Students of National-Board Teachers Gain Slight Edge

Ninth and 10th graders in the Miami-Dade County school district whose math teachers were certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards scored slightly higher than other students on a Florida mathematics exam, a study finds.

The study by the CNA Corp., a research organization in Alexandria, Va., was conducted by reviewing roughly 108,000 student records from the district from the 1999-2000 and 2002-03 school years.

“In this study, [national-board certification] proved to be an effective signal of teacher quality,” writes Linda C. Cavalluzzo, the author and chief investigator for the study. “To increase student outcomes in the nearer term, the challenge for school systems will be to implement professional-development programs or strategies that change practices so more teachers will adopt methods used by those who have...