The What, Why and How of National Board Certification

NEA NSAII ConsortiumNovember 11, 2014

Prepared by: Kisha Davis-Caldwell, NBCTDirector, Outreach and Engagement

• National Board Certification (NBC) is a voluntary, advanced teaching credential that goes beyond state licensure.

• NBC has national standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do.

• The National Board certifies teachers who successfully complete its rigorous certification process.

What is National Board Certification

• Maintaining high and rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do;

• Providing a national voluntary system certifying teachers who meet these standards; and

• Advocating related education reforms to integrate National Board Certification in American education and to capitalize on the expertise of National Board Certified Teachers.

Our Mission

The National Board’s founding vision

1985 1987 1994

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• Maintaining high and rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do;

• Providing a national voluntary system certifying teachers who meet these standards; and

• Advocate related education reforms to integrate National Board Certification in American education and to capitalize on the expertise of National Board Certified Teachers.

• Al Shanker delivers three speeches on education reform, incl. idea for National Board

• Carnegie’s Task Force on Teaching as a Profession begins

• National Board founded as a result of A Nation Prepared: Teachers for the 21st Century, the report of the Task Force on Teaching as a Profession

• First National Board Certified Teachers

Grounded in the that describe what teachers should know and be able to do

1. Teachers are committed to students & their learning

2. Teachers know the subjects they teach & how to teach those subjects to students

3. Teachers are responsible for managing & monitoring student learning

4. Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience

5. Teachers are members of learning communities

National Board Certification

5 Core Propositions

The Architecture of Accomplished Teaching

25 Certificate Areas – Pre-K through 12th grade

Highest Standards – developed by teachers for teachers for each content area and developmental level

While teacher licensure systems set basic requirements to teach in each state, National Board Certification means a teacher has voluntarily gone much further – demonstrating the professional knowledge, skills & practices of an accomplished teacher.

National Board Certification

Effective 2014-15• Science• English Language Arts• Physical Education

Effective 2015-16• Career and Technical Education

Revised Standards

Why encourage National Board Certification?

Why support National Board Certification candidates?

Why engage National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs)?

Why?

Why National Board CertificationThe “Problem To Be Solved”

A two-faceted problem• Growing expectations for students: All students need to learn to high

levels of achievement if they are to be ready for the knowledge-based economy and world they will enter

• System ill-suited to the task: U.S. education system designed in the industrial era to produce 20th Century results – in direct conflict with the knowledge era in which we now live

A strategy up to the task• Teachers matter: Teaching quality is the most critical school-based

variable in student success

• Transforming teaching: Transformation of the teaching profession could help build the education system needed today to reach excellence and equity for all students

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As a result of a common and coherent continuum, board certification is the norm in medicine.

Doctors Teachers0%

10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

80%

3%

Percentage of licensed practitioners who are board-certified

Pre-service teacher

Novice teacher

Professional teacher

Teacher leader

Master teacher

School principal/

other admin

Accomplished professional

teacher

True professionalization will come from a common and coherent trajectory to accomplished practice.

Residency Induction

Pre-service teacher

Novice teacher

Professional teacher

Teacher leader

Master teacher

School principal/

other admin

Accomplished professional

teacher

National Board and NEA: A coherent trajectory to accomplished practice

Residency Induction

Preparing Emerging

Professional Accomplished

Spreading Instructional

Expertise

Getting board-

certified

Building practice to an accomplished level

From the National Board’s perspective, we can simplify the continuum into three parts:

1 2 3

Pre-serviceteacher

Noviceteacher

Professionalteacher

Teacher leader

Master teacher

School principal/

other admin

AccomplishedProfessional

teacher

Residency Induction

Preparing

Emerging

Professional

Accomplished

• advance student learning and achievement by establishing the definitive standards and systems for certifying accomplished educators, providing programs and advocating policies that support excellence in teaching and leading and engaging NBCT and leaders in that process.

• seek to elevate the status, voice and role of accomplished teachers in shaping a true profession. Including, 1) raising public awareness with respect to the cognitively complex, collaborative and expertise-driven nature of teachers' work; 2) setting higher standards for entry and advancement into the profession; and 3) recognizing accomplished teaching through a rigorous certification process comparable to those found in other premier professions, medicine, engineering and law.

NBPTS: Mission and Vision

• Vision: Great public school for every student• Mission: advocate for education professionals to fulfill the

promise of public education to prepare every student to succeed

• Professionalism: We believe that the expertise and judgment of education professionals are critical to student success. We maintain the highest professional standards, and we expect the status, compensation, and respect due all professionals.

• Partnership: We believe partnerships with parents, families, communities, and other stakeholders are essential to quality public education and student success.

NEAMembers of the NEA are the voice of education professionals

“The National Board cannot single-handedly transform the schools.

The National Board can be a catalyst for lasting change.

It can redefine teaching as a career by stimulating new incentive structures, staffing patterns and organizational arrangements.

It can bolster reform in teacher education by casting the knowledge base in a richer light.”

The Impact of the National Board

“Most importantly, as these related changes both increase the flow of first-rate people into the field and stem the tide of those departing, and as teachers’ roles and responsibilities are more sensibly structured, National Board Certification can become a pathway to improved student learning.

The National Board must act in concert with other initiatives to make this promise a reality.”

~National Board “Why” book, 1994

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How does one become a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT)?

How?

The Components

How will the revised assessment roll-out?

Flexibility

While teachers can complete the entire process in one year once it is fully implemented, some may choose to do so over several years if that fits better with other demands on their time.

All four components must be completed in 3 years

Candidates still have two opportunities to retake

Affordability

The total cost of certification will decrease from $2500 to $1,900, with each of the four components costing $475.

Important price points

$475 for each component

$75 annual registration fee

Deadlines

• First-time candidate apply by February 28, 2015

• Full payment is due February 28, 2015

• ePortfolio window: April 1 – May 15, 2015

• Assessment center window: March 2 – June 15, 2015

• Scores released on or before December 31, 2015

The General Cadence

Where are we now? As of Nov 4, 10,176 applications in process!

National Board www.nbpts.org

National Board Certification - Resources and Informationwww.boardcertifiedteachers.org

www.boardcertifiedteachers.org/resources

Kisha Davis-Caldwell, NBCT

Director, Outreach & Engagementkdavis-caldwell@nbpts.org

Questions?