A study of the relationship between the National Board Certification status of teachers and students’ achievement: Technical report.
Fisher, S., & Dickenson, T. (2005). Columbia: South Carolina Dept. of Education.
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examining7,274Students, grades4-8
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification Intervention Report - Teacher Training, Evaluation, and Compensation
Review Details
Reviewed: February 2018
- Quasi-Experimental Design
- Meets WWC standards with reservations because it uses a quasi-experimental design in which the analytic intervention and comparison groups satisfy the baseline equivalence requirement.
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Please see the WWC summary of evidence for National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification.
Findings
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores English Language Arts (ELA) |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Grades 4-8;
|
0.10 |
0.00 |
No |
-- | ||
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores English Language Arts (ELA) |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Grade: 7, students ineligible for free or reduced price lunch;
|
710.57 |
707.55 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores English Language Arts (ELA) |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Grade: 4, students ineligible for free or reduced price lunch;
|
414.20 |
411.88 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores English Language Arts (ELA) |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Grade: 8, Free or reduced price lunch eligible students;
|
802.28 |
800.20 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores English Language Arts (ELA) |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Grade 4;
|
409.20 |
407.32 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores English Language Arts (ELA) |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Grade: 5, students ineligible for free or reduced price lunch;
|
508.49 |
506.82 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores English Language Arts (ELA) |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Grade 7;
|
705.71 |
704.05 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores English Language Arts (ELA) |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Grade: 4, Free or reduced price lunch eligible students;
|
403.31 |
401.94 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores English Language Arts (ELA) |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Grade 5;
|
503.83 |
502.51 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores English Language Arts (ELA) |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Grade 8;
|
806.58 |
805.27 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores English Language Arts (ELA) |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Grade: 5, Free or reduced price lunch eligible students;
|
498.70 |
497.76 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores English Language Arts (ELA) |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Grades 4-8, students eligible for free or reduced price lunch;
|
0.10 |
0.00 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores English Language Arts (ELA) |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Grades 4-8, students ineligible for free or reduced price lunch;
|
0.11 |
0.00 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores English Language Arts (ELA) |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Grade: 8, students ineligible for free or reduced price lunch;
|
810.20 |
809.53 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores English Language Arts (ELA) |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Grade: 7, Free or reduced price lunch eligible students;
|
700.60 |
700.37 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores English Language Arts (ELA) |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Grade: 6, Free or reduced price lunch eligible students;
|
599.80 |
600.19 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores English Language Arts (ELA) |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Grade 6;
|
605.78 |
606.31 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores English Language Arts (ELA) |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Grade: 6, students ineligible for free or reduced price lunch;
|
610.07 |
610.69 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores Math |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Grade 4-8;
|
0.05 |
0.00 |
No |
-- | ||
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores Math |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Grade: 6, students ineligible for free or reduced price lunch;
|
624.49 |
621.73 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores Math |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Grade: 4, students ineligible for free or reduced price lunch;
|
420.36 |
418.86 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores Math |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Grade: 5, Free or reduced price lunch eligible students;
|
506.01 |
504.82 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores Math |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Grade 6;
|
616.58 |
614.99 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores Math |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Grade: 7, students ineligible for free or reduced price lunch;
|
716.51 |
715.28 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores Math |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Grade: 8, students ineligible for free or reduced price lunch;
|
812.91 |
811.65 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores Math |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Grades 4-8, students ineligible for free or reduced price lunch;
|
0.11 |
0.00 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores Math |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Grade 4;
|
414.88 |
414.16 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores Math |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Grade 5;
|
511.90 |
511.29 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores Math |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Grade 8;
|
808.26 |
807.54 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores Math |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Grade: 6, Free or reduced price lunch eligibile students;
|
607.50 |
607.24 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores Math |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Grade 7;
|
710.81 |
710.51 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores Math |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Grade: 4, Free or reduced price lunch eligible students;
|
409.02 |
409.13 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores Math |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Grade: 8, Free or reduced price lunch eligible students;
|
801.77 |
801.82 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores Math |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Grade: 5, students ineligible for free or reduced price lunch;
|
518.26 |
518.27 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores Math |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Grades 4-8, students eligible for free or reduced price lunch;
|
0.00 |
0.00 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT): Achievement Scores Math |
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Grade: 7, Free or reduced price lunch eligible students;
|
705.19 |
705.79 |
No |
-- | ||
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
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South Carolina
Study Details
Setting
This study was conducted in elementary and middle school grades throughout South Carolina.
Study sample
This study examined students in grades 4–8 using a quasi-experimental matched-comparison design. NBPTS-certified teachers who taught math or English language arts in grades 4–8 were matched with non-certified teachers who had similar years of teaching experience and who taught in schools with similar school poverty levels and student/teacher ratios as the NBPTS-certified teachers. Non-certified teachers who taught in schools with an NBPTS-certified teacher or NBPTS-applicant teacher were excluded from the comparison group as they may benefit from working collaboratively with certified teachers or applicants. The analytic sample for the mathematics scores includes 1,668 students taught by 144 NBPTS-certified teachers, and 1,668 students taught by 144 comparison teachers. The analytic sample for the English language arts scores includes 1,969 students taught by 187 NBPTS-certified teachers, and 1,969 students taught by 187 comparison teachers. Approximately 47% of students received free or reduced-price lunch. In addition, the authors present subgroup findings by grade (4, 5, 6, 7, or 8) and by whether students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (eligible or not eligible).
Intervention Group
The intervention consisted of regular instruction in mathematics or English language arts for 1 year by a teacher with NBPTS certification. Depending on the grade taught, NBPTS-certified teachers had an average of between 13.7 and 17.8 years of experience.
Comparison Group
The comparison consisted of regular instruction in mathematics or English language arts for 1 year by a teacher who was not NBPTS-certified. Depending on the grade taught, non-certified teachers had an average of between 10.4 and 14.1 years of experience.
Support for implementation
NBPTS-certified teachers automatically received an equivalent of 12 credit hours toward the renewal of their teaching certificates, additional annual pay while maintaining NBPTS certification, and forgiveness of any loans used to pay for the application fee.
An indicator of the effect of the intervention, the improvement index can be interpreted as the expected change in percentile rank for an average comparison group student if that student had received the intervention.
For more, please see the WWC Glossary entry for improvement index.
An outcome is the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are attained as a result of an activity. An outcome measures is an instrument, device, or method that provides data on the outcome.
A finding that is included in the effectiveness rating. Excluded findings may include subgroups and subscales.
The sample on which the analysis was conducted.
The group to which the intervention group is compared, which may include a different intervention, business as usual, or no services.
The timing of the post-intervention outcome measure.
The number of students included in the analysis.
The mean score of students in the intervention group.
The mean score of students in the comparison group.
The WWC considers a finding to be statistically significant if the likelihood that the finding is due to chance alone, rather than a real difference, is less than five percent.
The WWC reviews studies for WWC products, Department of Education grant competitions, and IES performance measures.
The name and version of the document used to guide the review of the study.
The version of the WWC design standards used to guide the review of the study.
The result of the WWC assessment of the study. The rating is based on the strength of evidence of the effectiveness of the intervention. Studies are given a rating of Meets WWC Design Standards without Reservations, Meets WWC Design Standards with Reservations, or >Does Not Meet WWC Design Standards.
A related publication that was reviewed alongside the main study of interest.
Study findings for this report.
Based on the direction, magnitude, and statistical significance of the findings within a domain, the WWC characterizes the findings from a study as one of the following: statistically significant positive effects, substantively important positive effects, indeterminate effects, substantively important negative effects, and statistically significant negative effects. For more, please see the WWC Handbook.
The WWC may review studies for multiple purposes, including different reports and re-reviews using updated standards. Each WWC review of this study is listed in the dropdown. Details on any review may be accessed by making a selection from the drop down list.
Tier 1 Strong indicates strong evidence of effectiveness,
Tier 2 Moderate indicates moderate evidence of effectiveness, and
Tier 3 Promising indicates promising evidence of effectiveness,
as defined in the
non-regulatory guidance for ESSA
and the regulations for ED discretionary grants (EDGAR Part 77).