NBPTS EA/ELA case studies
NBPTS EA/ELA · Put your knowledge to work in context.
National Board Certification is the highest professional certification available to teachers in the United States, designed-in the National Board's own words-"to develop, retain and recognize accomplished teachers and to generate ongoing improvement in schools nationwide." The Early Adolescence/English Language Arts certificate is one of 25 certificate areas, and candidates in every area complete the same four components. Component 1 is a computer-based assessment of content knowledge and pedagogical practice, delivered through Pearson VUE and consisting of three constructed response exercises and 45 selected response items. The NBPTS EA/ELA case studies are 5 cases and about 3,948 words.
1The Unreliable Narrator Who Isn't
You teach four sections of seventh-grade ELA; second period has 28 students. Your team's common text is a four-page story narrated by a 14-year-old who reports that his older brother 'started it,' though the narrator was upstairs during the pivotal moment.
771 words, about 4 min2One Rubric, Thirty-Two Writers
Eighth-grade ELA, 32 students, 90-minute blocks on Tuesday and Thursday only. You are three days into a persuasive essay unit.
804 words, about 4 min3The Seminar That Shrinks
Eighth-grade ELA, 26 students, three weeks before a graded Socratic seminar on a novel's final chapter. Your discussion tally from the last three seminars: five students took 61 percent of the turns, nine students spoke zero times, and participation was concentrated in the front two rows.
816 words, about 4 min4The Data That Agrees With You
Your argument unit post-assessment shows a class average of 78 percent, up from 71 percent on the pre-assessment. Item analysis: 82 percent correct on identifying a claim; 41 percent correct on judging whether evidence is relevant to a claim; 28 percent correct on explaining the reasoning that links evidence to claim.
815 words, about 4 min5Two Sources, One Claim
Eighth-grade research unit. Students are building infographics on a local question: should the district move middle school start times later?
742 words, about 4 min