National Board for Professional Teaching Standards' National Teacher Certification. ERIC Digest.

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) was founded in 1987 in response to recommendations regarding the central role of teachers in educational quality. NBPTS establishes rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do; operates a national voluntary system to assess and certify teachers meeting these standards; and advances related education reforms to improve learning. The NBPTS advanced teacher certification system is voluntary (intended to demonstrate experienced teachers' advanced levels of teaching skills and abilities). Teachers are measured against a set of standards established by experienced teachers, teacher educators, and subject-matter experts. NBPTS work is founded on five core propositions (e.g., teachers are committed to students and learning and teachers are members of learning communities). Using these propositions, NBPTS developed content standards for each certification field. Currently, NBPTS has standards available in 26 fields. With each standards document as a foundation, NBPTS works closely with experienced teachers and assessment development experts to develop the performance based assessment that will be the basis for awarding NBPTS certification. This digest examines the development of assessments from 1991 to 2001. Through two recent studies, the positive impact of NBPTS certification on teachers is being documented. (SM)