Upheaval Hits Teacher-Credentialing Board

But number of ABCTE aspirants in pipeline increases sixfold.

A federally financed group that offers a route to teacher certification through standardized tests alone has reached its fourth anniversary amid signs of organizational trouble and a glimmer of future promise.

Kathleen A. Madigan, the founding president of the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence, resigned last month. Meanwhile, the Education Leaders Council, the conservative-leaning group of education officials that got the board started in 2001, has been labeled a “high-risk grantee” for its handling of millions of dollars in federal grants.

Then, late last month, Kate Walsh, the president of the National Council on Teacher Quality, quit the ABCTE board of directors. Ms. Walsh’s group, which promotes teaching-related policies such as performance pay and alternative certification, was also spun off by the ELC, but she has been trying to distance her organization...