Recent state and federal policies generally focus on the individual teacher rather than the school organization. These reforms seem to assume that a teacher can do it all, that an individual who succeeds in one school can succeed in any school and, conversely, that a teacher who fails in one classroom will fail in all others. However, there is no evidence that changing the people who work in a school without changing the context in which they work will be effective. But reformers need not decide between the two approaches in a forced either-or choice. A more balanced strategy for improving the quality of teachers and teaching would invest in individual teachers and assess their effectiveness while also improving the schools where they work.