The mission of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as expressed in its founding charter is "to do and perform all things necessary to encourage, uphold, and dignify the profession of the teacher."

The founders created an institution dedicated not only to the advancement of teaching in general but also to the "profession of the teacher" in particular. To this day, the organization remains rooted in its original mission: strengthening the future of the profession of teaching and the calling of educator.

The improvement of teaching and learning is central to all of the foundation's work. As the foundation brings together researchers, teachers, policymakers and members of organizations with common interests in education, it seeks to have them collaborate to invent new knowledge and to develop tools and ideas that will bring about positive change and enhanced learning in the nation's colleges and schools. The foundation seeks to be both an inspiration and a catalyst as it works on issues of teaching and learning across regions, disciplines and all levels of the education system.

Anthony S. Bryk, whose work has informed and inspired school reform efforts, took office as the ninth president of the foundation in September 2008.

Throughout this century, the Carnegie Foundation has contributed many influential achievements in education, including:

• Developed the nonprofit Teachers Insurance Annuity Association of America (TIAA) which, together with College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF), is the largest pension system in the United States
• Published the Flexner Report on medical education, a seminal report that led to the establishment of standards of medical training in the United States
• Created the Carnegie unit, which standardized high school course credits for use in the college admissions process
• Founded the Educational Testing Service
• Established the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education
• Developed the Graduate Record Exam
• Published more than 100 influential studies on higher education that led to dramatically increased federal support for higher education and federal financial aid to college students

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