National Board for Professional Teaching Standards

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization in the United States, dedicated to promoting excellence in education. Founded in 1987, the board improves teaching and student learning by enhancing overall educator effectiveness and recognizing and rewarding highly accomplished educators who meet high and rigorous standards. It develops and maintains advanced standards for educators and offers a national, voluntary assessment, National Board Certification, based on the NBPTS Standards. As of December 2010, more than 91,000 educators have become National Board Certified Teachers in the United States. Its headquarters is located in Arlington, Va.[1]

Mission

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The mission of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is to advance the quality of teaching and learning by

History

The board was formed in response to a 1986 report issued by the Task Force on Teaching as a Profession, a group funded by the Carnegie Forum on Education, of the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The report, entitled A Nation Prepared: Teachers for the 21st Century,[3] called for the creation of a board to “define what teachers should know and be able to do” and to “support the creation of a rigorous, valid assessment to see that certified teachers do meet these standards.” The founding president of NBPTS was James A. Kelly, and the original chair of the board of directors was the Honorable James B. Hunt Jr., former governor of North Carolina.

Standards

NBPTS standards are based on "Five Core Propositions"[4] — the foundation of what all accomplished teachers should know and be able to do — and provide a reference that helps educators link teaching standards to teaching practice. The board publishes standards of “accomplished teaching” for 25 subject areas and developmental levels for pre-K through 12th grade. These standards were developed and validated by representative councils of master teachers, disciplinary organizations and other education experts.

National Board Certification

National Board Certification is advanced professional certification based on the NBPTS standards. There are 25 different certificates available. Assessment consists of a multimedia teaching portfolio that is used to evaluate pedagogy and student outcomes, and a three-hour assessment center examination.[5]

The assessment fee is $2500; however, financial support is available, and many candidates pay less than half that amount themselves.[6]

Take One!

Take One! provides a standards-based approach for improving teaching practice and links student learning to effective instruction. Teachers prepare and submit one pre-selected video portfolio entry from any of the current certificate areas of National Board Certification. A teacher can later transfer the score if he or she pursues National Board candidacy.[7]

National Board Certification for Principals

To create a consistently reliable process to develop, recognize and retain effective principals, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) has announced an initiative to develop National Board Certification for Principals. National Board Certification for Principals, the first national certification program focused on principals, is also the first phase of an expanded umbrella program, National Board Certification for Educational Leaders, which builds on the National Board’s highly successful program, National Board Certification for teachers and school counselors. National Board Certification for Educational Leaders not only creates standards and an assessment process for principals, it also lays the groundwork for a new educator-leadership initiative for assistant principals, teachers and other school-based educators who positively impact the culture of learning in schools.[8]

Research

Since its founding, the board has become one of the most researched areas of education. Research has reviewed the impact of National Board Certification on student performance,[9] the quality of teaching by National Board Certified Teachers in the classroom, and the influence of the process on teacher retention. Most, but not all of the research, is positive.[10]

In 2008, the United States National Research Council a division of the National Academies published a report stating that "Students taught by NBPTS-certified teachers make greater gains on achievement tests than students taught by teachers who are not board-certified."[11]

Publications

All 25 of the NBPTS Standards are published and available on the internet.[12] NBPTS also has a number of published resources about National Board Certification.[13]

In 2010, the board published Accomplished Teachers, Institutional Perspectives,[14] with provides perspectives from policymakers, administrators and practitioners on the value and utility of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. In describing their various experiences working with NBPTS, the authors challenge the nation’s pre K-12 and post secondary education system and state/local governing bodies—as well as the National Board itself—to expand the linkage between the NBPTS standards and assessment process and teacher preparation, program accreditation and state licensure.[15]

References

  1. ↑ About NBPTS. Retrieved 12/16/09.
  2. ↑ What Accomplished Teachers Should Know and be Able to Do
  3. ↑ "Excerpts from the Carnegie Report on Teaching", New York Times, May 16, 1986
  4. ↑ Five Core Propositions
  5. ↑ Guide to National Board Certification. Retrieved 2/25/08.
  6. ↑ NBPTS Fees and Financial Support. Retrieved 1/7/11.
  7. ↑ Take One!. Retrieved 1/6/10.
  8. ↑ National Board Certification for Principals. Retrieved 1/15/10.
  9. ↑ student performance
  10. ↑ National Board Certification Research Guide. Retrieved 2/27/08.
  11. ↑ National Academies Press Release. Retrieved 7/16/08.
  12. ↑ NBPTS Standards by Certificate Area
  13. ↑ NBPTS Resources
  14. ↑ Accomplished Teachers, Institutional Perspectives
  15. ↑ Accomplished Teachers, Institutional Perspectives. Retrieved 5/11/10.

Further reading

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