Teachers are familiar with testing – though in most cases they’re administering them, not taking them.

But for 13 Issaquah School District teachers that wasn’t the case this past year, as they undertook rigorous testing to become National Board Certified teachers.

“It was the most intense thing I have ever done, and I went to an Ivy League college,” said Rena Pitasky, a 6th and 7th grade math teacher at Pine Lake Middle School.

“But it’s such a gratifying experience.”

National Board Certification is a process that requires teachers to examine how they develop and deliver lessons, and how they demonstrate leadership in their schools and communities.

It is also the only certification process that rates a teacher’s knowledge and skills against a national set of professional standards.

“These newly certified teachers have spent a tremendous amount of personal time and effort to become the best practitioners they can be, and I thank them profusely for the positive impact they will make on children’s lives in their classrooms,” Issaquah School District Superintendent Steve Rasmussen said.

“A powerful classroom teacher is the most influential educational factor on a student’s success.”

To become certified, teachers go through a two-part process: a written assessment, comprised of six-half hour components, and submission of a four-part portfolio.

The portfolio consists of videos of live classroom teaching, analysis of student work samples, lesson plans, and a description of accomplishments outside of the classroom that affect student learning.

The recently-certified teachers averaged about 400 hours each putting together their submissions, according to the school district.

“It’s a serious process; intense, and really challenging,” Pitasky said.

“Especially when you’re still working, teaching classes every day, and have kids at home.

“But it feels amazing (to be certified).”

A total of 28 teachers in the Issaquah School District are now board certified, and another 27 are undergoing testing.

State-wide 2,717 teachers – about 5 percent – are certified, ranking Washington eighth in the nation.

In addition to the financial benefits of achieving National Board Certification – in Washington, teachers receive an annual bonus of $5,000 for the 10-year life of the certificate – teaching processes are significantly improved.

Michele Van More, who teaches 8th-grade social studies at Pine Lake Middle School, said the ability to have a thorough look at her lesson plans and understand what worked and what didn’t was hugely beneficial.

“Having to examine what I’m doing and why I’m doing it transcended into the rest of my lessons,” she said.

“Really thinking about it made me go through some of my lessons and revise them to be more in-depth, or student-led, and some were just ditched.

If I couldn’t answer why I was doing it, I got rid of it.”

Leah Van More, a 9th-grade science teacher at Pacific Cascade Freshman Campus, echoed that thought and said that once the practice of examining lessons becomes a habit it’s not something easily given up.

“(The process) puts you in a mindset to continuously look at what you’re doing, and now you’re just in that mindset where everything you do is in the best interest of the kids,” she said.

“You’re constantly examining your own practice and looking at what’s going to increase student learning.”

For many teachers, the certification process can take up to three years.

Approximately 40 percent of teachers pass on the first try.

Those who don’t then have two years to retake the sections they failed.

Michele Van More said she was shocked to discover she had passed.

“I actually sat down with a pen and paper to write down what I needed to retake,” she said.

“When I read the first line and it said ‘Congratulations,’ I was blown away.

“I read it three times, and even checked to make sure my name was on it.”

Leah Van More said the accreditation process had been very rewarding for her.

“You get such a surge of confidence about your teaching, because it’s been scrutinized and sent out for others to judge,” she said.

“You’ve stacked your teaching processes against those nationwide, and are found to be exceptional.”