WSU News Archive

By Julie Titone, College of Education

PULLMAN, Wash. — Washington State University ranks sixth among institutions in the United States for the number of graduates who earned certification this year from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

 

Of the 6,200 teachers who certified nationally this year, 81 earned their undergraduate degrees from WSU.  The total number of certified teachers nationwide is nearly 100,000. Of those, 6,174 teach in Washington.

Describing certification as the "gold standard” of teaching excellence, National Board officials complimented WSU for being part of the pipeline for accomplished teachers.

 

Washington universities did well overall in the ranking. The top 11 institutions on the list include the University of Washington, Western Washington University, Central Washington and Eastern Washington University. For complete list click here.

 

Washington public school teachers who are certified get a state bonus of $5,000 annually, with another $5,000 annually if they teach in high-need schools.

 

Earning certification is tough, said Debra Pastore of the WSU College of Education. Teachers submit one portfolio with four entries, including an examination of student work and video recordings from the classroom. In addition to the portfolio, teachers are tested on their content knowledge as part of the National Board assessment. The process can take 200 to 400 hours. Less than half of all teachers nationwide get certified on the first try.

 

However, WSU offers a support program for teachers going through the process, and they have a much higher success rate, said Pastore, who directs the program.

 

"Each year, between 60 and 70 percent of our participants certify on the first try,” she said.

 

For more information on WSU teacher education and the National Board teacher certification support program, see http://education.wsu.edu.

 

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