NBPTS AYA English case studies
NBPTS AYA English · Put your knowledge to work in context.
National Board Certification in Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) English Language Arts is a voluntary, performance-based credential for experienced middle and high school English teachers. Unlike a single sitting exam, it asks you to document and analyze your own classroom practice across a school year: designing literature and composition instruction, examining student work, reflecting on video of your teaching, and demonstrating that you can meet accomplished-teacher standards for students roughly ages 11–18. The NBPTS AYA English case studies are 5 cases and about 3,688 words.
1Whose Talk Counts? A Participation Audit in Junior English
In an 11th grade American Literature class of 32 students, the teacher uses a 90-minute block every other day and a Harkness-style discussion model for The Great Gatsby. The class includes four multilingual learners at WIDA levels 2–3, seven students with IEPs in reading comprehension and written expression, two students with 504 plans for anxiety, and one student who arrived from Guatemala six weeks ago.
700 words, about 4 min2From Theme Hunting to Interpretive Argument in World Literature
A 10th grade World Literature class of 30 students has just finished Things Fall Apart and a short unit on postcolonial poetry. On a formative quiz, 22 of 30 students could state a theme, but only 8 could explain how a literary device develops that theme; 18 responses were mostly plot summary.
733 words, about 4 min3Patchwriting in a Senior Argumentative Research Unit
In a 12th grade composition class of 28 students, the argumentative research paper is due in two weeks. A draft review shows that 9 students have a clear arguable thesis, 14 have a thesis that is a fact or a question, and 5 have no thesis.
746 words, about 4 min4Interim Assessment Data and the Temptation to Reteach Everything
A 10th grade ELA team of four teachers serves 132 students. On the fall interim assessment, 68 percent of students scored proficient on informational reading but only 42 percent on explanatory writing.
735 words, about 4 min5Book Choice, Family Concern, and Inclusive Discussion
A 9th grade ELA class in a suburban high school has 26 students. The department-approved unit centers on a contemporary young adult novel with a gay protagonist and several scenes of family conflict.
774 words, about 4 min