This study conducts further analysis of teacher background characteristics and student performance outcomes. A relationship between teacher coursework and student outcomes had been demonstrated in a previous analysis of the NELS:88 teacher transcript files by this researcher. The current project expands upon these findings by incorporating an analysis of teacher background and student performance outcomes within a broader conceptual framework. It also seeks to improve the statistical validity of the analysis, improve the transcript-based measures of teacher quality, and uses additional variables from the NELS:88 data files to test alternative hypotheses concerning student outcomes.