Maintenance of Certification candidates who deferred in 2019-2020 and/or 2020-2021
Requirements for Exceptions and Portfolio Submission during COVID-19 NBCTs who Deferred in 2020-2021and are submitting MOC in 2022
The National Board is committed to ensuring you have the 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. 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
Extension of NBCT Certificate Expiration – Exception
These exceptions will not continue after the pandemic.
If you are an NBCT who intended to pursue MOC in 2020-21 and deferred to 2021-22, your certificate’s expiration has been extended to ensure it does not lapse while you are submitting MOC. If you are an NBCT who was pursuing Renewal and then deferred to 2021-2022 and switched to MOC, your certificate’s expiration has been extended to ensure it does not lapse while you are submitting MOC.
If you 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.
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.
Requirements for Portfolio Submissions
The following guidance is provided to MOC 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 MOC components, etc.) will not be scored.
Time Period for Evidence Collection
The time period for video collection requirements remains the same as stated in the MOC Instructions and will continue after the pandemic.
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.
Variety of Evidence
The variety of evidence requirements for MOC candidates remain the same. They were in place before the pandemic and will continue. Requirements can be found in the MOC Instructions.
In particular, a video is required and must meet the requirements stated in the instructions.
Evidence Collected Online
Some candidates have asked whether they can use the evidence collected online for their student work samples, summative assessment materials, and data. 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.
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
You will develop evidence using the format requirements in MOC Instructions. 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 MOC instructions for class composition guidelines. If you do not adhere to the class composition requirements for MOC, 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 class composition requirement was in place before the pandemic and will continue.
The requirement will be upheld that at least 51% of the students in the class(es) or group of students that you use to complete Component 2 must be within the stated age range for the certificate area during the period in which you collect evidence for your portfolio. This requirement is in place because National Board Certification is specific to students in a particular developmental level and content area. Refer to the MOC Instructions.
Rostered Class – Exception
This class composition exception applies to MOC candidates who will submit in 2022. 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 MOC instructions provide exceptions for some certificate areas such as Music, Library Media, School Counseling, so follow the MOC instructions–except “rostered class” now means you can draw from multiple rostered classes to form one class or group.
Number of Students
MOC instructions 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). Regarding class size, keep in mind that your ultimate goal is to provide strong evidence of how you positively impacted student learning and continue to meet the high standards of accomplished practice that Board certification represents. You are allowed choice in determining the number of rostered students needed to accomplish this objective. Consult the MOC instructions for guidance.
Filming Videos
Editing for Anonymity – Exception
This exception applies to MOC candidates who will submit in 2022. 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 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 the 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
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. See the MOC instructions for video requirements.
Face Masks
Face masks and/or shields are allowed. They were allowed before the pandemic and will continue to be.
Forms
Release Forms– Allowance
This allowance reflects exceptions that were allowed in the past and will continue to be allowed for all candidates in the future.
For MOC, 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 an 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.
Additional Resources