Chapter 15 The National Board for professional teaching standards: An indispensable reform in American education

Abstract

Now nearly two decades into its existence, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) serves as an indispensable reform in American education, not only on its own merits but also in relation to other reform trends, including both standards-based, accountability-oriented developments, and the unfolding of new parental choice and privatization movements. The NBPTS is a major strategy for recognizing and developing outstanding teachers, who are needed in all schools, whether organized around standards and assessments or mobilized via competitive market pressures. Drawing on an analogy with the medical field's National Board for Medical Examiners, this paper discusses the prospects for the NBPTS in the context of American educational reform, making the argument for its centrality, while also discussing the challenges that lie ahead for the Board.

Citation

Sykes, G. (2008), "Chapter 15 The National Board for professional teaching standards: An indispensable reform in American education", Stake, R.E., Kushner, S., Ingvarson, L. and Hattie, J. (Ed.) Assessing Teachers for Professional Certification: The First Decade of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (Advances in Program Evaluation, Vol. 11), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 439-460. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-7863(07)11015-2