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The purpose of this paper is four-fold. Following a brief review of recent policy recommendations, two failed attempts to restructure teacher compensation, merit pay, and career ladders are reviewed. Second, research-based recommendations for new approaches to restructuring teacher compensation are synthesized. Next, based on one of these recommendations, actions being taken by an increasing number of states and districts to financially reward teachers who have become certified by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) are delineated and analyzed in terms of their advantages and disadvantages for reinventing teacher-compensation systems. Finally, policy implications are offered. The paper concludes that aligning teacher pay with NBPTS certification is a feasible alternative to reward highly accomplished teachers. Data provided by NBPTS in 2001 indicated an increase in the number of nationally certified teachers in states and districts where financial incentives are available. Policymakers can use certification as a tool to further reform and strengthen the teaching profession. However, national boar