NBCTs are Improving Student Achievement Across Mississippi.

Kindergarten students taught by an NBCT are 31% more likely to achieve a proficient score on the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment than other students.

Source: The Impact of National Board Certified Teachers on the Literacy Outcomes of Mississippi Kindergarteners and Third-Graders, NSPARC Mississippi State University, 2017.

Third grade students taught by an NBCT are 11% more likely to achieve a proficient score on the MAP Test in English Language Arts than other students.

Source: The Impact of National Board Certified Teachers on the Literacy Outcomes of Mississippi Kindergarteners and Third-Graders, NSPARC Mississippi State University, 2017.

Additional Study Findings

• In Mississippi, a 2017 study led by Mississippi State university shows that kindergarten and third-grade students with a National Board Certified reading teacher perform at a significantly higher level on literacy assessments than peers on average.
• In Washington state, a multi-year study found that “[Board-] certified teachers are more effective than non-certified teachers with similar experience.” Their findings suggest Board-certified teachers produce gains of up to 1.5 months of additional learning. (Goldhaber and Cowen, 2015).
• Another study in Chicago and Kentucky found that “Board certification is an effective signal of teacher quality [based on student test scores]. This finding held across locales, test types and subject areas. (CNA Corporation, 2015.)
• Harvard University’s Strategic Data Project reported that students of Board-certified teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District gained roughly the equivalent of two months of additional instruction in Math and one month in English Language Arts. Among math teachers, this contrasts with a lack of a significant impact on teachers who held only advanced degrees (Strategic Data Project, 2012).
• In a similar study in Gwinnett County, Georgia, Board-certified teachers outperformed their peers with the same levels of experience (Strategic Data Project, 2012a)
• Board-Certified Teachers More Effective, New Studies Affirm – 2015 (Education Week subscription required, 2015)
• A recent South Carolina analysis by the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement found that attrition among National Board Certified Teachers is three times lower than teacher attrition statewide.