).]