Composing standards and composing teachers - The problem of national boardcertification

This article considers whether National Board for Professional Teaching Sta ndards (NBPTS) certification may be as much an evaluation of a teacher's wr iting about his or her teaching as it is an evaluation of the teaching itse lf. The experiences of two NBPTS certification candidates are explored. As a theoretical background, an analysis of writing difficulties in NBPTS port folio entries is performed. The candidates' experience with the certificati on process is then interpreted through that theoretical lens to show how ea ch teacher "composed" her teaching. The article concludes that rhetorical s kill is a problematic, unarticulated standard of the board.