Frequently Asked Questions
THE ASSESSMENT CENTER
1. What happens
at the assessment center? How should I prepare?
The assessment center portion of the
NBPTS certification assessment is a one-day written assessment that
focuses primarily on pedagogical content knowledge. All assessment
center exercises for all certificate areas are delivered on a computer
screen. At a Sylvan Technology Center, candidates are able to choose
to respond to the assessment center exercises by using the word
processor provided or by hand writing. Tutorials on the use of the
computer for responding are provided. Each appointment (for first-time
candidates) for an NBPTS assessment is eight hours, with six (6)
hours of actual assessment and two (2) hours for check-in, tutorials,
collection of background information, and breaks.
In early March, candidates will receive
copies of the Assessment Center Orientation Booklet, which contains
information on the kind of prompts that candidates will respond
to at the assessment center. If an exercise requires that candidates
read or study certain information before arriving at the assessment
center, candidates will receive a list of those materials and/or
copies of such materials with the Assessment Center Orientation
Booklet. Candidates must decide how best to prepare for the assessment
center portion of the assessment based on their own knowledge and
experience. If possible, it would be advisable for candidates to
follow the same sort of preparations suggested for students preparing
to take a standardized test: get a good nightĂs sleep before attending
the assessment center, eat what you normally would for breakfast,
and arrive early at the testing center.
2. Can I still go
to the assessment center if I donĂt turn in my portfolio?
Yes, your assessment center scores
will be banked, but you will have to pay additional fees to submit
the portfolio during a subsequent cycle.
3. If I am retaking
1,2,3, or 4 exercises during the 1999-2000 cycle, how do I schedule
my appointment?
Candidates who are retaking one, two,
three, or four assessment center exercises should contact the Sylvan
Center Customer Services Call Center (CSCC) beginning March 15,
2000 to schedule your appointment. It is important that you follow
the directions below. Do not call your local test center as local
centers are not able to schedule retest appointments.
Sylvan Customer Services Call Center
(CSCC)
1-800-226-7958 (Select Option 1)
Monday “ Friday 8:00 AM “ 8:00 PM
Saturday 8:00 AM “ 4:00 PM
Once your appointment has been scheduled,
if you need to reschedule for any reason, please repeat the instructions
above and telephone the CSCC at 1-800-226-7958 and select Option
1. Be prepared to provide a credit card number as there is a $45
rescheduling fee.
All candidates who are retaking one,
two, three or four of any NBPTS assessment center exercises must
schedule their appointment during the normal assessment center testing
window for their certification area.
4. How do I reschedule
or cancel my appointment?
When calling Sylvan to reschedule or
cancel an appointment, it is important that you listen carefully
to the options you are offered. If you wish to retain your eligible
status and test within the current cycle, be certain to choose the
CANCEL option only if you no longer wish to test within the current
cycle. Please read the following before calling to either reschedule
or cancel.
All first-time candidates EXCEPT
EAYA/Art candidates may reschedule an appointment for the NBPTS
assessment center by calling the Customer Services Call Center (1-800-226-7958)
or the specific Technology Center by noon four (4) business days
prior to the scheduled appointment. Business days for Technology
Center registration are Monday through Saturday.
EAYA/Art candidates must call to reschedule
at least ten (10) business days before the scheduled appointment.
This means that if your appointment is for a Friday, you must call
to reschedule by noon on the Friday two weeks before the scheduled
appointment, or sooner. For example, an appointment for June 18
must be changed by noon on June 4. The extra scheduling time is
necessary for EAYA/Art candidates because of the stimulus materials
that must be shipped to the technology center for each candidate.
Be aware that rescheduling an appointment
for any of the NBPTS assessments may be difficult. Because this
is an all-day assessment, it may be difficult in some areas of the
country (particularly North Carolina and Florida, where candidate
volume is very high) to obtain a second appointment. You should
make every effort to keep your original appointment. The fee for
rescheduling your appointment is $45.00.
5. What if I cancel
my appointment without rescheduling or if I do not appear at the
scheduled time? How do I become eligible again?
If you do not keep your appointment
for any reason, and do not reschedule by noon on the second business
day prior to your appointment (10 business days in advance for EAYA/Art
candidates and retake candidates), you must call the NBPTS at 1-800-532-1813
to reactivate your eligibility. You will be required to send a check
or money order for $150 in order to reinstate your eligibility for
the assessment center. You will be contacted by NBPTS when your
check has been received and you may call to reschedule your appointment
four (4) business days following that notification. Please follow
the same procedures as when you intially scheduled:
First Time Candidates “ Call 1-800-226-7958
or the Technology Center of your choice.
Retake Candidates - Call 1-800-226-7958
“ Select Option 1.
6. What do I do
if I wish to defer my retake exercise after paying the retake fee?
If after paying the retake fee for
an exercise, you find that you cannot attend the assessment center
this year, you may defer completion of the retake for one year.
The fee will not be returned and NBPTS will require $100 per exercise
to reinstate your deferred exercise(s). To defer any exercise, your
request must be submitted in writing. Your written request to defer
one or more exercises must be received by NBPTS at 6818 S. Zarzamora
Street, San Antonio, Texas 78224, no less than four (4) business
days before your appointment at the assessment center. (Saturday
and Sunday are not considered business days.) If you do not submit
the request to defer and do not attend the scheduled appointment,
the retake fee will be forfeited. The reinstatement fee(s) must
be paid and a new retake application must be completed during the
next administrative cycle. You will then need to make an appointment
at the Technology Center.
7. How do I confirm
my Assessment Center appointment?
Call the Technology Center at least
two (2) business days prior to your appointment to confirm your
assessment center date, and exact location. You should reference
the confirmation number and the date you scheduled your appointment
when you call to confirm you assessment center appointment.
8. What am I required
to take to the assessment center?
On the day of your appointment, you
must take the following items with you:
- 2 forms of ID, including a photo
ID. If you do not present identification with a photo and a signature,
you will not be permitted take the assessment center exercises.
Acceptable forms of photo ID include a photo driverĂs license,
a photo employee ID, a valid passport, a military ID, or a photo
student ID. (Photo credit cards will NOT be accepted.) If the
supervisor questions your ID, be prepared to present a second
ID bearing your signature. Acceptable forms of secondary ID include
a U.S. Social Security card, valid credit card, and bank automated
teller machine (ATM) card. If your name has changed since you
applied for candidacy and your ID has not been changed, you must
bring documentation of a legal name change to the assessment center
on your appointment date. For example, if your name changed because
you were recently married or divorced, you should bring a copy
of your marriage license or your divorce decree to the assessment
center.
- Pens and pencils. When writing in
your Response Booklet, you must use a pen with black ink. Pens
or pencils may be used for scratch work.
- The sheet of bar code ID labels
with your candidate ID number and initials. These bar code ID
labels will be used to identify your responses at the assessment
center if you choose to write your assessment center responses
by hand. This sheet of bar code labels should be included with
the Assessment Center Orientation Booklet. If it is not included,
call NBPTS at 1-800-532-1813.
9. What am I allowed
to take to the assessment center?
During the assessment center exercises,
you are permitted to use only certain materials that you may have
brought with you:
- The Assessment Center Orientation
Booklet;
- Stimulus materials that were mailed
to you in advance, if any;
- Self-generated notes that you may
have made on these stimulus materials;
- The National Board Standards for
your certificate area;
- Self-generated notes that you may
have made on blank or lined sheets of paper; and
- Calculator operating instructions.
Please note: For assessment security
reasons, all permissible materials that you have used during the
assessment must be turned in to the administrator at the conclusion
of the assessment; these materials remain with the administrator.
Therefore, any of these materials that you wish to take back with
you after the assessment may not be used during the assessment.
If you inadvertently bring any such materials with you on the day
of testing, the administrator will store them for you in a secure
place and return them to you at the conclusion of the assessment.
The Standards book for your certificate
area is a valuable reference throughout your assessment process.
For this reason, it is strongly suggested that you make a copy of
your Standards book prior to attending the assessment center. If
you find that you need to retake an exercise, it will be necessary
to refer to your Standards book. The Standards book will also be
used for interpretation and feedback purposes when you receive your
Score Report. If you need to order another copy of the Standards
booklet, please note that you will have to purchase a new booklet
for $15.
Calculators and Other Aids
An on-line scientific calculator is
available to you during the test questions. In addition, you are
permitted to bring a hand-held (not wristwatch) calculator into
the testing room. The administrator will check all calculators to
verify that they are acceptable.
Acceptable Calculators:
Calculators with the following features
are acceptable:
- Cover connected by a checkbook type
hinge;
- Scientific graphing function (except
for Texas Instruments Model TI-92, which is not permitted;
- Alphanumeric keyboard (other than
QWERTY) .
Unacceptable Calculators:
- Texas Instruments Model TI-92 graphing
calculator;
- Calculators with a typewriter-like
(QWERTY) keypad;
- Calculators that have a printing
mechanism (paper type);
- Calculators that have a raised display
that might be visible to nearby test takers;
- Calculators that make noise or require
an electrical outlet.
In addition to a calculator, you will
also be permitted to bring rulers, protractors, a compass, and other
such tools into the testing room. You may take these tools as well
as the calculator away with you after you complete the assessment.
Any stored memory must be cleared from the calculator before leaving
the testing room.
10. What materials
am I not allowed to take to the assessment center?
Candidates may not bring hardcover
or softcover textbooks, dictionaries, encyclopedias, loose-leaf
printed materials (held in ring binders), or other bound books or
bound printed materials to the test center. (Candidates may bring
The Assessment Center Orientation Booklet, National Board Standards
documents, any stimulus materials that candidates received in advance
from the NBPTS, or calculator operating instructions. Candidates
may also bring any notes made on blank or lined sheets of paper.
However, information downloaded from the Internet cannot be brought
into the assessment center.)
You will not be permitted to bring
any of the following items into the testing room: beepers, watch
calculators, highlighter pens, stereos or radios with headphones,
cellular phones, watch alarms (including those with flashing lights
or alarm sounds), translators, and any electronic devices (with
the exception of the acceptable calculators described above).
The National Board is, and has always
been, attentive to the issues of fairness and equity in its assessments.
The National Board continually reviews the assessments to ensure
that candidates are not disadvantaged by the content of the assessments
or by the process of taking the assessments. Assessment center exercises
are designed to assess each candidateĂs content knowledge and pedagogical
content knowledge, not the textbooks or resource materials that
a candidate might have or acquire. The National Board believes that
no candidate will be disadvantaged as a result of this procedure.
11. What are the
procedures and regulations for the Technology Center?
Here are the conventions that govern
the Sylvan Centers:
- Waiting areas at the test centers
are small. Friends or relatives who accompany you will not be
permitted to wait in the assessment center or contact you while
you are testing.
- You will be assigned a seat.
- The administrator will provide you
with scratch paper that may be replaced as needed during testing.
You may not bring your own scratch paper to the test. You
may not remove scratch paper from the testing room at any time.
- You may not eat, drink, or use tobacco
during the administration. (If you have a medical condition that
requires that you take medication and/or eat at specific times,
you should submit the Nonstandard Administration Request Form
and supporting documentation so that you will be able to do so.)
- No testing aids are permitted in
the testing rooms. This includes beepers, watch calculators, highlighter
pens, stereos or radios with headphones, cellular phones, watch
alarms, including those with flashing lights or alarm sounds,
translators, and any electronic devices (with the exception of
calculators as listed above) or keyboards.
- No bags or briefcases are permitted
in the testing room.
- Raise your hand and notify the administrator
if you believe you have a problem with your computer, need more
scratch paper, or need the administrator for any reason.
- You will be photographed or videotaped
at the Technology Center. This does not replace the photo ID requirements.
- Energy-saving procedures vary widely
and you may find the Technology Center room colder or warmer than
you expected. Therefore, dress in such a way that you can adapt
to varied room temperatures.
- The Technology Center administrator
is authorized to dismiss you from a test session for any of the
following reasons:
- attempting to take the assessment
center exercises for someone else;
- failing to provide acceptable identification;
- creating a disturbance;
- giving or receiving unauthorized
help;
- eating and drinking during the assessment
center exercises;
- using wristwatch calculators, digital
assistants, or other aids;
- attempting to remove scratch paper
from the testing rooms;
- attempting to tamper with the operation
of the computer;
- attempting to remove assessment
prompts (in any format) from the testing room; or
- failing to follow the administratorĂs
directions.
Failure to comply with an administratorĂs
directions can result in your test being canceled. If this should
be necessary, no scores will be reported for the assessment center
exercise, and no fees will be refunded.
12. Will there
be breaks at the assessment center?
The computer will give you the option
of taking short breaks between Exercises I and II and Exercises
III and IV, and a 1-hour break between Exercises II and III. Although
you are encouraged to take breaks at these times, doing so is not
required. If you wish to leave your seat at any time other than
for a scheduled break, raise your hand. Exercise timing will not
stop for this type of break.
13. What do they
do with the labels at the assessment center?
If you choose to handwrite your response
at the assessment center, your candidate ID bar code labels will
be affixed to your response to identify it.
14. Can candidates
type the notes they bring to the assessment centers?
Yes, candidates may type any self-generated
notes they bring to the assessment center exercises.
15. What level
of mathematical knowledge is required by candidates to pass the
assessment center exercises?
The EA/Mathematics certificate is intended
for teachers of students 11-15 and the assessment center is designed
to assess knowledge that is relevant for teaching across this age
range. All prompts were developed by current EA/Mathematics teachers.
The EA/Mathematics assessment center examines the teacher's understanding
of mathematics content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge
appropriate for teachers of Early Adolescence Mathematics. As described
in the EA/Mathematics Standards, teachers are expected to know and
know how to teach: number and operations; algebra and functions,
geometry and measurement, and statistics and data analysis. In addition,
teachers are expected to know and know how to teach introductory
concepts that are important to the study of calculus and discrete
mathematics, such as minima, maxima, limits, permutations and combinations.
(See Standard 3 of the EA/Mathematics Standards document for additional
topics and information.)
The AYA/Mathematics certificate is
intended for teachers of students 14-18+ and the assessment center
is designed to assess knowledge that is relevant for teaching across
this age range. All prompts were developed by current AYA/Mathematics
teachers. The AYA/Mathematics assessment center examines the teacher's
understanding of mathematics content knowledge and pedagogical content
knowledge appropriate for teachers of Adolescence and Young Adulthood
Mathematics. As described in the AYA/Mathematics Standards, candidates
should have a broad and deep knowledge of the five domains: algebra
and functions, geometry, discrete mathematics, statistics and data
analysis, and calculus. Candidates are requested to demonstrate
their knowledge of four out of the five content domains. Each candidate
selects the domains at the assessment center. (See Standard 3 of
the AYA/Mathematics Standards document for additional topic descriptions
and information.)
16. Must a Vocational
Education candidate be prepared to respond to questions covering
the various sub-fields within a Vocational Education cluster? For
example, will a Vocational Education teacher who teaches mechanical
drafting have to answer questions about carpentry and plumbing at
the assessment center?
No. Each candidate will have the opportunity
to answer the questions from his or her own vocational perspective.
Each vocational candidate will "declare" his or her perspective,
up front at the Assessment Center, by marking one of the eight clusters.
17. For the AYA/SS-History
assessment exercises, candidates must answer constructed-response
questions and stimulus-response questions. What is the difference
between the two questions?
A stimulus-response question will provide
you with works or stimulus that you must review before you compose
your answer. Constructed response questions are usually, but not
always, longer prompts that present a scenario for the candidate
to respond to.
18. What will candidates
need to be prepared for at the Exceptional Needs assessment? Will
candidates be responsible for knowledge across the five strands?
The main content of the Exceptional
Needs assessment relates to the practice of proactive special education
delivery: advocacy, cultural competence, family and community collaboration,
positive social development, attention to the needs of the individual,
and communication/literacy/oral and written language skills. Candidates
for the Exceptional Needs certificate do not have to be knowledgeable
about all five strands as distinguished by students' "disabling
factor(s)" and age level: Early Childhood, Mild/Moderate Disabilities,
Severe and Multiple Disabilities, Visual Impairments, and Deaf/Hard
of Hearing. However, candidates will be responsible for their strand
and what they teach. They will have to have the knowledge of subjects
listed in the Standards for the age and ability of their students.
If a particular content is going to be tapped, the candidate will
be given prior notice and would be able to consult with other teachers
and resources regarding the subject matter.
19. Can an elementary
teacher meet the Early Adolescence/Math content knowledge standards,
to complete the assessment center exercises?
All candidates for any certificate
must first thoroughly study the standards in the area for which
they are applying. It is essential that candidates find the right
"fit" for their teaching situation and can see just what they are
being held to. In order to prepare for the assessment exercises,
candidates must study Standard III: Knowledge of Mathematics. Teams
of EA/Mathematics teachers working in collaboration with Educational
Testing Service designed the EA/Mathematics questions. In addition,
major contributors to the entire EA/Mathematics assessment were
both math and non-math majors who were elementary trained. Non-math
majors were also development team members, pilot participants, and
formative scorers. An important point is that the assessment's content
is held to the NB MCEA/Math Standards document. The Standards are
high and rigorous. They specifically say that accomplished math
specialists know mathematics beyond what they teach. They also clearly
delineate which areas of math are part of an accomplished mathematics
specialist's repertoire. Candidates who feel they may be especially
challenged by the assessment exercises should form a study group
to help themselves prepare for the content area in which they may
be weakest.
20. Is it possible
to support my portfolio work with one path while actually testing
in another path?
The assessment center is designed to
tap into content and pedagogical knowledge for the full age range
of the path selected. Candidates for Exceptional Needs or Vocational
Education may select the path which represents the area in which
they have the most training and experience, even though it may not
match the path(s)represented by their classroom portfolio. Candidates
indicate a path choice for the assessment center on their Candidate
Context Form.
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