National Board Certification and Teachers' Career Paths: Does NBPTS Certification Influence How Long Teachers Remain in the Profession and Where They Teach?

August 2007
Dan Goldhaber, Michael Hansen

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CPRE Working Paper #2007-1R

In light of the fact that certification from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) represents a significant policy initiative for the nation’s public school teachers as outlined in the No Child Left Behind Act, this paper analyzes how obtaining NBPTS certification impacts teachers’ career paths. Using a competing risks model on data from North Carolina public schools, we find evidence suggesting that National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) exit the school, district, and state more frequently than others. These findings are robust to instrumental variables and other tests for robustness. We also employ regression discontinuity methods that support these conclusions, and use this design for further inquiry into the characteristics of teaching assignments for certified teachers relative to unsuccessful applicants. With these tests, we find only limited evidence that NBCTs might utilize the credential to select into teaching assignments with relatively fewer minorities in the student population.

Additional Information

For more information on NBPTS, see their website.