National Board Certification Helps Teachers Meet the "Highly Qualified Teacher" Requirements of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act

     National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) teaching at the middle and secondary level, and teaching within the subject field they earned their National Board Certification, meet the federal definition of a "Highly Qualified" teacher as described in the federal NCLB Act.

     NBCTs teaching at the elementary level meet the definition of a highly qualified teacher so long as the state has indicated within its "HOUSSE" (high, objective and uniform state standard of evaluation) regulations that National Board Certification meets subject matter competency requirements. A number of states have already done so including California, Massachusetts, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and South Carolina. Since the creation of National Board Certification, subject matter competency has been a central component of the certification process. Content knowledge exams are required in all certificate areas for all grade levels. Furthermore, the National Board's subject matter competency exam is the most rigorous and in-depth assessment in the teaching profession.

     For more information, contact your state department of education or David Lussier at the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, [email protected].