Sharing the Wealth:National Board Certified Teachers and the Students Who Need Them Most

Abstract

It is a commonly understood problem in education that many highly qualified teachers tend to gravitate toward higher performing schools, including schools with lower minority enrollments and lower incidence of poverty. This article explores the distribution of a subset of teachers, namely, those who are National Board Certified. To what extent do these teachers' assignment choices mirror the pattern of their non-Board Certified colleagues and to what extent are they different? Part of a larger study of Board Certified Teachers in lower performing schools, the article examines the distribution of NBCTs in the six states with the largest number of them'California, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, and South Carolina. The research finds that, with the exception of California, Board Certified Teachers are not equitably distributed across schools that serve different populations of students. In five of the six states examined, poor, minority, and lower performing students are far less likely to benefit from the teaching of an NBCT than are their more affluent, majority, higher performing peers. The article explores some possible explanations for the California distribution pattern as well as the kinds of incentives provided across the states for teachers to seek Board Certification and for those who earn it. The authors conclude with a rationale and a set of policy suggestions for realigning the distribution of NBCTs.

Assessing Accomplished Teaching

“…Using these data, Goldhaber, Perry, and Anthony (2003) and Humphrey, Koppich, and Hough (2005) compared the characteristics of employment settings for board-certified and nonboard-certified teachers. The initial 0 ASSESSING ACCOMPLISHED TEACHING study by Goldhaber et al (2003) focused on teachers working in North Carolina schools.…”

“…The initial 0 ASSESSING ACCOMPLISHED TEACHING study by Goldhaber et al (2003) focused on teachers working in North Carolina schools. Humphrey et al (2005) expanded on this, studying the employment settings of board-certified teachers in the six states that employ nearly 65 percent of the board-certified teachers: California, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, and South Carolina. We focus on the latter study because of its broader coverage of multiple states.…”

“…Humphrey et al (2005) investigated the extent to which this goal is being realized. The researchers classified schools according to their performance on the state's achievement tests and based on characteristics that tend to correlate with academic achievement (large numbers of minority children and children who participate in the federal free and reduced-price lunch program).…”

The Impact of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards: A Review of the Research

“…However, in trying to isolate the relatively few NBCTs in the state with particular certifications, even in the state with the largest number of NBCTs, the number of cases influencing the findings is dramatically reduced. Humphrey, Koppich, and Hough (2004) and Koppich et al (2007) employed a different methodological approach to explore the issue of NBCT distribution. Using data from respective state departments as well as information from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), they examined distribution patterns in the six states with the highest population of NBCTs.…”

Allocating Resources within a Big City School District: New York City after Campaign for Fiscal Equity V. New York

“…Furthermore, applicants who earn certification appear more effective at raising student achievement and have a greater impact on low-income students (Goldhaber and Anthony 2004). Unfortunately, only 12 percent of nationally certified teachers teach in high-poverty schools (greater than 75 percent free or reduced priced lunch) (Humphrey, Koppich, and Hough 2005).…”