Schools across the nation are confronting the challenge to place an effective teacher in every classroom. Founded by 22 year old Wendy Kopp in 1990, Teach For America (TFA) has brought thousands of talented young people into teaching.

In this forum, Education Next asks Julie Mikuta and Arthur Wise whether Teach For America is a valuable strategy for recruiting the best and brightest into education and energizing school improvement, or a distraction and a device for sending ill-prepared neophytes to serve some of the nation’s neediest students.