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One of the most important issues facing education policymakers is how to prepare students to be productive citizens in an increasingly competitive global economy. While state accountability systems suggest that the proportion of students meeting state benchmarks is rising, performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has been relatively stagnant. Improving teacher quality has been central to significant national education initiatives in recent decades. One-way teachers can demonstrate their skill level and successes in the classroom is by earning certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). The NBPTS was established to help professionalize the field of teaching by providing an accepted definition of what "accomplished" teaching is and recognizing teachers who do their jobs exceptionally well. An original goal of National Board certification (NBC) was to build an authentic assessment system that could reliably measure what experienced teachers should know and be able to do (Carnegie Task Force on Teaching as a Profession, 1986. This study analyzes the NBC among high school teachers in understudied subject areas and locales to help fill gaps in the research literature. The research team selected two locales for this analysis, Kentucky and the Chicago public schools. Chicago, a racially and ethnically diverse city, has one of the largest urban school districts in the country. Kentucky, by contrast, is a largely rural state with some suburban and urban areas. [This report was written with Christine Mokher, Thomas Geraghty, and Lauren Sartain.]

This study responds to a request from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards to analyze National Board certification among high school teachers in understudied subject areas and locales to help fill gaps in the research literature. The authors also were asked to use multiple indicators of performance. The research team selected two new locales for this analysis, the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the Chicago public schools. Chicago, a racially and ethnically diverse city with a population of more than 2.8 million, has one of the largest urban school districts in the country. Kentucky, by contrast, is a largely rural state with some suburban and urban areas. Together, these two locales encompass a full range of public school settings. In addition to examining student test scores, the authors also conducted classroom observations of the instructional practices of high school teachers in science and mathematics, comparing a sample of National Board Certification (NBC) applicants and similar teachers not pursuing this certification. Using the data gathered, the authors found evidence that National Board certification is an effective signal of teacher quality, based on student test scores. They also found evidence that the certification process successfully screens applicants based on their effectiveness. They were unable, however, to find evidence that the certification process itself enhances the instructional quality or effectiveness of teachers who choose to go through it. The following are appended: (1) Leadership by Design (Science Classroom Observation Instrument and Mathematics Classroom Observation Instrument); (2) Rubric for Scoring Classroom Observations (Science Rubric and Mathematics Rubric); (3) A Pilot Test of the Leadership by Design Scoring Rubric for Assessment of Instructional Quality; (4) Construction of the Student Analytic File; (5) Complete Results from All Model Specifications and Outcomes; and (6) Analysis of Ceiling Effects on Instructional Improvement. A glossary, a list of figures, and a list of tables are also included. [This report was written with Christine Mokher, Thomas Geraghty, and Lauren Sartain.]