Browse Studies

The Effects of NBPTS-Certified Teachers on Student Achievement

Institution:
Florida State University

Principal Investigator:
Harris, D.N. and Sass, T.R.

Date:
January 2007

Study Overview:

This study considers the effectiveness of certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards® (NBPTS). Researchers first studied its effects on student achievement and then analyzed the potential spillover of National Board Certified Teacher® (NBCT) mentoring. Using a large data set of Florida teachers and students over a four-year span, researchers investigated the relationship between National Board Certification® and the impact of teachers on student test scores from both low-stakes and high-stakes exams.

Results from this study suggest that the answer depends largely on the achievement test used to measure student performance. In some cases National Board Certification "provides a positive signal of teacher productivity;" however, these effects were not consistent across subjects and grades. The study also found that teachers who achieve National Board Certification at some point during their careers boost student achievement in reading significantly more than their non-NBCT counterparts. Positive spillover of NBCT mentoring was found in student achievement scores in both reading and math, using the norm-referenced student performance measure but not found using the criterion-based performance measure. The authors’ results highlight that the nature of results found are substantially impacted by the performance measure used to evaluate National Board Certification.

Main Research Questions:

1. Are teachers who become NBCTs more effective than other teachers?
2. Does National Board Certification provide a valid signal of a teacher’s contribution to student achievement?
3. Given the extensive process that teachers go through to become certified, is there evidence that the process itself influences teacher effectiveness and increases their human capital?
4. Do NBCTs affect the performance of their fellow teachers?

Publications:

• Full text of study (PDF - 355kb)

Subject Area:
Student Achievement