How I Became Interested in National Boards

I grew up just outside of East Lansing, MI, born raised and educated as a Spartan.  I finished my undergrad in Art and teaching internship in Art Education at Michigan State in 2004.  About February of that year I started to think about where it was I wanted to go after school, I had the whole world open to me and jobs in Michigan were few and far between.  I wanted a place similar to my home: a college town, capital city, within a days drive from home and most importantly warmer and close to the water.  I ended up in North Carolina teaching at a high school in Raleigh, about 2 hours from the beach.  I flew down for the job fair and was offered a high school Art teaching position the next day so I accepted the job and moved down that summer.  I lived with two other first year teachers who experienced the same allures of North Carolina’s climate and flourishing job market. 

That first year was like new-teacher boot camp; the lights in the apartment were always on for one of us would be writing lesson plans for the next day (or that day in some cases!).  The three of us learned and compared notes every day about the differences we found in the culture, weather, people, school systems, road systems, and most importantly our pay scale.  Our salaries were less than what I calculated I was making as a long-term substitute in Michigan.  The three of us studied the pay scale and found that there were two ways we could make more money; obtain a Master’s Degree and/or National Board Certification.  The increases were approximately the same and for as much as I was struggling just trying to keep up with my daily classroom I decided going back to school was not going to fit in my life just yet.  So I started to ask around about this National Board Certification to see what it was all about.

I’m not going to pretend that money was not my main incentive at this point in time.  I had just moved across the country with no paycheck for over a year and I felt that I knew everything I needed to know to be a good teacher the day I walked into my classroom.  I knew I could be making a lot more money up north somewhere but I really enjoyed the area and the people I was getting to know.  So I decided in my first year of teaching that I would pursue National Board Certification, whatever that was, as soon as I was eligible, figuring that I could use that pay raise to help pay for my Masters Degree.  Maybe then I would be making a comparable salary to a Michigan teacher (I still don’t want to know how far off I am!).  I had 3 main questions about National Boards: What is it?  What do I need to do/know to get started?  How hard is this going to be? 

I am very fortunate to be in a state, district, and school that supports teachers’ pursuit of National Board Certification in the manner it does.  I had never heard of National Boards until I came to North Carolina but it seemed that many teachers had this accolade next to their name.  I called back home to my teacher relatives to hear their expertise on it. They didn’t know much about National Boards either, but had heard of it.  Not all states give the support and incentives that North Carolina does, which is the main reason we have so many teachers certified.  At the school I teach in, we have approximately 30 of 120 teachers (that’s 25%) who are National Board Certified, providing a strong support system for those pursuing certification on campus.  I owe a lot of thanks to my co-Art teacher who had just completed the process when I began teaching.  I had a first hand resource to go to with any questions I had and advice that she had to offer in the classroom next door. 

I just completed the process this year and will find out this winter if I passed.  I hope that my story and experiences talking with my certified colleagues will help others who are considering pursuing National Board Certification.  The information I am providing comes from a combination of personal research through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) website www.nbpts.org, the support group leaders at my school and district level, and personal experiences of my colleagues and I who have been through the process.

What is National Board Certification?

National Board Certification is a performance-based assessment designed to identify teachers who demonstrate in-depth content knowledge and teaching practices in their classroom.  These teachers are referred to as Accomplished Teachers by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS).  NBPTS is an independent, non-profit, nonpartisan, and nongovernmental organization governed by a board of directors, the majority of whom are classroom teachers.  It was developed in 1987 in an effort to establish professional teaching standards for early childhood, elementary, and secondary school teaching.  More information can be accessed through their website www.nbpts.org and is an invaluable tool for learning about and pursuing National Board Certification. 

National Board is supported by classroom teachers and school counselors, recognizing that an Accomplished Teacher has met challenging professional standards as evidence by performance-based assessments.  These professionals have developed the standards and score the assessment of performance against those standards.  It is the best and most relevant professional development experience because it is based on your teaching in and outside your classroom.  The foundation of the process is to directly impact and increase student learning as well as providing a tool for you to reflect and improve your teaching practice.  The standards are derived from what NBPTS calls:

The Five Core Propositions: What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do

•  Teachers are committed to teaching and learning
• Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students.
• Teachers are responsible for monitoring and managing student learning
• Teacher think systematically about practice and learn from their experiences
• Teachers are members of learning communities.

The performance-based assessment consists of 10 assessments, grouped into two categories:  The Portfolio and Assessment Center Exercises. 

The Portfolio

has 4 Entries and is based on your role as a teacher in and outside of your classroom.  You must have access to a K-12 classroom relevant to your certification area to do this.  Each of the 24 certification areas have different requirements for each entry based on the standards set for that certification area but are all derived from the Five Core Propositions.  The key to success for each entry is to demonstrate how what you do as a teacher directly impacts your students learning as well as reflecting on your teaching practice. 

Entry 1: A Portrait of Teaching Over Time. In this entry, you identify students and document their learning through a specified time. For my certification, I selected two students and a unit that was at least 15 days (3 weeks).  I used an Art History project where the students had to research an artist, create an artwork based on that artist’s style using a personal experience as their subject, and then present their artist and artwork to the class.  I wanted to show two different students and initially thought I would follow a freshman with previous art experience and a senior who was taking art for the first time.  I kept track of about 8 students which was fortunate because my senior ended up dropping out of school before the unit was over!  By following more than just two students, I had options to work from.  I ended up with a better contrast in students, using two students of the same age but with extreme differences.  One was quiet, introverted, but with a natural artistic sense of design.  The other was identified as ADD, OCD, and OHI and needed lots of attention and help to stay focused and organized.  I though the two extremes demonstrated how I handled the diversity in my classroom of varying cognitive and artistic skills. 

For the documentation, I had to include a photo storyboard with 10 photographs of the students’ work and assessment material to show how I graded them.   I also included the research packet and self written reflection I require my students to do.  My Special Programs student lost her material which gave me an opportunity to show how I could alter the assignment based on student needs.  I sat with her and had her orally answer the self reflection questions and talked about in my own reflection how my planning and organization could have helped her not lose her materials had I created class time to fill out her reflection instead of sending it home.  Remember, National Boards is asking you to describe, analyze, and reflect on your teaching so submitting student work with flaws gives you an opportunity to reflect on what you can do in the future to help that student.  Many people want to only show the best students and how great of a teacher they are, but it’s not about you, it’s about the students and improving their success!

Entry 2 & 3: Teaching Videos.  For these entries you must submit video evidence of your teaching and reflect on it.  In this case, I had one entry that had to show my interaction with the students throughout a unit and the other entry showed my role as a facilitator in the classroom.  Editing video is strictly forbidden and will disqualify your entry.  For this reason alone, have a back up plan and practice taping before your lesson.  I had many issues with microphones not picking up the sound or cutting out in the middle of a taping.  I brought a camera into the classroom from the beginning of the semester and explained to my class what I was doing.  This really helped because they were all on board to make sure the taping went well.  You don’t want a scripted taping, assessors will know.  But by making the students feel that this was about them as much as it was about my teaching made it a lot easier for me.  I would prepare them the day before we would tape so they knew what it was I was trying to capture and they were prepared to be videotaped when they entered the classroom.  They became very concerned that the sound quality was good and wanted to “perform” well.  I had back up lessons planned just in case what I thought would work well didn’t turn out so.  I ended up using a different lesson than I had originally anticipated.  Make sure that you plan and adapt to these situations and give yourself options of lessons and plenty of time to “train” with the technology.

Entry 4: Documented Accomplishments: Contributions to Student Learning.  This is the same for all certification areas and is designed to demonstrate your teaching beyond the classroom in three capacities: your partnership with students’ families and community; your development as a learner; and your role as a leader and collaborator with other professionals.  You must submit descriptions and documentations of your activities and accomplishments in all of these areas that impact student learning.  For this entry, I had way too much, but I didn’t know it at the time!  I jumped at any community activity I could involve my students in and their families.  I ended up with 3 major community projects, inviting a guest artist into my classroom, demonstrating in a colleague’s classroom, and documenting parent contact.  You can have up to eight accomplishments and I submitted four. 

One accomplishment covered all 3 areas (learner, leader/collaborator, partner with family/community), which I allotted most of my pages to.  I got my students involved with a non-profit organization which provides drinking water systems to third world countries.  The students created an artwork, donated it to the organization, had it displayed in the community, judged by local artists at a reception for friends and family, auctioned off at the organization’s fundraiser, and attended the auction to speak with the public about their work.  My other 3 accomplishments focused primarily on each of the 3 areas: I collaborated with a new teacher and did a demonstration for her class on faux finishing for a housing and interiors project, I was a learner by inviting a local artist to teach my class (and myself) coil pot building techniques, and I partnered with families through documented regular contact about student progress. 

Get involved in as many activities as you can and you’ll have more accomplishments than you need.  When it comes down to submitting your portfolio, you will end up with better material.  Also, understand that being a leader, collaborator, and partner with the community are usually inter-related, don’t try to separate your accomplishments. They should overlap each other.  

The Assessment Center Exercises

include 6 assessments relevant to your certification area.  Each assessment is a timed 30 minute response performed at an assessment center.  Not all certification areas are created equal in these assessments; some are based more on content knowledge while others are grounded in teaching context.  My assessment exercises were more about content knowledge, mostly based in art history, art appreciation, art analysis, and art making.  For the first exercise I was sent three pieces of paper, various grays and a black, to create an artwork before the assessment.  I had to bring it with me to the assessment center and write about my process.  For the rest of the exercises I was given two artworks and was asked to write about them, focusing on various aspects of art (the function of the piece within a culture, my interpretation of a piece, my analysis of how a piece was made, my analysis of formal qualities of a piece, and my understanding of the importance of an artwork within the development of art).  I studied all of art history to prepare for the assessment.  My colleagues who were also taking their assessments had less preparation but were given situations relevant to their content and asked how they would teach it.  Again, not all assessments are created equal and it is best to look at the NBPTS website for the description of your certification area.

For both the Portfolio Entries and Assessment Center Exercises you must become familiar with the standards and requirements specific to your certification area.  The National Board website www.nbpts.org provides the directions and scoring material for each entry and assessment.

Each of the 10 performances that you submit is scored separately from the others and is weighted differently.  Portfolio Entries 1-3 are each 16%, Entry 4 is 12%.  Each of the 6 Assessment Center Exercises count for 6.67%. It is a holistic grading process and no points are deducted. For more information about the grading process refer to the website www.nbpts.org.               

What do I need to do/know to get started?

In order to be eligible for National Board Certification you must meet the following requirements: Possess a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, have completed three years of successful teaching in one or more early childhood, elementary, middle school or secondary schools (or serving as a school counselor for the ECYA/School Counseling certification), and have held a valid state license for each of the three years of employment you verify. 

There are 24 Certification Areas offered by National Board so the first thing you need to find out is whether or not they offer your certification.  A lot of time and money goes into developing certifications by NBPTS therefore if there are not enough candidates interested in pursuing certification it is not practical for NBPTS to offer it.  Second, you need to consider time and money.  (Note: All of the following information is for the 2008-2009 candidacy year.  Check the website www.nbpts.org for updated information). The assessment fee for National Board Certification is $2,500 (which includes a $500 non-refundable initial fee to begin candidacy). Many states offer incentives and fee subsidies so you will want to check with your state and district to determine any financial assistance available to you.  Because each state is different, you will also need to determine deadlines for this assistance, beginning the process as soon as possible. NBPTS allows you to apply online at any time between January 1st and December 31st of the year.  The Portfolio must be submitted by March 31st and the Assessment Center Exercises completed by June 15th.  Again, refer to the website for any changes to the calendar. 

The process was initially designed to take three years, however it was determined that this kind of time commitment would deter teachers from pursuing certification.  The initial process of submitting the Portfolio and Assessment Center Exercises takes 1 year to complete.  However, if you do not pass on the first try, you can retake any section up to two more times.  Again, because each of the 10 exercises are scored separately and it is a holistic grading process, you may chose which portions to retake and are not required to resubmit every section. 

You need to become familiar with each entry of the Portfolio and the Assessment Center Exercises for your certification area and determine if you will be able to meet the requirements based on your teaching situation.  There is a major time commitment involved outside of the classroom preparing for the entries and writing your description, analysis, and reflection for each one.  It is important to realize the time commitment involved and assess your ability in your personal life to accommodate for this. I don’t work well in groups on an individual project like this because I get distracted easily.  I also need an uninterrupted amount of time to work because I have a hard time getting started. 

The writing for the portfolio entries was the most time consuming part of the whole process.  I would work for 14 hours straight on Saturdays for my portfolio.  My friends and family knew that was my day to work and would not call.  I would try to get a whole entry written in one day and then leave it for a week or so before I would revisit it.  I found that I would write too much and have to spend almost as much time trying to eliminate pages as I would initially writing it.  I had to create a schedule for myself and look at what weekends I could block out, what nights I could use to prepare for those Saturdays.  I had to miss out on a lot of fun things my friends and family were doing.  What kept me going was knowing that if I did everything that I could and spent every moment that I could working, I wouldn’t look back and regret it, and hopefully I wouldn’t have to go through it again!  I prepared my loved ones for what it was I was going to be doing and asked for their support in allowing me the time (and right to vent!) through this year. 

Preparing for the assessment center was a little easier although still time consuming.  I didn’t know what images I was going to get so all I could do was read and take notes and read more, hoping I was absorbing enough information to regurgitate when the time came.  Again, I used every moment I could to study knowing I wouldn’t regret it later.

How hard is this going to be?

Achieving National Board Certification is not easy and it is designed that way.  National Board Certification signifies that a teacher or school counselor is accomplished, having met challenging professional standards as evidence of rigorous performance based assessments.  It is unlike current mandatory systems of state licensing which set entry-level requirements for beginning teachers and school counselors.  National Board Certification is recognition of experienced educators for the quality of their practice assessed by their peers in the educational community. 

If you are considering National Board Certification you are already demonstrating a desire to improve yourself professionally and improve your students’ learning.  I found after reading through the requirements of the portfolio entries that I was already doing what I was being asked to demonstrate.  I could identify lessons I was already teaching for each submission. The challenge was to be able to document, describe, analyze, and reflect on my teaching in writing to prove that to an assessor.  National Board Certification forces you to analyze and reflect on your practice to improve student learning which can be difficult.  You must demonstrate, based on the rigorous standards set by NBPTS, that you are deserving of this accolade.

Independent focus, motivation, and organization are keys to success in this process but support of every kind is absolutely necessary.  I am very fortunate to be at a school that provides a school-based support group led by two National Board Certified teachers who have a passion for the process and helping others to succeed.  This was an invaluable resource to me.  They shared with us that the national pass rate for first time candidates is approximately 40%; at our school it is 60% and the support group is a major factor in that difference.  Candidates who do not participate in any kind of support have a high failure rate. 

There are many ways to find support if your school does not provide it.  The NBPTS website, www.nbpts.org, breaks down support offered in each state as well as a list of every National Board Certified teacher so you can connect with teachers in your certification area.  National Educators Association (NEA) also has resources available providing workshops and toolkits.  Online chat-rooms are another source to share stories, frustrations, triumphs, and suggestions with candidates across the country.

Why should I do it?

This is a good question because it seems like an awfully intense process.  Professionally, becoming a National Board Certified Teacher has many benefits.  It identifies you in the teaching community as an experienced educator who becomes a role model and leader in your school and district.  National Board Certification meets most states’ definitions of “highly qualified teacher” under No Child Left Behind and provides a portable teaching license across the country.  In many states and districts, completing the process contributes to CEU/re-certification requirements and increases financial opportunities.  Check with your state and district to see what incentives are available.  Personally, through the National Board process you have gained a greater knowledge of your content and teaching practice and as a result will positively impact your students’ learning.  You will become a better teacher if you invest in the process by thinking about your lessons systematically and reflecting on your practice.     

What can I do to become prepared before I start?

If you are like me, you need to have a plan before you begin.  The NBPTS website, www.nbpts.org, is a great place to start looking but can be very overwhelming if you don’t know what you are looking for.  I would suggest finding other teachers in your certification area who have been through the process and contact them.  NBPTS has a list of all certified teachers by state and districts and their certification area.  My support group at school was great but could not replace the advice and personal experience of my Art colleague because of the common certification area.  (Note: It is unethical for anyone to share assessment materials, i.e. you can not read someone else’s portfolio that has completed the process.  Refer to the Ethics information on the NBPTS web site for more information.) 

I’m not sure if I’m ready

There is a new option to National Board Certification called Take One!  It is a sampling of the process and costs significantly less than the full assessment fee.  You will complete one of the video entries (2 or 3) and submit it for review.  Because you follow the same directions and it is scored the same as the whole portfolio, NBPTS will allow you to use this score within the next two years and apply it to your full National Board portfolio.  Refer to the NBPTS web site for more details on Take One!

How do I apply?

Go to the NBPTS website for instructions and a timeline for application deadlines.  Make sure to check with your state and district to see if there is funding available to you and be aware that deadlines for financial assistance may be different than the NBPTS application timeline.  

I’ve committed, now what should I do?

Where to start is always the hardest.  There are a lot of pages to read through and trying to decipher it all can be overwhelming.  First, become familiar with the Standards because that is what the scoring is based on.  Figure out what you do well, what you do ok, and what you need to work on.  You can do this before you actually apply and begin your candidacy.  Next, become familiar with the portfolio entries and assessment exercises and the requirements/instructions for each.  Think about what you already do in terms of what lessons to use for your portfolio entries and how you can “tweak” those to align with the standards.  Begin thinking about this before the school year starts and you are in your classroom. 

Get out a calendar

Figure out your time commitment and set a schedule for yourself.  Determine if you can work a couple hours a day or need an entire day to work without stopping.  Set small goals and stick to them.  Account for busy times such as holidays or grades due and don’t set unrealistic goals that you can’t achieve.

Discuss with your family

This is a huge personal commitment and your family needs to understand that you will have to say no sometimes.  Do not rely on them to understand what it is you are doing, save that for your support group.  Ask for your family’s support and understanding when you are burnt out and frustrated, but do not put the burden on them to try to fix it for you.

Find support

If you have teachers in your school that have been through the process, talk to them as soon as possible.  Find support groups of teachers currently going through the process with you.  Find teachers who are in your certification area.  Do not go this alone.  Use all available resources to you like workshops and seminars.  They are led by people who have been through the process and a lot of times are assessors with great insight for you.

Print

As soon as you decide to pursue the process, print.  It’s a lot of paper, but print off the standards and directions for your certification area.  Be prepared to use a ream or more of paper to do this.  You should do this as soon as possible so that you may start to become familiar with what you must do.

Follow directions

Read ALL the portfolio directions carefully and follow them exactly.  If you exceed a page limit, the assessor will stop reading at the limit.  If the directions ask you to answer/address a question and you do not, you can not pass that portion.  You are given specific regulations for font size and margins in which you must follow or else your submission could be disqualified.

Read the rubrics

Understand the rubric.  Look for key words that also show up in the Note Taking Guides and the directions for each portfolio entry.  NBPTS did not put those words there by accident, these are key things an assessor is looking for when reading your entry.

Get organized

There are a lot of pages to print and ready.  They may not be organized in a way that is cohesive to your understanding.  Group together the Rubric, Note Taking Guide, What to Do, etc for each portfolio entry and create separate folders or binders.  This will allow you to focus on one entry at a time instead of flipping through all of them.  It will also provide you with a place to put documents for each entry.

Start thinking

Before the school year begins, think about what you already do in your classroom that may fit into what you are being asked to document.  Make sure you are prepared to make changes according to the standards and what you are going to have to write about.  It is an awful feeling when you go to write about your lesson and realize you didn’t do something you were asked to do.

Have options

Do not rely on your first lesson or your first video taping to turn out perfectly.  Start early in the year so that you have time to make changes if necessary.

Save everything

Collect all forms of documentation you MAY use.  Copy student work before giving it back.  The more you have collected the more you have to work with when you go to sit down and write at home.  And make sure to back up all of your writing and copy documentation/video recordings.  You need to have an extra copy of each entry saved for 3 years in the event there is a discrepancy with NBPTS or your entry is lost in the mail. 

Get your students in on it

You will have to submit a video tape for Entry 2 and 3.  Begin the school year or semester with the video camera in the room, even if it isn’t running.  Tell your students what you are doing and get them on board with helping you out.  They will get used to the camera in the room and forget that they instinctively need to make faces into it or say inappropriate things.

It’s 60/40

There is a lot of information and support available for the portfolio which counts for 60% of your score.  But do not forget or dismiss the Assessment Center Exercises which account for 40%.  Talk to teachers in your certification areas to get their “I wish I would have…” about the Assessment Center Exercises.

Get involved

Entry 4 asks you to document your work outside of the classroom.  Start that early, get communication between parents, colleagues, and the community going before you begin.  You can document any leadership, collaboration, or evidence of you as a learner up to 5 years prior to your candidacy.  Just make sure that what you are documenting can be tied back to evidence of student learning.

Make friends

Make friends with your technology and media center personnel.  They will be invaluable resources for you when you need to video tape.  Also see what resources your media center has to use as far as technology and literature.  You may find if they don’t have something they can get it for you if given enough time and notice.  Also make friends with a colleague who would be willing to work the video camera when you need to tape and give them fair warning when you plan to do it.

Get ready

This is going to change your life.  For the next year you will need to be extremely dedicated to the process, sacrificing time with loved ones and experiencing lots of frustrations.  But in the end, it is totally worth it.  You WILL become a better teacher.  You WILL have a direct impact on your students learning through the process.  You WILL feel a great sense of accomplishment and triumph when you finish.