NBPTS

Standards

What's New?

March 2025 

What’s up with the What Book? 

The National Board is currently revising its standards, starting with What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do (also known as the What Book).

The What Book Committee–a group of ten National Board Certified Teachers with diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise–has completed its revision. The updated explication of the Five Core Propositions speaks to educators across certificate areas and learning communities, describing accomplished knowledge, skills, and abilities in a non-prescriptive manner to advance the professional practice of preK-12 educators addressing unique needs and requirements throughout the country.

By Teachers, For Teachers

Stakeholder input played a critical part in the revision process. The What Book Committee carefully responded to a bias review and public comment feedback, integrating insights from a range of classroom practitioners and education professionals to articulate professional consensus. The revised document is currently being reviewed by the National Board’s governing bodies. The publication of the 3rd edition is tentatively scheduled for 2026. 

What This Means for Candidates

While preparing for the assessment, candidates for certification and maintenance of certification should continue using the current, 2nd edition of the What Book and the latest version of their certificate-area standards posted on this website.

August 27, 2024

The National Board has refreshed standards documents for certificate areas that discuss literacy instruction.

  • Newly posted documents include the following:
  • Changes to the standards remove descriptions of teaching practices and terminology no longer in general professional use or supported by pedagogical research, as determined by National Board Certified Teachers. 
  • No new standards of practice were added. The updated documents do not change certification requirements and will not impact evidence submissions.
  • Candidates should always use the latest version of certificate-area standards posted on this website when preparing for the certification assessment.  

June 26, 2024

The National Board is revising its standards, starting with What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do (also known as the What Book).

  • The What Book contains the Five Core Propositions. They address critical aspects of accomplished teaching practice: knowledge of students and subjects, responsibility for student learning and professional reflection, and membership in learning communities.
  • The title and topic of each Core Proposition will remain the same. The revision will update their descriptions to indicate professional advances and highlight the importance of belonging for all students and teachers. 
  • The What Book Committee, comprised of ten National Board Certified Teachers from various certificate areas, has been working on the revision. 
  • The committee’s current draft of the What Book will be open for public comment from June 3 to July 14, 2024. You can participate by taking the survey.
  • Publication of the What Book’s 3rd edition is tentatively scheduled for Spring 2025.

The National Board is also updating the certificate-area standards as part of its large-scale revision plan.

  • Certificate-area standards are based on the Five Core Propositions in the What Book. They define accomplished practice within specific subject areas and student developmental levels.
  • As an initial step, the National Board is refreshing certificate-area standards that discuss literacy instruction. 
  • Descriptions of teaching practices and terminology no longer in general professional use or supported by pedagogical research will be removed from these documents:
  • The Contemporary Relevance Committee, composed of five educators with literacy expertise, has been working on these changes.
  • The modified standards will be published alongside addenda listing every textual change. Publication is scheduled for September 2024. 
  • These and all other certificate-area standards will then be revised comprehensively in the near future. Come back here for more details as they are known.

What This Means for Candidates

  • Candidates for certification and maintenance of certification should use the latest version of certificate-area standards posted on this website when preparing for their assessment.
  • Current candidates for certification or maintenance of certification in these areas – Early Childhood Generalist, Literacy: Reading-Language Arts, and Middle Childhood Generalist – may begin working on their submission at any time with the standards currently posted on the website. 
  • Revisions published in September 2024 will not impact component requirements or evidence that candidates are required to submit.

Where to Find National Board Standards

  • The Five Core Propositions and certificate-area standards inform teacher preparation and professional development throughout schools, districts, and universities nationwide. The National Board supports teachers and students across all learning communities.
  • The Five Core Propositions in What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do and the following certificate-area standards constitute the National Board’s full body of professional knowledge.

Standards

Standards Addenda

How National Board Standards Are Developed

  • The National Board assembles standards committees that represent diverse backgrounds and viewpoints. All National Board Standards are written by teachers, for teachers.
  • Committees include National Board Certified Teachers and other experts in preK-12 learning and growth. All educators are selected based on their professional experience and expertise.
  • Committees are formally appointed by the National Board’s Certification Council and reviewed by its Board of Directors. These governing bodies ensure that committees utilize the Five Core Propositions to describe critical aspects of accomplished practice in their certificate area.
  • Committees reflect on advancements in the field, consider what accomplished teaching looks like in different settings and situations, and collaborate to reach professional consensus on what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do. 
  • The Five Core Propositions and all National Board Standards are approved and adopted by the Certification Council and Board of Directors.

What the Standards Look Like in Practice

  • The National Board Standards describe the knowledge, skills, abilities, and dispositions that characterize accomplished practice, and ATLAS shows how accomplished teachers demonstrate their practice.
  • ATLAS presents authentic cases of National Board Certified Teachers engaging their students to promote learning in classrooms across the country. Learn more.