National Board For Professional Teaching Standards Research Articles

Writing Differences in Teacher Performance Assessments: An Investigation of African American Language and Edited American English

Differential performance results occur when a specific population subgroup achieves a passing rate which is significantly lower than that of the normative reference group. African Americans do less well, in general, on all types of assessments, including constructed-response tests. The present study examined the writing styles of African American test takers in a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) portfolio entry from the Middle Childhood/Generalist Certificate, as compared with the writing styles of European American test takers. The use of features other than Edited American English was examined as a possible source of construct-irrelevant variance in assessors’ scoring judgments. Thirty-two written commentaries, 18 from African American candidates and 14 from European American candidates, were coded for grammatical, lexical, and discourse features. The coding frame identified features of African American Language (AAL) and Speech Code Errors (SCE). Instances of AAL were fewer than instances of SCE and clustered according to potential users of AAL.

Staffing High-Needs Schools: Insights from the Nation's Best Teachers

RECRUITING and retaining teachers for high-needs schools may be the most vexing problem facing America's education policy makers. Study after study confirms that poor children and children of color are far less likely than their peers to be taught by teachers--no matter how good is defined. Teachers who are better trained, more experienced, and fully licensed in the subjects they teach are more likely to be teaching in low-poverty schools, serving more academically advantaged students. (1) The same holds true for teachers who generate higher student test scores and for those who earn National Board Certification, a credential granted by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). (2) As have many businesses, education has tried a range of incentives to entice people to tackle challenging assignments. As teacher shortages have escalated, states and school districts have launched a slew of such efforts. A few years ago, the Massachusetts Signing Bonus Program and the New York Teaching Fellows Program sought to recruit teachers for challenging schools. The former effort paid a $20,000 premium for talented individuals to teach in high-needs schools. Both encouraged recruits to bypass teacher education and move quickly to fill growing vacancies. More recently, Guilford County, North Carolina, launched Mission Possible--an incentive program that pays algebra teachers up to $14,000 in bonus money if they teach in high-needs schools and their students show solid progress on state exams. In nearby Charlotte, teachers can earn $3,000 for teaching in high-needs schools and another $2,500 if they are successful and stay. The U.S. Department of Education recently launched its $99-million Teacher Incentive Fund designed to recruit and retain teachers for high-needs schools and to pay them more for higher student performance. This federal program funded 34 state and school district programs in fiscal year 2007. In New York City, the teacher union and the administration have offered a 15% salary increase, coupled with other inducements, as a way to entice teachers with at least five years' experience to teach in the city's lowest-performing schools. Launched in 1999, the effort has not generated much evidence of effectiveness. Just recently, the district announced a $30-million pay-for-performance program targeting its 200 highest-need schools. Efforts such as these have, in retail parlance, a great deal of curb appeal for high-needs districts. But for incentive programs to be truly successful, policy makers must understand the multiple factors that influence teachers' decisions about where to teach. The issues are far from simple, and often a number of recruitment and retention myths get in the way of the facts. Four of the most pervasive myths include: * financial incentives alone are sufficient to entice talented teachers to high-needs schools; * effective teachers can get the job done no matter the school context; * incentives that entice some teachers will entice all teachers; and * individual accomplished teachers can fix high-needs schools. Granted, not many efforts to entice and keep high-quality teachers in high-needs schools have been formally studied or evaluated. (3) Some studies currently under way will be years in the making. In our own efforts at the Center for Teaching Quality to catalog and assess these recruitment and retention reforms, we found few programs that had management information systems and evaluation designs in place that could provide policy makers with the effectiveness data they need. More sound research is clearly needed. But in this article I take a different tack. By drawing on the wisdom of some of the nation's most accomplished teachers--those who are National Board Certified--I hope to bring more reality-based solutions into the policy debate. While policy makers do not necessarily ignore the opinions of accomplished teachers on purpose, they most often hear from policy gurus, union leaders, school administrators, labor economists, and educational researchers. …

Does NBPTS Certification Affect the Number of Colleagues a Teacher Helps With Instructional Matters?

In addition to identifying and developing superior classroom teaching, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification process is intended to identify and cultivate teachers who are more engaged in their schools. Here the authors ask, “Does NBPTS certification affect the number of colleagues a teacher helps with instructional matters?” If so, this could enhance the influence of NBPTS-certified teachers and their contributions to their professional communities. Using sociometric data within 47 elementary schools from two states, the authors find that NBPTS-certified teachers were nominated more as providing help with instruction than non-NBPTS-certified teachers. From analyses using propensity score weighting, the authors then infer that NBPTS certification affects the number of colleagues a teacher helps with instructional matters. The authors then quantify the robustness of their inference in terms of internal and external validity, finding, for example, that any omitted confounding variable would have to have an impact six times larger than that of their strongest covariate to invalidate their inference. Therefore, the potential value added by NBPTS-certified teachers as help providers has policy and practice implications in an era when teacher leadership has risen to the fore as a critical force for school improvement.

THE IMPACT OF THE NATIONAL BOARD FOR PROFESSIONAL TEACHING STANDARDS: A REVIEW OF THE RESEARCH

ABSTRACTInterest in the impact of the teacher advanced certification system instituted by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) has resulted in a quickly expanding body of literature. This review examines five critical issues covered in the literature: the extent to which National Board certified teachers (NBCTs) engage in stronger instructional practice, are associated with stronger learning gains in their classrooms and schools, benefit from participating in the assessment process, influence the teaching quality of their peers, and are present in schools and classrooms with different characteristics. While most comparisons provide evidence that support the incremental effectiveness of NBCTs, the effects are generally modest. However, all findings must be interpreted with caution, given the limitations of research designs, methods, and tools used to explore teacher effects.

Can Teacher Quality Be Effectively Assessed? National Board Certification as a Signal of Effective Teaching

In this paper, we describe the results of a study assessing the relationship between the certification of teachers by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) and elementary-level student achievement. We examine whether NBPTS assesses the most effective applicants, whether certification by NBPTS serves as a signal of teacher quality, and whether completing the NBPTS assessment process serves as a catalyst for increasing teacher effectiveness. We find consistent evidence that NBPTS is identifying the more effective teacher applicants and that National Board Certified Teachers are generally more effective than teachers who never applied to the program. The statistical significance and magnitude of the “NBPTS effect,” however, differs significantly by grade level and student type. We do not find evidence that the NBPTS certification process itself does anything to increase teacher effectiveness.

National Board Teachers Are More Effective, But Are They in the Classrooms Where They're Needed the Most?

This brief summarizes findings from several research articles that focus on the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). This work focuses on three key questions: Who applies for and becomes National Board certified? Where do National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) teach? Are they more effective than other teachers? The findings suggest that: (1) teachers are less likely to become certified if teaching disadvantaged students; (2) NBCTs are more effective than noncertified NBPTS-applicants and nonapplicants; and (3) the mobility patterns of NBCTs decrease the chances that low-performing students will be taught by a teacher with this credential.

Clinicians Win Salary Boost in WV Schools

Clinicians Win Salary Boost in WV Schools

Teacher Quality: A Comparison of National Board-Certified and Non-Board-Certified Teachers of Deaf Students

THE STUDY was designed to identify specific components of teacher excellence, focusing initially on the characteristics of the small number of teachers of the deaf who are certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), then comparing those with the characteristics of other teachers identified as master teachers by university faculty in teacher preparation in deafness. Classroom observation, written lesson plans, teacher questionnaires on beliefs, and content analysis of interactive electronic focus groups were used to compare the two groups of teachers. Results indicated similarities between Board-certified and non-Board-certified master teachers in regard to teacher behaviors and commitment to well-founded pedagogical principles. Differences were found in classroom priorities and in the greater level of interconnectivity expressed by Board-certified teachers as the result of becoming Board certified. Recommendations are made for preparing teachers of deaf students.

A descriptive analysis of the distribution of NBPTS-certified teachers in North Carolina

In this paper, we use a unique data set that includes a panel of all teachers in North Carolina over a 4-year period (1996–1997 through 1999–2000) to describe the distribution of teachers certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) across classrooms, schools, and districts. The sorting of National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) across students is an important equity issue both because these teachers are thought to be exceptionally qualified teachers and because in North Carolina (and many other states) state-level financial incentives are provided to NBCTs, creating an implicit subsidy to those districts and schools where they are employed. Our findings on the sorting of NBCTs across districts, schools and students reflects the research on the distribution of teacher credentials across students: the most disadvantaged districts, schools, and students are least likely to have access to those teachers who are recognized by NBPTS as being exceptionally qualified teachers.

Recruiting and Retaining Board-Certified Teachers for Hard-to-Staff Schools

Nowhere is the issue of providing high-quality teachers for all students more complicated than in high-need schools, where the everyday challenges of teaching greatly intensified. Drawing on research and on insights from accomplished teachers, Mr. Berry discusses the steps that can be taken to staff such schools with the best of the profession. I have taught in two hard-to-staff schools--one for the last 16 years. From my own experience and from what I am hearing now from colleagues, sending accomplished teachers in isolation into hard-to-staff schools with no connections and no authority, even with combat pay, would be just as effective in raising student achievement as having the accomplished teachers dance naked in local churches. --Alexis, a National Board Certified Teacher and member of the Teacher Leaders Network (www.teacherleaders.org) OVER THE LAST 15 years, research has consistently identified the inextricable links between the quality of teachers and the achievement of students. (1) However, scholars have struggled to come to a consensus on how to identify accomplished teachers--until recently. In 2004, three separate research studies showed that teachers who earn certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), known as board-certified teachers, actually do produce greater student achievement gains than other teachers and especially effective for lower-achieving students. (2) These studies support what most teachers who seek board certification have claimed--the process offers the most rigorous professional development experiences they have ever had. Board-certified teachers have to pass both a portfolio assessment, which requires them to diagnose student learning difficulties, and a rigorous daylong, timed standardized test that measures their knowledge of content and of how to teach it. Less than half of those who sit for NBPTS certification for the first time ultimately achieve that goal. This is the good news. The NBPTS developed and made available sophisticated teaching assessments in nearly two dozen fields. Most states and many school districts have chosen to make investments in teachers who undertake the rigorous performance-based assessment--a process akin to doctors seeking board certification in their specialty areas. (3) The Progressive Policy Institute estimated in a recent report that states and districts spending over $100 million per year on assessment fees ($2,300 per teacher) and salary supplements for teachers who earn the certificate. In some states, board-certified teachers can earn substantially more (e.g., a 12% salary supplement in North Carolina and a $7,500 increase in South Carolina). (4) The bad news is that most board-certified teachers will not be found teaching in low-performing schools or in schools serving poor and minority students. A recent study by Dan Humphrey, Julia Koppich, and Heather Hough has clearly revealed that only 19% of board-certified teachers work in schools in the bottom third of performance for their state. (5) In drawing on these data in a thoughtful essay in the March 30 edition of Education Week, Andrew Rotherham argued that the vast majority of incentives for board certification, while important in encouraging and recognizing accomplished teachers, are generally divorced from efforts to make the distribution of top-flight teachers more equitable. We also believe that policy makers have every right to be concerned about where board-certified teachers teaching and should be considering new policies to ensure that our nation's most challenging schools staffed with caring, qualified, well-supported, and effective teachers. A number of states and districts now considering policies that would encourage or require teachers with NBPTS certification to accept assignments in low-performing schools and classrooms. For example, in Georgia, legislators recently passed a bill that eliminates the previous 10% salary incentives for all new board-certified teachers. …

Mathematics and Science Teachers' Preparation for National Board of Professional Teaching Standards Certification

This paper reports on the results of a survey of mathematics and science candidates for National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification. The goal of the survey was to investigate the efficacy of collaboration and group support in preparation for NBPTS. The results of the survey describe the nature of supported preparation, and the data of the survey are combined with final NBPTS scores to investigate relationships between preparation practices and outcomes. The results show that the subsamples in the areas of Early Adolescent Mathematics, Adolescent and Young Adult Mathematics, Early Adolescent Science, and Adolescent and Young Adult Science were similar in composition, and the respondents in each subsample produced very similar responses concerning their collaborative preparation experiences. Although this study shows that collaborative preparation resulted in higher scores and higher passing rates for most respondents, the nature of the effects across subsamples varied. The data clearly indicate that collaborative preparation is highly valued for motivational and instrumental support; however, less value is placed on practices that are reflective and content focused. The homogeneous nature of preparation revealed in the data and the likelihood that candidates are at different levels of readiness for the rigorous NBPTS assessment process are discussed, as is the need for more attention to candidates who prepare without the support of an organized group.

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Process: Who Applies and What Factors Are Associated with NBPTS Certification?

National Board Certification represents one of the most significant reform efforts in the area of teacher quality in the last two decades. Since the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certified its first round of teachers in 1995, approximately 32,000 teachers have become certified at a cost to the country of well over $300 million, yet no large-scale quantitative research exists on the candidates of the program. In this article, we describe the results of a study of teachers in North Carolina assessing the factors associated with the decision to apply to NBPTS and those associated with certification of candidates. We find that, all else equal, teachers who are African-American, female, score higher on standardized tests, and/or are younger are more likely to apply for certification. Among applicants, we find that African-American and male teachers are less likely to be certified, and teachers who score higher on standardized tests are far more likely to be certified.

Teaching the World: A New Requirement for Teacher Preparation

Lack of attention to international issues in our schools stems in part from a lack of preparation among teachers, Mr. Kelly charges. But that situation is ripe for change, and both teachers and professors are ready and willing to make it happen. IT IS commendable that the Kappan has devoted this special section to examining what to do about the gap between what students in America's K- 12 schools need to learn about the world outside our borders and what, in fact, they are learning. The world is changing, and, inescapably, America is changing along with it. Unfortunately, our schools are not responding to these challenges as rapidly or as effectively as they should. We know that there are deep problems throughout our decentralized education system that will not be resolved quickly or easily. International education has not been properly emphasized in state standards for what students should know, in the assessments of what students are learning, in textbooks and other teaching materials, in states' curricula, or in the priorities (i.e., reading and math) emphasized in the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. International content simply has not been a focus of most of the current efforts to strengthen student learning. But we must acknowledge that one reason for the lack of attention to international education in our schools is that our teachers have not been prepared to teach students about other nations, regions, and peoples. Preservice preparation programs and inservice professional development initiatives have not adequately responded to the realities of today's globalized world. One might think that a likely place to find an emphasis on international content would be in the preparation for teaching history. However, in its groundbreaking 2001 report Asia in the Schools, the National Commission on Asia in the Schools reported that not one of America's 50 top-ranked schools of education required students preparing to teach history and social studies to take even one course in Asian history. Another logical place to search for an emphasis on international education would be in state licensing requirements for teachers. But the same report concluded that none of the licensing provisions in the 50 states required teachers to study Asia and other regions and cultures as part of their teacher preparation program.1 Achieving change in teacher education is not easy. There are over 1,000 institutions offering preservice programs for prospective teachers. Programs vary across states and across institutions within states. Courses are taught by some 20,000 faculty members, many of whom are not themselves knowledgeable about other peoples and regions. Teacher preparation programs are in large part focused on preparing students to be teachers in their local communities and thus may underemphasize international issues and content. Most teachers are trained at state universities, but expertise about other regions is concentrated in the area studies programs of major research universities. Fewer prospective teachers than students in other disciplines take advantage of opportunities to study abroad.2 There are those who have totally given up on teacher education. Some pessimists simply don't believe that any teacher education is useful or needed; they would prefer that teachers complete a liberal arts education and then learn to teach on the job. Some involved in the debate are impatient, demanding that there be much quicker changes made in the skills of today's teachers than can be achieved through reforms in preservice programs alone. And, let's admit it, some have a political agenda that seeks to weaken and, if possible, unravel the interlocking arrangements that link the quality control programs of the teaching profession. These programs include accreditation systems such as NCATE (National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education), state licensure requirements, advanced professional certification through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), and teacher education programs. …

Clinicians Rack Up State Wins

Clinicians Rack Up State Wins

NATIONAL BOARD FOR PROFESSIONAL TEACHING STANDARDS BIAS‐REDUCTION TRAINING: IMPACT ON ASSESSORS' AWARENESS

ABSTRACTThis study is an in‐depth investigation of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) bias‐reduction training, from the perspective of assessors. The research examined how successful the bias training was in guiding assessors to recognize their biases and to identify actions to be used to reduce the impact of bias on their scoring decisions. The study focused on portfolio video entries to allow for a greater exploration of bias, since assessors are provided with a visual and aural depiction of the candidates and their students.

WRITING DIFFERENCES IN TEACHER PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENTS: USE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN LANGUAGE

ABSTRACTThis study investigated potential writing differences between African American and European American candidates in a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) portfolio entry from the Middle Childhood/Generalist Certificate. The use of features other than Edited American English was examined as a possible source of construct‐irrelevant variance in assessors' scoring judgments. Thirty‐two written commentaries, 18 from African American candidates and 14 from European American candidates, were coded for grammatical, lexical, and discourse features. The coding frame identified features of African American Language (AAL) and Speech Code Errors (SCE). Instances of AAL were fewer than instances of SCE and clustered according to potential users of AAL.

A is for Advocacy

A is for Advocacy

Bridging the Gap between Schools of Education and the Needs of 21st-Century Teachers

Schools of education must prepare teachers to meet the myriad needs of the diverse learners in today's classrooms. Ms. Holm and Ms. Horn discuss the essential components of a preparation program that will equip teachers to know and understand who their students are and how they learn. IF THE WORK of teachers is to evolve into the practice of true professionals, it will need to be supported by a dynamic, reciprocal connection between educational theory and practice, one that is clarified and strengthened through the work of other professionals in the field. Such professionalization of teaching requires not only the possession of a specialized body of knowledge, but also the understanding that practice expands and is validated through ongoing research and reflection. If teaching is to become a recognized profession, teachers need a model of preparation that is in line with the demands and realities of teaching, and schools of education have a critical role to play. They are in the best position to guide the progress of preservice and practicing teachers as they move along the continuum of professional growth from novice to master teacher. The groundwork for this continuum is already in place. The alignment of the standards of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC), and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) establishes a powerful framework for this professional model.1 The NCATE standards require schools of education to demonstrate how they are incorporating new knowledge about subject matter, teaching strategies, learning styles, and student diversity into their teacher preparation programs. The INTASC standards outline the skills and knowledge that beginning teachers should demonstrate in order to receive an initial license. The standards of the NBPTS define the characteristics and practices of accomplished teachers. Together, these sets of standards for preparation, initial licensing, and advanced certification create a solid continuum of teacher development. Building on these efforts, schools of education that have woven these standards into the fabric of their programs can help teachers understand the expectations and realities of the teaching profession. They create a context for learning that starts their students on the journey toward expertise and prepares them for the challenges of today's schools. The essence of the knowledge, skills, and understandings that teachers need in order to successfully traverse this continuum is encapsulated in the five core propositions of the NBPTS.2 This set of beliefs captures current thinking in the field of education and provides a blueprint for meeting the myriad needs of the diverse learners in today's classrooms. Schools of education that incorporate the standards into their preparation programs equip teachers with the following: * knowledge and skills that will help them know and understand who their students are and how they learn, * knowledge and understanding of the content of the disciplines and of the instructional strategies that can be used to create powerful learning experiences, * an understanding of the role of assessment and how to design assessments that will inform practice and guide student learning, * habits of reflection, and * a collaborative approach to their work with colleagues, families, and communities. The Changing Face of Today's Learners With the diversity of learners in today's schools, the importance of knowing who those students are and how they learn is one of the most critical factors emerging as we become a global society. No matter how difficult the challenges of diversity, every student in school has a right to a teacher who understands his or her needs and knows how to move students along the pathway of learning.3 What does understanding diversity imply for teacher preparation programs? …

Possibilities and Challenges

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) was initiated in 1987 to establish “high and rigorous” standards for the teaching profession, create a voluntary system to certify accomplished teaching, create professional development opportunities, and increase the status of the teaching profession in America. Various educators have proposed numerous challenges to the NBPTSsystem, particularly the assessment process, whereas other educators have suggested that the NBPTSprocess will create new possibilities for staff development and increase the quality of classroom teaching. This article outlines a variety of possibilities and challenges for classroom teachers considering NBPTScertification and other concerned educators synthesized from the available research and educational publications.

Research for High-Quality Urban Teaching

Policy makers and school district administrators have responded to the current teacher shortage with a characteristic focus on the short run. Popular responses include Peace Corps-like recruitment strategies to persuade college graduates to teach for a year or two on alternative or emergency certification. To compensate for the shortcomings of an underprepared teaching staff, policy makers have adopted highly prescriptive, teacherproof curricula. These accomplish little in the short run and will diminish the capacity of the teaching force for decades to come. Nowhere has the rush to boost supply and de-skill teaching been more acutely felt than in urban schools. The tight labor market for teachers places low-resourced, urban districts at a competitive disadvantage relative to better resourced suburban districts. Although periodic economic downturns may temporarily heighten interest in teaching jobs, historically, this easing of pressure has not had a lasting impact on the supply of qualified teachers in urban schools. Hence, urban students who face the challenges of poverty, immigration, limited facility with English, and/or racial discrimination have the least access to a qualified teaching force. Often overlooked by short-term policy initiatives is that the shortage of qualified urban teachers is fueled at least as much by high rates of teacher turnover and attrition as it is by insufficient numbers of qualified people being attracted to teaching. Therefore, in addition to increasing the supply of new teachers, we must learn what makes teaching in urban schools a fulfilling career and offer policy solutions to enact that knowledge. We have early indications that a key to such career satisfaction and longevity lies in creating cadres of urban teachers who have the technical, collegial, and political support required to have an impact on the quality of students' lives in classrooms and communities. Data about our University of California, Los Angeles, graduates, for example, suggest that they are remaining in classrooms longer than most new teachers precisely because of such support (Quartz & TEP Research Group, under review). Longer term solutions to the crisis in teaching require addressing a more broadly defined and intertwined program of research on urban teacher competency, teacher recruitment, and career longevity. AN EXPANDED DEFINITION OF URBAN TEACHER QUALITY Through our experience crafting a program of teacher education that promotes social justice for urban schools, we have learned that urban teachers need more than the generic teaching competencies articulated by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). They need to understand local urban cultures, the urban political economy, the bureaucratic structure of urban schools, and the community and social service support networks serving urban centers. They need skills to draw on and develop urban youth literacies across the academic content areas, promote college access for first-generation college goers, build social capital across schools and community organizations, and create alliances and engage in joint work with other reform-minded teachers. We have come to see competent urban teachers simultaneously as skilled classroom practitioners and as public intellectuals who work for educational equity and access through multiple forms of democratic participation. In urban schools, competence cannot be parsed into teacher skills and social action. An effective urban teacher cannot be skilled in the classroom but lack skills and commitment to equity, access, and democratic participation. Likewise, if one is to be a teacher, a deep caring and democratic commitment must be accompanied by highly developed subject matter and pedagogical skills. Such teachers are agents of fundamental change, helping to shape urban educational contexts--in and out of school--where being a good teacher means that people are accountable to each other, express themselves authentically, and negotiate common understandings that support collective action. …