NBPTS Main Site Requirements for Exceptions and Portfolio Submission during COVID-19

This page provides a summary of exceptions and portfolio submission requirements for candidates pursuing certification, Renewal, or Maintenance of Certification in 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22.

Requirements for Exceptions and Portfolio Submission during COVID-19

The National Board is committed to ensuring you have flexibility for successfully completing and submitting portfolio components during a time when COVID-19 has far-reaching impacts on professional and personal lives. A complete list will be maintained here of all approved extensions, exceptions specific to COVID-19, and allowances we will make for all candidates going forward.

As always, each candidate will make individual choices about how to collect the best evidence possible at this particular time. If these extensions, exceptions, and allowances do not accommodate your situation, you may want to consider deferring to the next cycle, 2021-22. In some cases, deferring might mean starting with a new class or group of students and collecting new evidence for your portfolio component(s).

Be assured that we are committed to upholding the integrity of National Board Certification at the same time as we are committed to maximizing your opportunities for success. National Board Certification will remain a signal that National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) have demonstrated they meet accomplished teaching standards and positively impact student learning. These extensions and guidelines have been determined in consultation with candidates, NBCTs, and outside testing experts. The Five Core Propositions, certificate-specific Standards, component instructions, and the scoring rubrics used to assess your work all remain unchanged.

Extensions

ACTFL Ratings Deadline – Exception

This exception for World Languages candidates will not continue after the pandemic. For World Languages candidates, the date by which you must obtain the required ACTFL ratings will extend one year

if you opted to defer completion of your initial attempt on all four components from 2019-20 to 2020-21.
if you opt to defer completion of your initial attempt on all four components from 2020-21 to 2021-22.

This extension of the deadline for ACTFL ratings is only available to World Languages candidates who

purchased a component(s) in 2019-20 that would have completed their initial attempt on all four components and submitted that purchased component(s) before the 2021 submission deadline.
purchased a component(s) in 2020-21 that would have completed their initial attempt on all four components and submitted that purchased component(s) before the 2022 submission deadline.

That is, if you purchased a component(s) to complete your initial attempt on all four components and defer to complete that component(s) in the next cycle, you may be eligible for an extension of the date by which the required ACTFL ratings must be obtained. If a World Languages candidate completely withdraws all components, they are not eligible for the extension of the date by which the required ACTFL ratings must be obtained. See the Guide to National Board Certification for information about the Additional Prerequisite for World Languages Candidates.

Extensions of Certification Eligibility Window – Exception

These extensions will not continue after the pandemic. The time period for initial and retake candidates to attempt each of the four certification components and/or the time period to achieve certification will be extended one year for candidates who

purchased component(s) in 2019-20 and deferred one or more component(s) to the next cycle, 2020-21.
purchased component(s) in 2020-21 and/or deferred one or more component(s) to the next cycle, 2021-22.

If you deferred a component(s) from 2019-20 to 2020-21, 2019-20 will not count:

towards the requirement to attempt all components for the first time within the first three years of candidacy, or
towards the five-year window to achieve certification.

If you defer component(s) from 2020-21 to 2021-22, you will have an extension on 3- and 5-year component and candidacy windows. This extension is in addition to any extension already applied to your candidacy from components deferred from 2019-20 to 2020-21.

Extension of NBCT Certificate Expiration – Exception

These exceptions will not continue after the pandemic.

NBCTs Pursuing Maintenance of Certification (MOC) or Renewal in 2020-21

If you are an NBCT pursuing MOC in 2020-21 and defer to 2021-22, your certificate’s expiration will be extended to ensure it does not lapse while you are submitting MOC. If you defer and successfully complete MOC in 2021-22, your certificate will be extended 5 years from the date of expiration. All NBCTs who purchased the 1st of 2 attempts at MOC will retain 2 attempts. For more detailed information, please see this resource on Certificate Expirations by NBCT Year.

If you are an NBCT pursuing Renewal in 2020-21 you have three choices: submit your Profile of Professional Growth in 2021 (Renewal), switch to and submit MOC in 2020-21, or defer to 2021-22 and switch to MOC. See the Flexible Options resource for the certificate extensions and certificate expirations that apply to each of those options.

Note that all NBCTs will extend their certificates via MOC in 2021-22, including those who defer from 2020-21. Renewal will no longer be offered.

NBCTs Pursuing Renewal in 2019-20

Renewal candidates who are unable to complete their Renewal submission by June 12, 2020 and do not withdraw can submit their Profile of Professional Growth by October 16, 2020 or defer to the next cycle, 2020-21, and submit in spring 2021 for a 10-year extension of their certificate from its current expiration. Certificate expirations will be extended to ensure these Renewal candidates remain Board certified while awaiting Renewal results.

NBCTs in their 9th/19th year will:

be allowed to complete the current Renewal process in the next cycle, 2020-21.
have their current certificate expiration date extended to 2021.
upon Renewal, earn a certificate that expires in 2031.

NBCTs in their 8th/18th year will:

be allowed to complete the current Renewal process in the next cycle, 2020-21.
upon Renewal, earn a certificate that expires in 2031.
be provided an additional opportunity to complete Maintenance of Certification in 2021-22 if their Renewal attempt in 2020-21 is unsuccessful.
- These NBCTs will have their current certificate expiration date extended to 2022.
- Upon maintaining their certificate, they will earn a certificate that expires in 2027.

The ability to submit a Profile of Professional Growth in 2020-21 for a ten-year certificate is available only to NBCTs who purchased Renewal for 2019-20, did not withdraw and submit by either the June or October 2020 or spring 2021 submission deadline. All other NBCTs will extend their certificates via MOC beginning in 2020-21. Automatic extensions of certificate expirations for Renewal candidates awaiting Renewal results are available only to NBCTs registered for Renewal in 2019-20.

Requirements for Portfolio Submissions

The following guidance is provided to certification, MOC, and Renewal candidates in need of flexibility for successfully completing and submitting their portfolio components in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Five Core Propositions, certificate-specific Standards, component instructions used to develop and submit your evidence, and the scoring rubrics used to assess your work all remain unchanged. Portfolios not having all the required materials (videos, forms, all Renewal PPG or MOC components, etc.) will not be scored.

If this additional guidance does not accommodate your situation and allow you to submit by the deadlines, you may want to consider deferring to the next cycle. For some candidates and some components, deferring might mean starting anew with a new class/group of students and collecting new evidence for your portfolio component(s).

Time Period for Evidence Collection – Exception

The time period for evidence collection exceptions will not continue after the pandemic.

The time period for portfolio evidence collection will be extended only for candidates

who purchased components in 2019-20 and submit by either the June or October 2020 or spring 2021 submission deadline. If a candidate withdraws the component(s) from the 2019-20 cycle, the exception for time period for evidence collection will not apply to that component(s).
who purchased components in 2020-21, defer a component(s) to 2021-22 and submit by the spring 2022 submission deadline. If a candidate withdraws the component(s) from the 2020-21 cycle, the exception for time period for evidence collection will not apply to that component(s).

Certification Components 2 and/or 3

Submitting in 2020 or 2021

For Certification, regardless of whether a candidate submits Component 2 and/or Component 3 by the June 2020, October 2020, or spring 2021 deadline, the period for evidence collection may have begun as early as April 1, 2019. This date is based on the opening date of the ePortfolio submission window in 2019-20 as described in the Guide to National Board Certification. If you submit a component featuring a class and/or students and evidence that date from earlier than April 1, 2019, your component will not be scorable and you will receive a code of NS on your score report instead of a numerical score.

Candidates who submit Component 3 in October 2020 or spring 2021 may submit both videos from one school year, or candidates may submit one video from the 2019-20 school year and a second video from the 2020-21 school year. See Component 3 instructions for more information about selecting classes to feature. This exception will not continue after the pandemic.

Deferring from 2020-21 and Submitting in 2021-22

If you defer Component 2 and/or Component 3 from 2020-21 to 2021-22 and submit by the 2022 deadline, the period for evidence collection may have begun as early as April 1, 2020. If you submit a component featuring a class and/or students that date from earlier than April 1, 2020, your component will not be scorable and you will receive a code of NS on your score report instead of a numerical score.

Candidates who defer Component 3 to 2021-22 and submit by the 2022 deadline may submit both videos from one school year, or candidates may submit one video from the 2020-21 school year and a second video from the 2021-22 school year. See Component 3 instructions for more information about selecting classes to feature.

Certification Component 4

Submitting in 2020 or 2021

Regardless of whether a candidate submits Component 4 by the June 2020, October 2020, or spring 2021 deadline, the following apply:

The class/group and assessments that you feature must come from the time frame that begins April 1, 2019.
The identification of a professional learning need and student need and actions taken to address those needs may come from as early as April 1, 2018, but evidence of the impact on student learning of the actions taken to address the needs must be gathered beginning no earlier than April 1, 2019.
Knowledge of Students and Generation and Use of Assessment Data sections must be based on one class or group of students. Candidates are not allowed to use evidence from different rostered classes, period, and not across school years.
Participation in Learning Communities evidence does not have to be drawn from the same school year as the evidence for Knowledge of Students and Generation and Use of Assessment Data.

See the Portfolio Instructions and Scoring Rubric for Component 4 for more details. If you submit your Component 4 portfolio with one or more sections that feature a class, an assessment, a need, and/or evidence that is older than the time period allowed, your component will not be scorable and you will receive a code of NS on your score report instead of a numerical score.

Deferring from 2020-21 and Submitting in 2021-22

The following rules apply to all candidates who defer Component 4 to 2021-22 (including those who are deferring the component for a second time) and submit Component 4 by the 2022 deadline:

The class/group and assessments that you feature must come from the time frame that begins April 1, 2020.
The identification of a professional learning need and student need and actions taken to address those needs may come from as early as April 1, 2019, but evidence of the impact on student learning of the actions taken to address the needs must be gathered beginning no earlier than April 1, 2020.
Knowledge of Students and Generation and Use of Assessment Data sections must be based on one class or group of students. Candidates are not allowed to use evidence from different rostered classes, period, and not across school years.
Participation in Learning Communities evidence does not have to be drawn from the same school year as the evidence for Knowledge of Students and Generation and Use of Assessment Data.

Retakes

For Retakes of portfolio components, the student work samples or video recordings contained in a retake component must be completely new and original, i.e., not identical or amended versions from any component previously submitted. See the Scoring Guide for more information.

If you submit by the June 2020, October 2020, or spring 2021 deadline, the student work samples or video recordings may have occurred as early as April 1, 2019.

If you defer from 2020-21 to 2021-22, the student work samples or video recordings may have occurred as early as April 1, 2020.

If you do not adhere to this rule, your component will not be scorable and you will receive a code of NS on your score report instead of a numerical score.

Maintenance of Certification (MOC)

The rule for video recording in the MOC Instructions applies to all MOC candidates. For MOC, you may begin video recording for Component 2 as early as September 1st of the third year since your initial certification if you initially certified in 2017 or later OR the eighth year since your initial certification or since your most recent Renewal if you initially certified in 2016 or before.

Renewal

For Renewal, you may begin video recording for Profile of Professional Growth (PPG) Component 2 as early as September 1 of your eighth/eighteenth year of National Board Certification regardless of whether you apply during your first or second Renewal opportunity. For Component 3 in the Renewal PPG, the video could have been recorded and learner work collected at any time during your current decade of National Board Certification.

Variety of Evidence

The variety of evidence requirements for initial certification, Renewal, and MOC candidates remain the same. They were in place before the pandemic and will continue. Requirements can be found in both the General Portfolio Instructions and certificate-specific portfolio component instructions for initial certification candidates, the Profile of Professional Growth for Renewal candidates, and the MOC Instructions for MOC candidates.

In particular, video(s) are required and must meet requirements stated in the instructions. For example, Component 3 videos for initial certification must show different instructional units, and the contents of the two videos combined must represent different instructional formats and different teaching strategies. You are not required to feature more than one instructional format or teaching strategy in a single video, although you may. You must be sure, however, that the combined contents of your two videos represent a breadth of the content area and show at least two different instructional formats (i.e., large group, small group, one-on-one, classroom, laboratory, or other configuration that is appropriate for your situation) and two different teaching strategies.

Evidence Collected Online

This guidance applies to initial and retake certification candidates, MOC candidates, and Renewal candidates.

Some candidates have asked whether they can use evidence collected online for their student work samples, summative assessment materials and data for Components 2 and 4, and other components. You are allowed to submit evidence collected online; however, you should carefully consider the extent to which a sudden transition of your classroom to an online environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic allows you to demonstrate the principles in the rubrics for those components.

Component 4 requires candidates to use assessments for formative and summative purposes with the same class of students for which you have developed the group profile. You are allowed to submit evidence of assessments administered online; however, you should carefully consider the extent to which a sudden transition of your classroom to an online environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic allows you to demonstrate sound assessment principles in the Component 4 rubric.

Review the rubric(s) and the Standards in your certificate area as you determine whether you will submit using evidence collected during the previous school year or if you would like to begin anew with a new group of students. You might consider, for example, the extent to which your online assessment is appropriate for formative or summative purposes. You might also consider the extent to which you can get an accurate sense of student progress or set new learning goals based on the analysis of assessment results in a new learning environment that could be very different from the one in which the formative assessments were given.

Formatting Your Evidence for Electronic Submission

This guidance applies to initial and retake certification candidates, MOC candidates, and Renewal candidates.

You will develop evidence using the format requirements in the certificate-specific Portfolio Instructions and Scoring Rubric for each component if you are a candidate for initial certification, or in the MOC Instructions or Profile of Professional Growth if you are an NBCT. You will upload your portfolio components in electronic format to the electronic portfolio management system. Be sure to pay close attention to the stated page limits, video time limits, and video editing and audio enhancement rules as there will be no exceptions allowed.

Class Composition

Consult the instructions for your certificate area for all class composition guidelines. If you do not adhere to the class composition requirements for your certificate area, your component will not be scorable and you will receive a code of NS on your score report instead of a numerical score.

Age

This requirement applies to initial and retake certification candidates, MOC candidates, and Renewal candidates. It was in place before the pandemic and will continue.

The requirement that at least 51% of the students in the class(es) that you use to complete your portfolio components must be within the stated age range for the certificate area during the period in which you collect evidence for your portfolio will be upheld. This requirement is in place because National Board Certification is specific to students in a particular developmental level and content area. Refer to the component instructions for your certificate area.

Rostered Class – Exception

This exception applies to MOC candidates, Renewal candidates, initial and retake certification candidates submitting Components 2 and/or 3 in 2020, 2021, and those who defer Component 2 and/or 3 from 2020-21 to 2021-22. It does not apply to Component 4. This exception will not continue after the pandemic.

Students can now be drawn from more than one of your or another teacher’s rostered classes from the regular school day and school year in order to form a class or group. Students may not be drawn from non-rostered groups such as a tutoring group, after-school program, or club.

The instructions for some certificate areas such as Music and School Counseling may state exceptions, so follow your certificate area instructions–except “rostered class” now means you can draw from multiple rostered classes to form one class or group.

Number of Students

This guidance applies to initial and retake certification candidates, MOC candidates, and Renewal candidates.

Portfolio instructions often do not state a required minimum number of students and therefore allow for less than full class (e.g., if permission for the student to be included in your work was not granted). Consult the instructions in your certificate area. There are a few components in a few certificate areas that do require a minimum number of students in the instructions.

Filming Videos

Editing for Anonymity – Exception

This exception applies to initial and retake certification candidates, MOC candidates, and Renewal candidates submitting components in 2020 or 2021 and to those who defer from 2020-21 to 2021-22. This exception will not continue after the pandemic.

Candidates should try to preserve anonymity throughout their entire portfolio, including their videos, in accordance with the General Portfolio Instructions and component instructions. Candidates using video of virtual classroom(s) should do their best to set up the video so that only students’ or adults’ first name is displayed in the video.

However, if you are unable to remove personal identifiers despite all reasonable efforts, submitting a video with personal identifiers will not impact the review of the submission. If a candidate is unable to remove personal identifiers, for any reason, the candidate should submit the video without making any edits to cover names. Editing videos to remove personal identifiers is not an allowed edit.

Layout of Virtual Classroom Videos– Allowance

This allowance applies to videos created for initial and retake certification components, Renewal, and MOC. It reflects exceptions that were allowed in the past and will continue to be allowed for all candidates in the future.

Videos of virtual classrooms no longer have to be split screen. Videos of virtual classrooms can be a split screen recording, a platform-provided recording (Google Meet, MS Teams, etc.), or a video made with a camera/phone/tablet that captures the teacher at the computer with students on the screen. . Regardless of the way in which a candidate chooses to film a virtual classroom, it will be important to show interaction between the teacher and students, as well as among the students. If this interaction is not clearly seen in the video, the result will be more limited evidence for assessors to score. See instructions and tips on recording in the instructions.

Visibility – No change

For initial and retake certification candidates, here are the guidelines about visibility in the Component 3 instructions. Your portfolio component will not be scored if you fail to meet these requirements:

The videos should show as much of the class as possible, but it is acceptable to focus on a particular student while he or she is talking. Use a camera angle that includes as many faces of the students in the class as possible.
You and your students must be seen and heard in both videos. It is important for assessors to be able to see and hear you and your students interacting, your students interacting with each other, your students’ reactions to what you are doing, and their engagement in learning. Lessons conducted asynchronously are not an acceptable form of evidence, because they do not contain these interactions.

For Music candidates completing Component 2, the instructions do not require you to be visible in the video segments. Music candidates should follow instructions in Recording Your Video Segments.

For Renewal candidates completing their Profile of Professional Growth, the Component 2 instructions require you to appear and be heard and identifiable in at least one segment of the video in which you are teaching to a rostered class. Your PPG will not be scored if you fail to meet this requirement.

For MOC candidates, you and your students must be seen and heard in the video, and the lesson must be conducted synchronously. Your portfolio will not be scored if you fail to meet these requirements.

Breakout Rooms

This clarification applies to initial certification candidates only. If you are recording a virtual lesson, you can include breakout rooms in your video provided the recording is continuous and unedited. Moving from the whole group to virtual breakout rooms is similar to transitioning from the whole group to a small group during in-person instruction. Editing the video because you and/or your students are moving to a breakout room is not an allowable edit. See instructions for further information.

Face Masks

This guidance applies to initial and retake certification candidates, MOC candidates, and Renewal candidates. Face masks and/or shields are allowed. They were allowed before the pandemic and will continue to be.

Forms

Release Forms– Allowance

This allowance applies to initial and retake candidates, MOC candidates, and Renewal candidates. It reflects exceptions that were allowed in the past and will continue to be allowed for all candidates in the future.

For each of the three portfolio components, you are required to seek and receive permission to use images and some of the materials you include in your portfolio. Candidates may accept Adult and Student Release forms via email and/or with electronic signature in the event they cannot collect hand-signed physical copies. Candidates may create their own forms, but they must use the same language used on the National Board’s Release Forms. Candidates may choose to use these google forms.

Video Date Attestation Forms for Renewal Component 2– Allowance

This allowance reflects exceptions that were allowed in the past and will continue to be allowed for all candidates in the future. Video date attestation forms for Renewal Component 2 do not have to be submitted with a handwritten signature from an administrator. An email or electronic signature on the video attestation form will be accepted. Attestation from a teacher of record, other than yourself, is also acceptable.

Classroom Layout Forms for Renewal

If you are submitting a video for Renewal of a virtual classroom, use the Classroom Layout Form to identify students on screen by first name. This form helps evaluators understand the context and commentary for the video recording. The sketch will not be evaluated.