A new voluntary certification process for teachers will help to stimulate improvements in teaching and in schools, advocates said.
The certification process undertaken by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards will recognize exemplary performance in teaching—and establish new, higher standards for teaching performance—explained David Mandel, vice president for policy development for the board.
Currently, Mandel said, standards for beginning teachers are set relatively low, and neither teacher evaluation nor requirements for continued professional growth ensure that teachers eventually attain high levels of performance. "The National Board can help to change that state of affairs," he said.
Voluntary certification will help both the teachers who attain it and the schools in which they work, Mandel said. Depending upon how local districts choose to use their talents, board-certified teachers will be eligible to take on new roles in the instructional program of the school, becoming, for example, lead teachers or experts in curriculum design. Certified teachers also may earn more pay, advocates say.
Under the Board's direction, the development of a set of standards and assessment protocols in the initial certificate fields is close to being finished, and these will help teachers to improve their practice, Mandel and others said. Teachers seeking certification will have to have earned a bachelor's degree and taught for three years. Then they will undergo a rigorous assessment process, partly at their school and partly at an off-site assessment center during the summer. For example, teachers will prepare a portfolio of their teaching practice, including videotapes of their teaching, samples of lesson plans and student work, and reflective essays. Applicants will then spend several days at an assessment center during the summer months. There, they will take a subject matter exam, go through a structured interview, and even evaluate another teacher's practice.
"This is a rigorous performance evaluation," said David Haynes, teacher-in-residence at the Board. "This is no pie-in-the-sky checklist thing."
Haynes, who assembled a portfolio as part of a pilot test of the assessment process, called it "an incredibly powerful learning experience." Having to assemble a portfolio called for him to be much more reflective about his teaching, Haynes said. "This is probably the most intense and important professional development activity of my career," he added. When the assessment process officially begins, teachers who go through it will receive detailed feedback on their results, Haynes said, and that feedback will assist teachers in improving their practice.
Ultimately, the board plans to offer certificates in more than 30 fields. The system is currently being field tested and will be phased in beginning this year.
For more information, contact the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards, 300 River Place, Suite 3600, Detroit, MI 48207.
