The following cross-sectional quantitative study examined the characteristics of effective teachers based on the perceptions of upper level secondary school students and secondary school administrators. The researcher created a 25 statement Likert like survey developed as a result of the literature and modified using Charlotte Danielsons\u27 Framework for Teaching as a basis. Five domains were established and five statements covered each of the five domains. The surveys were completed by 461 upper level secondary school students and 54 secondary school administrators, and descriptive statistics provided the top five characteristics of effective teachers as perceived by upper level secondary school students, and the top six characteristics of effective teachers as perceived by secondary school administrators. The perceptions of the two groups were compared using a two group MANOVA (multivariate analysis of variance) to determine if significant differences existed between the two groups. The conclusions of this quantitative study showed that students and administrators have much in common with regards to their overall perceptions of the characteristics of effective teaching. The results showed share perceptions on Domain I: Planning and Preparation, Domain IV: Professional Responsibilities, and Domain V: Personal Characteristics; however there was a statistically significant difference between their perceptions on Domain II: The Classroom Environment and Domain III: Instruction
