You'd like to know, wouldn't you? So, too, would some researchers at Florida State University. And they've got more than $1-million in grants to help them find out.

Economics professor Tim Sass and education assistant professor Stacey Rutledge are looking at such factors as teacher training, principal assessments and high-stakes testing to compile a statistical, objective look at exactly what goes into good teaching.

They plan to issue a report, as well as create a web site to help educators across the country develop conditions that make educators more effective.

"We have a federal policy - the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 -  that says all teachers need to be highly qualified, but sets narrow criteria for what constitutes effectiveness: a bachelor’s degree, certification, and having passed a content knowledge assessment," Rutledge said in a news release. "So this really is an attempt to identify a broader set of criteria for defining effectiveness."