A descriptive analysis of the distribution of NBPTS-certified teachers in North Carolina

In this paper, we use a unique data set that includes a panel of all teachers in North Carolina over a 4-year period (1996–1997 through 1999–2000) to describe the distribution of teachers certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) across classrooms, schools, and districts. The sorting of National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) across students is an important equity issue both because these teachers are thought to be exceptionally qualified teachers and because in North Carolina (and many other states) state-level financial incentives are provided to NBCTs, creating an implicit subsidy to those districts and schools where they are employed. Our findings on the sorting of NBCTs across districts, schools and students reflects the research on the distribution of teacher credentials across students: the most disadvantaged districts, schools, and students are least likely to have access to those teachers who are recognized by NBPTS as being exceptionally qualified teachers.