Take One! Participants
NBPTS is committed to examining and refining its policies in ways that benefit all individuals and enhances the delivery of efficient and high-quality services. The following Take One! policies and procedures have been adopted by the board of directors.
- How to Apply
- What will Participants Receive?
- Payment Submission
- Deadlines and Dates to Remember
- Manage Your Account
- Scoring Policies
- Withdrawals, Refunds and Deferrals
- Other Policies
How to Apply
Complete the Take One! order form. Please remember:
- Make sure that all required information is complete and accurate. Incomplete information will delay the processing of your order and the mailing of your materials.
- As soon as your fee is paid, your participation will be activated and all deadlines for your submission year will apply.
- If you need help, please call 1-800-22TEACH. If you have already submitted an order form, please have your participant ID number available when you make your inquiry.
- Make sure you write down your participant ID number
What Will Participants Receive?
NBPTS will send participants Take One! materials within three weeks of receipt of the online order and full payment. These materials will include:
- A personal activity book
- A CD-ROM containing the standards and portfolio entry instructions
- Packing and shipping instructions
- Bar code labels to be placed on materials
- Envelopes for submitting the entry and forms
- DVD-R Instructions
- VHS Checklist
- The box used for the entry submission
Participants should open their kits promptly to make sure that all of these materials are included. As there are no eligibility requirements for Take One!, participants will not receive verification forms with the materials.
Participants who wish to get started immediately may find instructions on the NBPTS Web site.
Payment Submission
Individual Participants
If you are personally responsible for any portion of the Take One! order fee, complete the Take One! order form and select “Pay Fees Online”. You will be given the option of using either a credit/debit card (MasterCard and Visa only) or electronic check to pay for your purchase. If you do not wish to make full payment when you place the order, you may make a partial payment. However, you will not receive the Take One! kit until the full amount for your order is received by NBPTS.
A limited number of scholarships are available for Take One! participants. Review the scholarship application for details.
Group Participants
If you are part of a group in which all or part of the fee will be paid for you, be sure to provide a copy of your Take One! order confirmation screen to the group administrator to ensure payment is made on your behalf. During the order process, either pay the partial amount you are responsible for or skip the entire payment process if full payment will be made on your behalf. You are responsible for confirming receipt by NBPTS of any fees, charges, entries and associated required documentation.
Deadlines and Dates to Remember
| Ordering and Payment |  |
December 31, 2008 |
| Entry Submission | |
April 15, 2009 |
| Withdrawal (partial refund) | |
60 days from online order date or April 14, 2009, whichever comes first |
| Withdrawal (no refund) | |
April 15, 2009 |
| Deferral | |
April 15, 2009 |
| Scores available online | |
On or before December 31, 2009 |
Manage Your Account
My Profile is a secure, online tool that allows Take One! participants to monitor their status throughout the process. My Profile enables participants to track the receipt of their materials and fee payments and access other important information regardingTake One!. Participants are encouraged to access and use My Profile to keep their physical mailing and e-mail addresses current. Once you receive your Take One! participant ID number, you can access your information at any time by creating a username and password.
My Profile allows participants to:
- Review order information, such as certificate area, name, mailing address, and phone number(s).
- Review the status of fee payment(s) and entry materials.
- Update basic customer information (e.g., mailing address and contact information); special considerations (e.g., whether nonstandard accommodations are required, releasing name to third-party agencies, submitting student work in Spanish or submitting student work in a manual language).
- Review and print a copy of the official score report (after scores have been reported/released).
Scoring Policies
Score Reports
Take One! portfolio scoring occurs simultaneously with scoring for National Board Certification. To ensure fairness, assessors are unable to distinguish Take One! entries from any other portfolio entries submitted by candidates for the NBPTS certification program. All score reports are currently processed together to reach psychometrically sound results. These protocols help ensure a fair and accurate scoring process. NBPTS anticipates that score results for Take One! entries will be provided on or before December 31, 2009, at the same time that score results are reported for candidates in the NBPTS certification program. Scores are released only to participants via My Profile.
Transferring Take One! Scores
Take One! participants have three opportunities immediately following receipt of their scores to transfer Take One! scores to National Board Certification. For example, if you receive your Take One! score in 2008, you may apply for full certification in any of the following certification cycles:
- 2008-09 (application deadline December 31, 2008)
- 2009-10 (application deadline December 31, 2009)
- 2010-11 (application deadline December 31, 2010)
Should you choose to transfer a Take One! score to National Board Certification, certain policies and eligibility requirements must be met. For more information, review the Guide to National Board Certification (PDF - 1.2mb). Once you receive your Take One! score, you have the option to transfer that score to National Board Certification candidacy. However, participants may apply for National Board Certification prior to the release of that Take One! score; participants have until the portfolio submission deadline to apply their Take One! score to National Board Certification.
Reconsideration of Scoring Decisions
A participant's score for Take One! is final upon release. Please note that neither the score verification service nor the certification appeals options are available to Take One! participants.
Low-Participant Volume Policy
NBPTS reserves the right not to offer an entry, not to score an entry after it has been offered, and/or not to render scores if, in its discretion, NBPTS determines that low participant volume may result in psychometric or financial problems. In the event that a problem arises due to insufficient participant volume or with respect to any aspect of an entry or scoring system that is not adequately resolved, in the judgment of NBPTS, such that a valid scoring decision cannot be made within an appropriate time period, NBPTS will offer full fee refunds to affected participants.
Scoring Reliability, Accuracy and Fairness
NBPTS has conducted analyses each year to determine the level of assessor reliability (i.e., the level of agreement between independent assessors). The results of these reliability analyses have consistently indicated that NBPTS assessors are making reliable, accurate and fair evaluations of participants’ responses. NBPTS remains dedicated to evaluating its assessments and the assessment process with a goal of continuous improvement. NBPTS is also committed to making sure that its assessments are valid and meaningful and the scoring of participants' responses is reliable, accurate and fair. NBPTS is confident that its scoring practices will continue to yield reliable, accurate and fair scores.
Integrity of the Scoring Process
The reliability of the scores assigned to individual entries for Take One! is contingent upon maintaining the standardized scoring protocols that NBPTS has developed and refined since the full certification program was first offered. For this reason, all scoring events occur under the direction of experienced trainers and scoring directors who are tasked with ensuring that the integrity of the process is maintained.
Assessors who serve at scoring sites, especially National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs), may be willing to provide supportive, constructive feedback to individuals regarding their entries prior to entries being submitted for scoring. However, it would be inappropriate for any person who has served as a member of NBPTS scoring staff to make a judgment about a score outside of a formal scoring session.
Participants are cautioned against relying too heavily on the opinions of support providers, professional associates or others who may have served as a member of the scoring staff for NBPTS. NBPTS assessors must sign a statement by which they agree that they will not speculate on a participant's score outside of a formal scoring session.
Withdrawals, Refunds and Deferrals
Withdrawals
If you choose to withdraw from Take One! you must:
- Notify NBPTS of your decision in writing by completing the Withdrawal Form (PDF - 176kb).
- Contact NBPTS to confirm receipt of a Withdrawal Form (PDF - 176kb) prior to the Take One! entry submission deadline.
- Mail, fax or e-mail the form to:
Call: 1-800-22TEACH
Mail: NBPTS Processing Center
11827 Tech Com, Suite 200
San Antonio, Texas 78233Fax: 888-811-3514
Online Inquiry: NBPTS Online Inquiry Service
Refunds
A partial refund of your order fee, less a $100 nonrefundable fee, for Take One! will be processed if you request it within 60 days of the date of application. There are no refunds after this period.
Deferrals
You can defer completion of Take One! for one year if you notify NBPTS prior to the entry submission deadline.
If you defer in year one of your participation and then choose to withdraw in the second year after having purchased Take One!, you must submit a Withdrawal Form by the entry submission deadline of the deferral year.
Other Policies
Confidentiality Guidelines
NBPTS policies regarding confidentiality for candidates of National Board Certification apply to Take One! participants, and NBPTS will take precautions to assure that all participant information is strictly confidential.
Individuals with Disabilities
It is the policy of NBPTS to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) regulations governing both facilities and administration. Refer to the NBPTS Nonstandard Accommodations Form to learn more about available accommodations for entries and how to request accommodations.
Collaboration Guidelines
As a Take One! participant, the work you submit as part of an entry must be your own. Your written commentary, the student work and your video recordings must feature your teaching and your students’ work for the timeframe specified. If you are a member of a team of teachers who are completing Take One! together, it is mandatory that video segments, analyses, and student work samples are unique for each participant. Therefore, if you teach in a team-teaching setting, review your responses carefully to ensure that they feature your teaching and your students’ work. If you submit material that is identical to that of another participant, both of you will be disqualified from Take One!. If you are receiving any fee support from an external organization or entity, they will be notified of this disqualification and the reason. NBPTS considers the following collaborations to be helpful and encourages Take One! participants to collaborate with their colleagues in the following ways:
- Practice recording classroom videos
- Watch and analyze the videos
- Read and provide feedback to each other on analyses and student work