National Board Certification as a Support for Work with Historically Underserved Students: A Case Study of Washington State Teachers

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National Board Certification as a Support for
Work with Historically Underserved Students A
Case Study of Washington State Teachers

• Hilary Loeb
• University of Washington
• Human Services Policy Center
• Washington Education Research Association
• December 7, 2007

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Overview of National Board (NB) Certification
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National Board for Professional Teaching
Standards (NBPTS) Background

• Sizable investment in teacher development since
  1987
• Emerging positive evidence
• Positive impact on instruction
• Association with improvements in student learning
• Difficulties with the process
• Teachers of color and teachers working with
  historically underserved populations
  underrepresented
• Critiques of validity of the assessment

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National Board for Professional Teaching
Standards (NBPTS) Background

• Washington state represents supportive policy
  context
• Over 1,800 NBCTs
• Program housed in OSPI
• Nonprofit organization devoted to improving
  conditions of teaching
• Strong collaboration between state and union
• Increase in stipend for NBCTs

Number of NBCTs in Washington
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National Board for Professional Teaching
Standards (NBPTS) Background

• NBCTs compared with all teachers in Washington
• Higher proportion clustered in Puget Sound region
• Smaller proportion in high-poverty schools
• Smaller proportion in schools with higher
  proportions of students of color
• Defining high-needs schools is imprecise
• Poverty measure of school
• Proportions of students of color
• Property wealth
• Student achievement
• Proxy for this study was 30 students of color

Selected Teacher Characteristics in 2005-2006
School Year for WA
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Study Questions

1. Are NBCTs more likely than their counterparts who
   have not earned the advanced certificate to hold
   beliefs and report practices that are well-suited
   to the needs of students of color and students
   living in poverty?
2. What accounts for the shared beliefs and
   practices of NBCTs in high-needs schools?
3. In what ways do NBCTs in high-needs schools
   perceive policies and supports that might
   encourage larger numbers of NBCTs to work in
   schools serving greater proportions of students
   of color and those from low-income households?

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Study Framework Accomplished Teaching of
Students from Historically Underserved Racial,
Ethnic and Socioeconomic Groups
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Study Framework National Board Certification in
Washington State Framework for Policy Actions
and Policy Concerns
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Study Methodology Iterative Mixed-Methods Design
Phase 1
Phase 2
Fast-response surveys of WA teachers
Semi-structured interviews Review of NBPTS
Standards and policy documents
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Study Methodology Iterative Mixed-Methods Design
Methodology Participants/Data Sources Focus Analysis
Six Web-based Surveys 9-19 WA NBCTs 81-136 WA teachers Focused analysis on teachers working with at least 30 students of color Teacher assignment Working conditions Professional development State reform Diversity Retention and mobility Frequencies Descriptive statistics Cross tabulations Correlation
Two Semi-Structured Interviews 12 WA NBCTs working in schools with at least 30 students of color Beliefs and practices Incentives and supports Sensemaking about data Constructivist grounded theory Narrative inquiry techniques
Document Review NBPTS Standards NBPTS Key Policy Documents Background information about NBPTS Reform Accomplished Teaching framework Constructivist grounded theory
The analytic approaches in each methodology also
included triangulation of key claims through they
assertions that came through other analyses.
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Study Methodology Making Sense of NB
Certification as a Multifaceted Experience

• Data analysis led to a more nuanced view of NB
  Certification
• Four interrelated aspects of NB Certification
  guided the development of key study claims
• Shared characteristics of teachers who
  successfully earn National Board Certificates
• Change in beliefs and practices associated with
• Portfolio preparation
• Support group participation
• New status as accomplished teachers

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Question 1 Comparing NBCTs and the General
Population of Teachers

• Deeper knowledge of assessment
• NBCTs reported that they integrate assessment
  into classroom instruction more extensively (35
  vs. 13 strongly agree)
• Greater engagement in professional learning
• NBCTs invest more time 6.6 vs. 5.9 days in
  calendar year
• Stronger affinity for cultural competence
• NBCTs more likely to discuss issues of race,
  language and ability that are part of our world
  (89 vs. 65 a moderate amount or a great deal)
• Need for continued growth in serving students of
  color
• Half of NBCTs do not see themselves as very
  prepared to manage the diverse learning needs in
  their classrooms

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Question 1 Comparing NBCTs and the General
Population of Teachers

• Greater likeliness to cite school climate as a
  reason to move schools
• NBCTs more frequently reported school values and
  mission (41 vs. 16) as moderate or strong
  reasons to move
• Greater likeliness to cite collegiality as a
  reason to move schools
• NBCTs more frequently reported that the amount of
  time and events that make collaborative work
  possible as moderate or strong reasons to move
  (47 vs. 24)
• Greater participation in teacher leadership
• NBCTs more frequently reported selecting
  textbooks and other instructional materials (89
  vs. 56 reporting a fair amount or a great deal
  of involvement)
• No differences in participation in mentoring
  activities
• One-third of teachers from both groups reported
  this activity

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Question 2 Accounting for the Shared Beliefs
and Practices of NBCTs - NB Certification Effects

• Greater use of collaborative learning structures
  associated with NB Certification experience
• Increased use of and formative assessment and use
  of multiple assessment tools
• Greater rigor in instruction
• Greater flexibility in viewing student progress
• Deepened knowledge of individual students
• Outreach to parents and caregivers

• I would say, the beginning of my teaching career
  we studied something and then wed take the test.
  And I would say Ive gotten much moremy
  assessments become much more multifaceted. And
  so well have discussions, and Im getting much
  better...So I have group open book quizzes, not
  just end of book tests. I have the kids do
  presentation or essays or writing poetry. I
  would say I do a lot of variety. Its no longer
  read the book and answer the question (Interview,
  Laura Pritchard, 5/8/06).

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Question 2 Accounting for the Shared Beliefs
and Practices of NBCTs - Characteristics not
Linked to NB Certification

• Commitment to social justice
• Critical stance about public education
• Varied use of multicultural curricula
• Use of knowledge construction practices
• Preparing students for civic life

• Id say the Board process, I dont think it
  really emphasized my sensitivity. I think it,
  again, it sort of validated it because the
  majority of my work has been with kids with
  exceptional needs and kids from difficult homes
  and troubled backgrounds and ethnic differences.
  And one of the things that Ive tried to
  incorporate into my career and into my life and
  to who I am as a teacher is to have awareness of
  those differences and to have some sensitivities
  (Interview, Stephen Holden, 5/18/06).

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Question 2 Accounting for the Shared Beliefs
and Practices of NBCTs - Varying Treatment of
Self-Awareness in NBPTS Standards

• NBPTS Early Childhood
• Generalist Standards
• They consider the roles their own cultural
  background, biases, values, and personal
  experiences play in their teaching (p. 60).

• NBPTS English as a New Language Standards
• Teachers consider the effects of their own
  cultural backgrounds, biases, values, and
  personal experiences on their teaching. They are
  alert to their own philosophical, cultural, and
  experiential biases and take these into account
  when dealing with students whose background,
  beliefs, or values may differ substantively from
  their own. They carefully work through such
  differences and treat students fairly (p. 48).

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Question 3 Perceptions of Policy Supports of
NBCTs in High-Needs Contexts

• Stable, collegial work environments may be a
  factor in success
• Important policy tools
• NBPTS Standards
• NB candidate support groups
• Stipends
• Professional networks
• Leadership opportunities

• I find again, National Board teachers talk about,
  discuss, throw ideas off each other that you
  dont findat least I dont find in my school
  that Im in. And so its a different level of
  professionalism. And I enjoy that. So I always
  try to go. Theyre wonderful people and very
  knowledgeable and I always walk away with a new
  book title or something I can implement in my
  classroom (Interview, Beth Kantor, 6/24/06).

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Question 3 Perceptions of Policy Supports of
NBCTs in High-Needs Contexts

• Preference for program supporting NB candidates
  in high-needs contexts over incentives to move
  schools
• Factors inhibiting growing the number of NBCTs
• Perception of unfairness
• Lack of feedback
• Perception of difficulty
• Key organizational contexts
• State
• Districts
• Schools

• And if in fact that teacher has been in the same
  school and its a high needs school, the idea of
  supporting them in their certification pursuit
  within that school, it seems to me, intuitively,
  with no data behind me, that they would be more
  likely to continue in their home school. What we
  dont know is once they achieve that stature of
  NB certification and become a hotter commodity in
  the job market, would they then be drawn away
  (Interview, Wendy Loring, 5/31/06).

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Study Limitations and Approaches to Addressing
Them

• Reliance of self-reports in surveys and
  interviews
• Triangulation among claims found in surveys,
  interviews and document analyses
• Small sample size for surveys
• Decision rule of including differences in
  responses greater than 15
• No secondary NBCTs outside of Language Arts and
  no non-White NBCTs in interview sample
• Can not generalize to the beliefs and practices
  of all NBCTs in high-needs contexts
• Subjectivity an inherent part of qualitative
  research
• Honest self-presentation, ongoing reflection,
  member checks and discussion of challenges I
  encountered throughout the research process

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Implications and Further Questions

• NB Certification as both capacity building and
  system changing?
• Transfer of responsibility for student learning
  to teacher following NB Certification
• Potential of critical mass of NBCTs in a building
  and/or district
• Promising lines of inquiry longitudinal designs
  that depict instructional and leadership
  practices
• Potential roles of schools and districts
• Need for greater awareness of school and district
  leaders of NB Certification
• Need for targeted support in high-needs contexts
• Promising lines of inquiry case studies probing
  mechanisms of support in high needs contexts

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Implications and Further Questions

• Missed Opportunities in the NB Certification
  Process
• Do silences in the study indicate lack of
  attention to certain multicultural practices in
  the NB Certification process?
• Varying treatment of multicultural practices in
  NBPTS standards
• Mixed implementation of multicultural curriculum
  and materials
• Limited discussion of civic preparation
• Limited discussion of knowledge construction
• How could NB Certification better support
  teachers growth in aspects of their cultural
  competence?
• Revisions to portfolio entries
• Revisions to standards
• Revisions to standards acceptance procedures
• Focused support group activities

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Thank You

• Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy
• Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession
• University of Washington College of Education
• Washington Education Research Association
• For more information please contact Hilary Loeb
  at hloeb_at_u.washington.edu