What is National Board Certification

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What is National Board Certification?

National Board Certification is a demonstration of your teaching practice as measured against high and rigorous standards. It is a symbol of commitment to excellence in teaching. An NBPTS certificate is a credential attesting that you have been assessed by your peers as one who is accomplished, makes sound professional judgements about student learning and acts effectively on those judgements. Offered on a voluntary basis, the advanced system of National Board Certification complements, but does not replace, state licensing. It is a professional certification increasingly used by states as an option for advanced licensing requirements — as suggested by former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley.

Equally important, National Board Certification is a means to professional growth and improvement. Candidates describe the process as a way to deepen subject matter knowledge and become more skillful in daily classroom instruction and student assessment, with the ultimate result being improved student learning.

A system of advanced and assessments forms the basis for National Board Certification. Standards grow out of the NBPTS central policy statement, What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to DO. The vision of teaching this statement describes is organized around five core propositions:

Teachers are committed to students and their learning.

Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students.

Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning.

Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from their experiences.

Teachers are members of learning communities.

Standards are developed by committees of teachers, teacher educators, developmental experts, and leaders in the disciplinary fields. They are then reviewed nationally and extensively before final approval by the NBPTS board of directors. Each set of standards, in each discipline, represents consensus in the certification field of the critical aspects of teaching that distinguish the practice of accomplished teachers.

Use this link to go to the NBPTS website for more information