Compare: NBPTS* or ABCTE**
It's apples and oranges, really. NBPTS is for educators looking to refine their teaching practice and usually comes after some seasoned time in the classroom. ABCTE is targeted to the novice, with little regard for the pedagogical skills NBPTS values so highly as one of the profession's most specific requirements for successful teaching.
- The National Board has focused its work on defining standards for accomplished teaching and creating a process by which experienced teachers can be measured against these standards. National Board Certification is not an entry-level certification.
- The American Board is focusing its work on an assessment—primarily a series of tests—to certify both entry-level and experienced teachers.
- While both organizations use a content exam as part of the assessment process, the National Board requires candidates to complete constructed, written responses while the American Board plans to use a machine-scored exam.
- Candidates for National Board Certification must also produce a portfolio that includes extensive written commentaries of their instructional strategies, samples of student work, videotapes of their classes, and documentation from colleagues, administrators, and parents about the impact of theirwork.
- Veteran teachers who seek American Board Certification will have to prove their classroom effectiveness through student results on achievement tests. The American Board hasn't defined exactly how this value-added data will be collected, presented, and assessed.
*National
Board for Professional Teaching Standards
**American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence
