Increased professional respect and some increase in salary are the rewards for participating in the certification scheme of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in the US. The board offers teachers the opportunity to have their work assessed over a 10-month period in order to become a nationally certified teacher. There are currently 4,804 teachers holding the qualification. Next month that number is set to almost double as 4,500 teachers are expected to qualify. As the scheme has developed over the past decade educators believe it is extremely important in offering teachers the opportunity to gain professional recognition of their abilities. In 39 states this is backed up by a package of annual salary increases of up to $5,000.