The Distribution of National Board Certified Teachers in Virginia

Abstract

This study provides a descriptive analysis of the distribution of National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) in Virginia, which offers financial compensation to these educators regardless of teaching assignment. Most localities provide additional incentives to recruit and retain NBCTs, again, not targeted or structured in any way. Given the impact of high quality teachers on student learning and the well-documented disparities in access for subsets of the student population, it is important to obtain a baseline measure of NBCT distribution in Virginia upon which leaders might build a plan for reform. Three research questions were addressed: How are NBCTs distributed across Virginia with regards to divisions' ability to pay? In school divisions with a high concentration of NBCTs, what incentive structures do these divisions offer to either support teachers while they apply to NBPTS or to recruit and retain previously successful NBCTs? What are the characteristics of the schools in which NBCTs serve with regards to the race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status of their student populations? The researcher determined NBCTs were distributed unequally across Virginia's divisions and schools based on divisions' ability to pay and student demographics. Formal support structures were found in most high concentration divisions.