National Board Certification for Physical Education Teachers

Overview & Synopsis

The mission of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) has three parts: (1) to establish high and rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do; (2) to develop and operate a national, voluntary system to assess and certify teachers who meet these standards; and (3) to advance related education reforms for the purpose of improving student learning in American schools (NBPTS, 2011). National Standards (for NBPTS) in the area of physical education were not published until 1999. At last count, there were more than 91,000 national board-certified teachers (NBCTs) across all certificate areas nationwide, with approximately 1,700 of those in the area of physical education (NBPTS, 2011). The purpose of this article is to advocate for the advancement of physical education and physical education teachers through national board certification (NBC).