National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
Click on any of the questions below to get more information about National Board Certification.
Who administers National Board Certification?
What subsidies are available to Hawaii candidates?
What certificates are available?
How long is national board certification valid?
When will I learn the results?
Where can I get more information on the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards?
Who administers National Board Certification?
National board certification is administered and conferred by The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). It is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization of teachers and other education stakeholders who are working to strengthen the teaching profession and to improve student learning. The majority of the 63 board members are regularly engaged classroom teachers.
The standards describe the highest level of teaching in different disciplines across different student development levels. They represent a consensus among accomplished teachers and education experts about what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do.
The standards are based on five core propositions:
Teachers are committed to students and their learning.
Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students.
Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning.
Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience.
Teachers are members of learning communities.
Specific standards for each field can be found on the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Web site
To be eligible, you must:
Hold a baccalaureate degree
Have taught for a minimum of three years
Have held a valid state teaching license for those three years, or where a license is not required, have taught in schools recognized and approved to operate by that state.
What subsidies are available to Hawaii candidates?
The Hawaii Teacher Standards Board
The Board administers the National Board's subsidy program when funding is available. The application deadline is September 15 of every year. Application forms may be downloaded from the Board's Web site starting from July or August. Please check back.
The Department of Education and the Hawaii State Teachers Association
As ratified in to the 2003-05 statewide teachers contract, National Board Certified Teachers will receive $5,000 a year for the life of the contract. In addition, teachers may receive $1500 upon completing the certification process and a reimbursement of the remainder of the application fee upon achievement of National Board Certification. For more information, contact:
Arlene Lee-Williams
Hawaii State Teachers Association
Phone: (808) 833-2711
What certificates are available?
The list of available certificates is available on the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Web site. Click here to see the information.
How long is National Board Certification valid?
It is good for 10 years from the date of certification.
When will I learn the results?
All candidates will receive their results and feedback no later than December 31 of each year. Assessment scores are provided directly and only to the candidates by the National Board. It is the National Board’s policy to maintain the confidentiality of all candidates.
May I retake portfolio entries or assessment center exercises if I don’t achieve National Board Certification?
Yes. All first-time candidates may bank scores and retake exercises on which they scored less than. 2.75. They may do this for a period of two subsequent, consecutive years from the date of initial score notification. This allows each first-time candidate a total of three years from the date of first application to complete their progress toward National Board Certification. Candidates pay a fee of $300 for each portfolio entry or assessment center exercise they wish to retake.
The Hawaii Teacher Standards Board was created to improve the quality of the teaching profession by ensuring that teachers hired in the State of Hawaii are fully licensed and qualified to teach in the subject area(s) in which they were hired.
Hawaii Teacher Standards Board
650 Iwilei Road #201
Honolulu, HI 96817
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