Browse Studies

Validation Study: A Distinction That Matters

Institution:
University of North Carolina, Greensboro

Principal Investigator:
Bond, L., Smith, T., Baker, W. K., Hattie, J. A.

Date:
September 2000

Study Overview:
This study indicates that National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) significantly outperformed their non-certified peers in 11 of 13 key dimensions of teaching expertise. The Accomplished Teaching Validation Study, which was conducted by a team of researchers based at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, was the first comprehensive study to compare the teaching practices of NBCTs with other teachers, and to compare samples of student work from classrooms of the two groups of teachers. The study revealed that NBCTs scored higher on all 13 dimensions of teaching expertise than did teachers who sought but did not achieve National Board Certification. The differences were statistically significant on 11 of the 13 dimensions. The dimensions - based on the body of research that has been reported over two decades on measures of effective teaching - include attributes such as:

• Having extensive knowledge of subject matter
• The ability to adapt and improvise instruction
• Formulating lessons that are challenging and engaging
• Promoting academic achievement by emphasizing both personal accomplishment and intellectual engagement.

Main Research Questions:

1. To what extent is the NBPTS vision of accomplished practice, as laid down in its standards and as represented in its assessments, consonant with the characteristics of teaching expertise that have emerged from the research and scholarly literature?
2. Can NBCTs and their non-certified counterparts be distinguished on the basis of the quality of work produced by their students?

Publications:

• Full Text of Study (PDF - 12.9mb)

Subject Area:
Student Achievement