FSCA NEWS

A new congressionally mandated report from the National Research Council indicates that students taught by National Board for Professional Teaching Standards-certified teachers make greater gains on achievement tests than students taught by teachers who are not board-certified. However, it is unclear whether the certification process itself leads to higher quality teaching. Created in 1987, the nonprofit National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) developed standards for what effective teachers should know and be able to do, along with a process to evaluate whether individual teachers meet these criteria. To earn certification, a teacher must complete six computer-based exercises and assemble a portfolio that shows how his or her teaching meets the standards. From 1993 through 2007, approximately 99,300 teachers applied for NBPTS certification and 63,800 earned the credential. "Earning NBPTS certification is a useful 'signal' that a teacher is effective in the classroom," said Milton Hakel, chair of the committee that wrote the report. "But we don't know whether the certification process itself makes teachers more effective -- as they become familiar with the standards and complete the assessment -- or if high-quality teachers are attracted to the certification process." The report recommends further research to investigate this question, as well as to determine whether NBPTS certification is having broader effects on the educational system beyond individual classrooms. Studies so far suggest that many school systems are not supporting or making the best use of their board-certified teachers.
http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=12224