Improving teacher effectiveness is high on the list of most education reformers in Colorado, as it is nationally. Effective teaching in the elementary years is of vital importance to ensure not only that children master fundamental skills, but that performance gaps narrow rather than widen beyond repair. Disadvantaged students can catch up academically with their more advantaged peers if they have great elementary teachers several years in a row. This study evaluates Colorado's 15 undergraduate elementary teacher preparation programs across four critical areas: (1) Admission standards; (2) Teacher preparation in reading; (3) Teacher preparation in elementary mathematics; and (4) Exit standards. Findings of this study include the following: (1) Colorado's colleges and universities are more selective than colleges and universities across the country, allowing some of its teacher preparation programs to benefit from a more selective pool of applicants; (2) While most preparation programs in Colorado provide some exposure to effective reading instruction, they do not fully prepare candidates to teach the science of reading; (3) Programs use a wide variety of reading textbooks, many of which do not address the science of reading; (4) Only two Colorado preparation programs satisfactorily cover the mathematics content that elementary teachers need, and eight are seriously deficient. Algebra instruction, while stronger than the national average, is still inadequate; (5) Colorado's preparation programs vary widely in selected textbooks for mathematics content coursework; (6) Most of Colorado's preparation programs have a dedicated elementary mathematics methods course; and (7) No preparation program in the state ensures that aspiring elementary teachers know the science of reading instruction and understand elementary mathematics content at a depth that is sufficient for instruction. Appendices include: (1) Ratings of Reading Textbooks; (2) Ratings of Elementary Content Mathematics Textbooks; and (3) Comments from Colorado Teacher Preparation Programs. (Contains 28 footnotes.)