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National Institute for Excellence in Teaching

EIN 20-2268389 · Scottsdale, AZ

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthStrong95 out of 100GovernanceStrong100 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

BUILDING EDUCATOR EXCELLENCE TO GIVE ALL STUDENTS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR SUCCESS.

Income
$32.5 million
Spending
$26.7 million
Spent on programs
86%
Reserves
25.6 months of spending
Largest source of income
fees for its services, 76%
Employees
121
Volunteers
5
Highest pay
$481,461, ceo

Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Strong: 95 out of 100. Higher than 92% of charities in its peer group (education, $10m to $100m).

  • Reserves

    35 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 25.6 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 4% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 18% of income.

  • Income trend

    10 of 15

    Income fell 3% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    86% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 50% of charities in its peer group (education, $10m to $100m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    6 of 7 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    7 of 7

    Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Pay set independently

    5 of 5

    Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.

  • Independent check of accounts

    15 of 15

    Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Impact evidence

Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.

Programs described in its return (1)
  1. $22.9 million spent. NIET PURSUES IMPROVING EDUCATOR EFFECTIVENESS AND THE NATIONAL K-12 EDUCATION SYSTEM THROUGH DESIGNING AND IMPLEMENTING EFFECTIVE, COHESIVE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING SYSTEMS. WE CATEGORIZE OUR WORK INTO FIVE SERVICE AREAS:THE TAP SYSTEM FOR TEACHER AND STUDENT ADVANCEMENT:THE TAP SYSTEM REMAINS NIET'S COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO ESTABLISHING SUSTAINED STRUCTURES FOR BUILDING EDUCATOR EXCELLENCE AND INCREASING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT GROWTH. SINCE ITS INTRODUCTION IN 1999, THE TAP SYSTEM HAS LED TO DRAMATICALLY IMPROVED OUTCOMES FOR STUDENTS AND CHANGED THE TRAJECTORY OF ENTIRE SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES. OVER 95 PERCENT OF PARTICIPATING TAP SCHOOLS (SEE SCHEDULE O FOR CONTINUATIONS) ARE HIGH-NEED AND SERVE DIVERSE AREAS - FROM PHOENIX TO RURAL TENNESSEE. THROUGH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF FOUR INTERRELATED KEY ELEMENTS (MENTIONED ABOVE), TEACHERS ARE IMPROVING THEIR INSTRUCTION AND THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THEIR STUDENTS. SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT SOLUTIONS:THE SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT SOLUTIONS MODEL IS ROOTED IN PROVEN PRINCIPLES FROM THE TAP SYSTEM AND AIMS TO CREATE EFFECTIVE STRUCTURES FOR TEACHER LEADERSHIP AND FOSTER AN ENVIRONMENT FOR EDUCATORS AND STUDENTS ALIKE TO EXCEL. IT STARTS WITH A STRENGTHS-BASED NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND IS BUILT AROUND ESTABLISHING FOUR KEY ELEMENTS IN EVERY SCHOOL: INSTRUCTIONAL EXCELLENCE, COLLABORATIVE LEARNING, REFLECTIVE PRACTICES, AND COLLECTIVE LEADERSHIP. BASED ON EACH SCHOOL'S STRENGTHS-BASED NEEDS ASSESSMENT, NIET DESIGNS ITS SUPPORT TO ADDRESS THE AREAS THAT WILL MAXIMIZE AND ACCELERATE IMPROVEMENT AND BUILD FOUNDATIONAL SYSTEMS FOR SUCCESS.RUBRIC AND OBSERVATION SYSTEMS:NIET'S TEACHING AND LEARNING STANDARDS RUBRIC, PRINCIPAL STANDARDS RUBRIC, AND ASPIRING TEACHER RUBRIC ARE BASED ON NATIONALLY NORMED, RESEARCH-BASED STANDARDS. EACH RUBRIC CLEARLY DEFINES EFFECTIVE TEACHING AND FOSTERS COLLABORATION AROUND A COMMON LANGUAGE AND VISION THAT LEADS TO STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT. THE RUBRICS BRING A COMPREHENSIVE FOCUS ACROSS KEY DOMAINS, INCLUDING: INSTRUCTION, THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT, DESIGNING AND PLANNING INSTRUCTION, AND PROFESSIONALISM. NIET'S COMPLEMENTARY OBSERVATION SYSTEM PROVIDES SCHOOLS WITH A STRONG, VALID AND RELIABLE INSTRUMENT FOR SEEING HOW TEACHERS AND LEADERS ARE GROWING IN THEIR MASTERY OF THE RUBRICS. THE OBSERVATION SYSTEM IS BASED ON MULTIPLE OBSERVATIONS OF EVERY TEACHER, EVERY YEAR BY MULTIPLE, TRAINED AND CERTIFIED EVALUATORS. ALL OBSERVATIONS ARE FOLLOWED UP WITH A POST-CONFERENCE SESSION BETWEEN THE OBSERVED TEACHER AND THE OBSERVER TO DISCUSS AREAS OF STRENGTH AND REFINEMENT WITH THE SOLE PURPOSE BEING TO HELP THE TEACHER AND LEADER IMPROVE THEIR PRACTICES.THE RUBRIC AND OBSERVATION SYSTEM, IN PARTICULAR, ARE SUPPLEMENTED BY NIET'S EDUCATOR EFFECTIVENESS PREPARATION AND SUPPORT SYSTEM (EE PASS), WHICH INCLUDES HUNDREDS OF HOURS' WORTH OF VIDEOS THAT SHOW EFFECTIVE TEACHING ALONG WITH EVIDENCE AND SCORING AND WHICH ALLOWS FOR ONLINE CERTIFICATION FOR EVALUATORS. EE PASS ALSO INCLUDES A DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM THAT PROVIDES REAL-TIME ACCESS TO EVALUATION DATA, WHICH ENABLES LEADERS TO CONNECT OBSERVATION FEEDBACK WITH PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND ENSURE CONSISTENCY AND RELIABILITY ACROSS OBSERVERS.TEACHER AND LEADER DEVELOPMENT:NIET SUPPORTS TEACHER LEADERSHIP AND PROFESSIONAL LEARNING SYSTEMS THAT CREATE FORMAL STRUCTURES AND GIVE TEACHER LEADERS THE RESPONSIBILITY, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND AUTHORITY TO DRIVE INSTRUCTION. NIET ALSO PROVIDES COACHING AND SUPPORT FOR OTHER KEY ROLES - PARTICULARLY TO EMPOWER PRINCIPALS, DISTRICT, AND OTHER SYSTEM ADMINISTRATORS TO BE INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERS - RECOGNIZING THAT BUILDING DEEP CAPACITY ROOTED IN RICH ACADEMIC PRACTICE IS FOUNDATIONAL TO LONG-TERM SUCCESS. NIET'S WORK IN THIS AREA CONSISTS OF DESIGNING AND SUPPORTING CAREER PATHS AND ADVANCEMENT FOR EDUCATORS AS TEACHER LEADERS, ESTABLISHING SCHOOL-BASED PROFESSIONAL LEARNING SYSTEMS, AND DELIVERING TRAINING AND SUPPORT THAT HELPS SCHOOLS, DISTRICTS, AND STATES PUT TEACHER LEADERSHIP AT THE CENTER OF EFFORTS TO IMPROVE INSTRUCTION AND RETENTION.EDUCATOR PREPARATION PARTNERSHIPS:NIET WORKS HAND IN HAND WITH OVER 100 UNIVERSITIES TO PREPARE A PIPELINE OF THE NEXT GENERATION OF EFFECTIVE EDUCATORS. BY STRENGTHENING THE CONNECTION BETWEEN K-12 AND HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS, NIET'S PARTNERSHIPS EFFECTIVELY PREPARE ASPIRING TEACHERS FOR THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE CLASSROOM. SPECIFICALLY, NIET HELPS EDUCATOR PREPARATION PROGRAMS EMBED RESEARCH-BASED, EFFECTIVE PRINCIPLES FROM THE TEACHING AND LEARNING STANDARDS RUBRIC, PRINCIPAL STANDARDS RUBRIC, AND ASPIRING TEACHER RUBRIC INTO COURSEWORK AND CLINICAL PRACTICES. THIS HELPS TEACHER CANDIDATES TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE COMPONENTS OF EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION AND BEST PRACTICES. NIET ALSO SUPPORTS TRAINING AND MENTORSHIP FOR COOPERATING TEACHERS WHO ARE PARTNERED WITH TEACHING CANDIDATES IN A RESIDENCY OR STUDENT TEACHING EXPERIENCE, WHICH HELPS ASPIRING AND ALL TEACHERS RECEIVE COACHING AND FEEDBACK TO BE MORE EFFECTIVE.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Legitimacy checks

  1. Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.

    Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  2. Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.

    Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.

    Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  3. Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.

    On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.

    Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  4. Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.

    Most recent return on file covers the year ending June 2025.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since March 2005.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  6. Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.

    Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.

    Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.

Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.