In this month's issue of Philanthropy, Michael Poliakoff asks some pointed questions about the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), the nonprofit organization created in 1987 to identify and reward "master teachers." First, do the students of board-certified teachers achieve more than students whose teachers have not achieved this "distinction"? Second, are the board's evaluation procedures even capable of identifying "master teachers"? Poliakoff, president of the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), argues that the answer to both questions is likely no. Inconclusive results emerged from the only study to date that has investigated the effect of board certification on student achievement. And the Board's own guidelines instruct evaluators to "ignore errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar, and simply to concentrate on evidence of pedagogical skills and proper attitude." See why it's time for a serious evaluation of NBPTS and some "hard-nosed" competition in the realm of master teacher certification in "Mastering the Basics," by Michael Poliakoff, Philanthropy, October 2001. (available to subscribers only)
For a na??ve look at how the National Board's procedures work from the perspective of a school district trying to get its teachers certified, see several articles in this month's Catalyst: Voices of Chicago School Reform.
An article in this week's Education Week describes the alternative to the National Board that Poliakoff is helping to launch: "New Organization Aims to Develop Tests for Teachers," by Julie Blair, Education Week, October 17, 2001.