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Southern states are leading the nation鈥攂y far鈥攊n shaping state policy to encourage teachers to become nationally certified.

More than two-thirds of the more than 32,000 teachers certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards came from Southern states as of December. About one-third came from three states: Florida and the Carolinas.

鈥淭he Southeast took a hard look at itself and said we鈥檙e going to make teacher quality a priority in our states,鈥� said Karen D. Garr, the Southeast manager of the NBPTS, based in Arlington, Va. 鈥淚鈥檓 real proud that鈥檚 what has happened,鈥� she said.

But while the number of teachers who have earned the prestigious certification through a year of testing and self-analysis has risen, interest in the program may be subsiding in some states amid budget woes that put financial incentives in jeopardy.

Observers say the big numbers of board-certified teachers in the South鈥攊ncluding 6,600 in North Carolina and nearly 5,000 in Florida鈥攁re improving the quality of teaching in the region.

After North Carolina started its financial incentives for the credential in the early 1990s, other Southern states followed suit. Fourteen of the 16 member states of the Atlanta-based Southern Regional Education Board offer sizable incentives to teachers who earn national-board certification.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a simple explanation: It comes down to money,鈥� said Debra Massey, a board-certified teacher of 4th graders at East Marion Elementary School near Silver Springs, Fla.

Under Fire

While the program has expanded in some Southern states, it鈥檚 also come under fire.

Detractors charge that research has yet to link national-board certification to improved student achievement鈥攁lthough the first in a series of research studies appears to show such a link. (鈥淔irst Major Study Suggests Worth of National 鈥楽eal,鈥欌�� March 17, 2004.)

Criticism has been compounded by budget problems in many states, prompting some Southern governors to call for an end, or at least a scaling back of financial incentives for teachers who earn national-board certification. (鈥淏oard Stamp for Teachers Raising Flags,鈥� Nov. 12, 2003.)

Cutbacks would be a mistake, warns Barnett Berry, the founder and executive director of the Southeast Center for Teaching Quality in Chapel Hill, N.C., and a longtime proponent of the certification program. 鈥淭he national board represents one of the most path- breaking initiatives for the teaching profession,鈥� he maintained.

But incentives aren鈥檛 cheap, especially for states with large numbers of board- certified teachers. Florida鈥檚 costs for incentives have grown from less than $100,000 in the early 1990s to more than $20 million a year.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, a Republican, proposed for the coming fiscal year a moratorium on his state鈥檚 $7,500 annual bonuses and $2,000 one-time bonuses for teachers who earn the NBPTS label. The GOP-led legislature has restored some of that funding.

Will Folks, a spokesman for Gov. Sanford, said the governor was worried about the rising costs of incentives as the state faces a major budget shortfall in the next fiscal year. He also questioned whether incentives were encouraging the newly certified teachers to work in the neediest schools.

鈥淗ow effective is the program at improving student achievement,鈥� Mr. Folks said, 鈥渁nd how many are going into [struggling] districts?鈥�

Many of South Carolina鈥檚 board-certified teachers, in fact, work in wealthier school districts. One suburban district has 254 board- certified teachers, while schools in 12 of the state鈥檚 poorest, rural counties have only 127 such teachers combined.

Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher, a Republican, has recommended that his state end the $2,000 annual bonuses for nationally certified teachers. His advisers have said that the governor doesn鈥檛 dislike the program, but must cut the budget.

Leaders in other states have found national-board certification worthy enough to keep the dollars flowing.

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, a Republican, backs his state鈥檚 10 percent salary bonuses. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, also a Republican, has backed his state鈥檚 bonuses, which are worth up to 20 percent of the state鈥檚 average teaching salary.

Ms. Garr, now with the national board, helped shape North Carolina鈥檚 state policies that encouraged growth in the certification program. The first teacher-adviser to former Gov. James B. Hunt Jr., she said the state鈥檚 effort benefited from the Democrat鈥檚 leadership as the first chairman of the national program.

Now that the number of nationally certified teachers has grown by the thousands, the pace is expected to slow in some Southern states. Applications in Florida and the Carolinas already are leveling off, Ms. Garr said.

Evidence of Improvement?

Debate over the incentives has become detrimental to teachers who have worked hard to earn the certification, said Mary K. Tedrow, an English and journalism teacher at Millbrook High School in Winchester, Va.

Virginia lawmakers over the years have cut and restored funding for a limited number of the $2,500 stipends the state awards teachers to help them pay the application fees.

鈥淲hat it does to [hurt] morale in the teaching profession is way more expensive to them than the actual dollars,鈥� Ms. Tedrow said of the state鈥檚 wavering on incentives. 鈥淚鈥檝e got three kids in college, and I don鈥檛 have that kind of money to throw away.鈥�

While research may still be trickling in, board- certified teachers in several states say the influence of the program is undeniable on their work, their students, and their schools.

鈥淚f teachers are collecting evidence and data on their students and then reflecting on that evidence and data, they will improve,鈥� said Kathy B. Schwalbe, a program director at the South Carolina Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement, based at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and a former board-certified high school English teacher.

鈥淭hat is having an impact on how business is conducted in classrooms in South Carolina,鈥� she said.

Ms. Massey, the Florida teacher, said the program helped her boost her students鈥� writing-test scores from 20 percent meeting state averages to more than 80 percent. 鈥淚t鈥檚 worth,鈥� she said, 鈥渨hatever it takes.鈥�