Frequently Asked Questions
APPLYING FOR NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION
1. What are the
eligibility requirements to be a candidate for National Board Certification?
In order to be eligible for National
Board Certification, you must meet employment and education requirements.
Candidates for National Board Certification must possess a baccalaureate
degree from an accredited institution, must have completed three
years of successful teaching at one or more early childhood, elementary,
middle or secondary schools, and must submit proof of holding a
valid state teaching license for each of those three years (if required
by the state). Candidates for National Board Certification must
submit proof that they:
- possess a baccalaureate degree from
an accredited institution;
A teacher with a baccalaureate degree
awarded by an institution outside the United States must submit
proof that the degree is the equivalent of a baccalaureate by
submitting transcripts to an organization that belongs to the
National Association of Credential Evaluation Services and attaching
the documentation of the degree to the Education Verification
Form that will be sent to candidates following initial application.
- have completed three years of successful
teaching at one or more early childhood, elementary, middle or
secondary schools;
This must be three years of teaching
experience; time spent in administrative positions does not count
towards the requirement. Teaching done at the post-secondary level
(community college or university/college teaching) does not count
towards the requirement. Student teaching or tutoring does not
count towards the requirement. The three years of teaching must
have been completed prior to the first day of the school year
(as defined by your facility/district) in which you are pursuing
National Board Certification. That is, if you are applying to
go through the certification process in the 2000-2001 cycle, your
three years of employment must have been completed prior to the
first day of your 2000-2001 school year. Teaching must have occurred
at a facility within the United States or at an institution supported
by the United States (i.e., DODD schools). Successful teaching,
at a minimum, means that during the period of employment, you
did not have your teaching license suspended or revoked.
Teachers who have taught part-time
are eligible, provided that they have teaching employment that
is the equivalent of three years of full-time teaching. Substitute
teachers may count teaching time spent in long-term assignments
towards the three years; substitute teaching that consisted of
short-term or on-call assignments does not accrue towards the
three years.
- hold a valid state teaching license
for each of those three years (if required).
Candidates who were not required
by a state to hold a teaching license for those three years must
submit proof that the schools in which they taught during those
three years were recognized and approved to operate by the state
(United States). This should be documented on the verification
forms that you will receive following initial application.
Candidates must meet all published
deadlines, must submit a total fee of $2300.00, and must demonstrate
teaching practice in the certificate area for which they are applying.
Candidates do not have to be currently teaching, but they must have
access to at least one class that meets the age range and content
specifications of their certificate area.
2. I teach overseas;
am I eligible to apply?
Candidates who worked for a Department
of Defense (DODD) or for a state-supported school (United States)
may submit this type of employment for the three years teaching
experience requirement. Otherwise, NBPTS does not accept employment
from a foreign institution.
3. What if my college/university
is not on the list of institutions conferring degrees contained
in the Guide to NBC?
Leave that box on the application form
blank. Print the name of your college/university on a separate piece
of paper and include it with your application form. The list will
be updated annually to add missing institutions.
4. Am I eligible
to apply if my teaching license is not in the certificate area for
which I am applying?
Yes, as long as you meet the eligibility
prerequisites, you may apply for any certificate area for which
you feel you can demonstrate accomplished teaching. You should remember
that you will need to have access to students in the appropriate
age range and content area for the certificate for which you are
applying.
5. Can I use my
university classes/students to help fulfill the requirements for
NBPTS certification?
The design of NBPTS certification is
for teachers who teach K - 12 (18+). The 18+ does not apply to college
students, the "+" applies to those students in school who do not
graduate when they are 18. There are some college professors who
have completed the certification, but they have "borrowed" a K-12
class on which to base their entries/submissions and assessment
center exercises. The standards envisioned students working towards
high school degrees or the equivalent rather than students attending
colleges.
6. How many classes
do I need in order to complete National Board Certification?
National Board Certification is designed
to assess a teacher's performance in a wide range of classroom settings.
We encourage teachers to use more than one class in completing the
portfolio entries in order to demonstrate the broadest range of
their teaching practice. Therefore, teachers who have multiple classes
that meet the age and content requirements should take advantage
of the availability of these different classes when completing the
classroom-based entries. However, if a teacher has access to only
one class that meets the age and content requirements for their
certificate area, it is permissible to use a single class for all
four of the classroom-based entries. Please keep in mind that all
four entries must come from different units and that work samples
and artifacts must feature different students.
7. Must a person
be currently employed as a classroom teacher to seek NBPTS certification?
National Board Certification signifies
that a teacher is accomplished, having met challenging professional
teaching standards as evidenced by performance-based assessments.
All candidates must address the requirements of the portfolio and
the assessments. The assessments measure specific pedagogical content
knowledge that is critical in teaching students about certain domains
within each certificate area. With this in mind, teachers who are
not currently in the classroom may "borrow" a classroom in order
to complete the portfolio requirements for National Board Certification.
8. What are the
factors involved in "borrowing" a class?
Candidates may "borrow" a classroom
in order to complete the portfolio requirements for National Board
Certification. The lesson would need to fit the content area of
the certificate area, as defined in the standards. Students must
meet the age parameters as well for the certificate. Inherent challenges
exist for candidates who support their work with borrowed classes.
We would encourage anyone in this situation to thoroughly study
the demands of the entries and exercises before applying. If you
are borrowing a class because you are not currently teaching, you
may want to check the requirements of your state regarding any incentives
and rewards that the state may grant in connection with the National
Board Certification program. Some states require the candidate to
be currently teaching or to be the "teacher of record" in order
to receive any incentives or rewards.
9. My particular
area is not mentioned within the Vocational Education Standards
Booklet. Can I still apply?
Although the Vocational Education Standards
may not specifically mention all vocational fields currently being
taught in schools, this does not prohibit any teacher from pursuing
the Vocational Education certificate if he or she believes that
the EAYA/Voc Ed certificate is the NBPTS certificate most appropriate
to his or her practice. Ultimately, however, this decision is up
to the individual teacher. Our recommendation to any teacher - Vocational
Education teachers included - is to study the Standards carefully
in the certificate field, as well as the demands of the entries
and exercises to determine if they will allow the teacher to demonstrate
his or her level of accomplished teaching practice.
10. How will my
felony conviction affect my application or the processing of my
application?
If you are uncertain whether your affirmative
response to this question will make you ineligible for National
Board candidacy, we urge you to submit information to NBPTS that
documents your circumstances before you submit an application or
any of the candidate fee to allow NBPTS time to review your documentation
and make a determination of your eligibility prior to your application.
Submitting this documentation with your application and fee, without
prior review, will delay the mailing of any of the required assessment
materials while a review of your documentation is undertaken. In
addition, if you submit an initial payment and are subsequently
determined to be ineligible for candidacy, the initial $300 fee
is not refundable.
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