This study examined the perceptions of Illinois National Board Certified Teachers (NBCT) about conditions in their current schools and factors influencing the likelihood they would consider teaching in one of the state's hard-to-staff schools. The study was grounded in literature on the effects of National Board Certification on teacher and student learning, distribution of quality teachers in hard-to-staff schools, and conditions, policies, and practices to recruit and retain NBCTs for hard-to-staff schools.

The population for this study was the group of 1,288 Illinois NBCTs who reported serving at least half-time in classroom teaching roles during the 2005-2006 academic year. An online survey about teacher working conditions was administered with 763 participants, yielding a response rate of 59%. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were used to analyze survey responses. Results were reported employing a conceptual framework about NBCTs and working conditions in hard-to-staff schools (Berry, 2005).

Findings from the study are as follows: (1) Illinois NBCTs are committed to their profession with 90% planning to remain in the field and nearly 60% in their current schools. (2) Nearly one-third of participants would consider teaching in another school if it was a better opportunity. (3) Several school-level conditions—concerns about hard-to-staff schools, financial incentives, non-financial incentives, and school safety—were statistically significant in terms of NBCTs' willingness to consider teaching in a hard-to-staff school. Leadership and teacher empowerment showed trends toward significance. (4) NBCTs weigh a combination of factors in making the highly personal decision about where to teach. Overall, they desire to work in settings where the conditions enable them to be successful.