Decreasing funding for staff and increasing expectations for teachers place additional pressure on schools to hire and retain the highest quality teachers. Recent studies have identified effective strategies for teaching, but little research has been conducted to identify those innate characteristics or talents unique to effective teachers. The purpose of this quantitative descriptive study was to use the Clifton StrengthsFinder 2.0 (CSF 2.0) to determine which talents appeared most frequently in a sample of primary reading teachers from rural schools in east Idaho. This study also determined which talents appeared most frequently in teachers whose classes performed higher than the state average proficiency levels on the winter administration of the Idaho Reading Indicator (IRI). The researcher created a homogeneous purposeful sample by compiling a randomized list of all elementary schools in east Idaho, contacting the building principals, and requesting that the teachers participate in the study by taking the Clifton StrengthsFinder 2.0 and reporting their top five signature themes. A sample of 55 respondents from six rural elementary schools completed the assessment and reported the results, including student achievement on the winter administration of the Idaho Reading Indicator (IRI). The researcher compiled the data, identified nineteen teachers whose students performed higher than the State median on the IRI, and analyzed the signature themes. The results suggested that primary elementary teachers reported certain signature xiv themes more or less frequently that the general population. The signature themes reported by teachers of higher achieving reading classes were also different than the general population and varied slightly from the sample of primary teachers. After analyzing the results, the researcher identified a list of expectations for teachers that may be unrealistic given their individual innate talents. From this foundational research, a list of recommendations for future inquiry and research was developed that could lead to potential applications for using the Clifton StrengthsFinder 2.0 in schools to develop a strengths-based organization. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]