Arlington, VA –The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards today released its certification rate for teachers completing all four components of the National Board assessment. Of all teachers receiving a certification decision since 2017, the year the National Board revised its assessment, 70% earned the National Board Certified Teacher® designation.
“National Board Certified Teachers teach to the highest standards in the profession. The newly released certification rate helps to highlight their commitment to student learning and their own professional development,” said Peggy Brookins, NBCT, president and CEO of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. “These teachers continually reflect on their practice to powerfully impact student learning.”
The cumulative certification rate is based on the total number of National Board candidates from 2017-2020 who received a certification decision after receiving scores on all four of the assessment’s components. Excluded from the calculation of the certification rate were any candidates for whom one or more of their components was unscorable. The certification rate is intended to be an indication of success among those candidates who submit complete components. Learn about how the certification rate was calculated and more.
“At the National Board, we believe that every teacher — from all parts of the county and representing the diverse range of educators and their students — should aspire to become a National Board Certified Teacher. More than 90% of educators who completed the National Board certification process said that the work helped improve their teaching practice,” said Brookins.
The National Board certification rate is important to educators pursuing National Board certification and is also an important measure for the teaching profession. It can and should catalyze profession-wide discussions about how teachers are prepared, licensed, and supported through professional learning towards being able to meet standards for Board certification.
NOTE: The National Board’s Technical Advisory Group works to support assessment, psychometric, and certification efforts by providing guidance to the National Board’s Certification Council and staff on best practices related to validity, reliability, accuracy, and fairness. The assessment meets the highest standards, and teachers achieving Board certification have shown evidence of teaching to the National Board’s standards of accomplished teaching.