National Board Certification Programs

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are the Eligibility and Application requirements?

To be eligible for National Board Certification, you must:

• Hold a bachelor’s degree (Exception: Career and Tech Ed teachers must have met the licensure requirements for the state);

• Have completed three full years of teaching or school counseling; and

• Possess a valid state teaching or school counseling license (Exception: If you are teaching where a license is not required, you have taught in schools recognized and approved to operate by the state).

Meet those three qualifications? Then your next step is to read the Guide to National Board Certification , which provides more in-depth information.

What is the certification process?

Components, Timeline, Payment

The certification process is designed to collect standards-based evidence of accomplished teaching across four components:

• Content Knowledge

• Differentiation in Instruction

• Teaching Practice and Classroom Environment

• Effective and Reflective Practitioner

The cost for each of the 4 components is $475.

The certification process is undergoing revisionover the course of three cycles beginning in 2014. During the rollout, candidates can choose from among the available components.

Certification has been revised to make the process more flexible and efficient for teachers, incorporate the latest research, and reduce the cost.

Since NBCTs have a proven track record of improving student learning and achievement, the National Board is committed to reducing barriers unrelated to the quality of a teacher’s practice to enable more teachers to achieve certification. Beginning in the 2014-15 school year, candidates will be able to choose the order in which they complete the components of the certification process.

What are the Certificate Areas?

National Board Certification is available in 25 certificate areas from Pre-K through 12th grade, structured along two dimensions: the developmental level of the students and the subject area. All certificates are based on the Five Core Propositions, which represent the ideals of the profession, much like medicine’s Hippocratic Oath. These Core Propositions serve as the foundation for National Board Standards – created by teachers, for teachers – that define what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do. It is important that you choose the certificate area that best reflects the age range of your students and the subject you teach because you must be able to demonstrate content and pedagogical knowledge across the full age range of the chosen certificate area (and specialty area, if applicable).

Go to www.boardcertifiedteachers.org for an explanation of the Five Core Propositions and a list of certificate areas.