This research investigates Taiwanese preservice students’ academic quality in comparison with their nonteaching peers. The findings show that preservice students demonstrated higher academic quality than their non-preservice counterparts, as they had better entry test scores, mid-point grades and final grades. The authors provide explanations of the gap in performance between the two groups within the broader sociocultural context of Taiwanese society. First, the authors found that the majority of the teaching programs set a minimum academic standing as a threshold for student application when they recruit students from various programs/departments within the university. Second, the Taiwanese government adopted policies that provide teachers with generous compensation and benefit packages that provide teachers with generous compensation and benefit packages. Furthermore, the cultural beliefs imbedded in the Confucian cultural heritage may also play a role in constructing favorable teaching conditions.