A top-quartile teacher will increase the performance of their class — based on test scores — by over 10 percent in a single year. … That means that if the entire U.S., for two years, had top-quartile teachers, the entire difference between us and Asia would go away.

Source: "Mosquitos, Malaria and Education." TED2009. Feb. 2009. Conference Presentation. Additional Information: This quote by Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates means that a teacher that is in the top 25 percent of teachers (a teacher that is better than 75 percent of other teachers) can raise student test scores by 10 percent in one year. This means that if all U.S. teachers were held to these top-quartile standards, our student test scores would increase so much that America's educational performance would be as good as Asia's. This quote is from Gates' 2009 TED Talk about some issues he is passionate about -- eradicating disease and improving our educational system. Watch the full TED Talk here: Bill Gates - Mosquitos, Malaria and Education

“Mosquitos, Malaria and Education.” TED2009. Feb. 2009. Conference Presentation.