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School Accreditation

School accreditation is "a process of continuous improvement," says the Southeast Association of Colleges and Schools one of six regional accrediting commissions in the U.S. Each year, thousands of public and private schools, colleges and universities seek accreditation--a kind of Good Housekeeping seal of quality.

How Does a School Become Accredited?

As the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement, another of the nation's regional accrediting commissions explains, schools become accredited by meeting the commission's standards, conducting a self-study, and adopting a model of continuous school improvement (also known as seeking an endorsement) focused on improving student performance. Schools seeking accreditation share their improvement models with a team of visiting fellow educators who provide objective feedback and recommendations. Accreditation is granted on an annual basis. Periodically, each school hosts a review team composed of educators who assess the school in meeting standards and make recommendations for school improvement.

School accreditation is hardly new. In fact, the regional accrediting commissions have been operating for many years. But school accreditation has been criticized in the past as focusing too much on "inputs" rather than "outputs." That is, critics said the accreditation standards focused too much on indicators of school quality, especially school resources and how they were allocated, instead of on educational outcomes-most notably student achievement.

What Are the Characteristics of an Accredited School

The accrediting agencies have worked diligently in recent years to expand the focus of accreditation so that they now list the following as characteristics of an accredited school: 

• It is devoted to a mission. It has a clear understanding of what the results of its program should be for students. 
• It is student-oriented. Its goals must express what it does for the whole student.
• It knows itself. The school operates from an examined vision of service to students, family and community. 
• It is self-correcting. Accredited schools demonstrate a capacity to control their own quality. 
• It keeps its promises. An accredited school delivers the programs and services that it advertises.
• It accepts objective evaluation. Outside evaluators who have no prior involvement with the school or its sponsoring authority provide periodic evaluation.
• It plans for its future. An accredited school continuously has plans that include strategies for improving its quality. 
• It examines student success. Accredited schools obtain and analyze objective evidence on student growth and press for higher levels of learning for all students.
• It participates in the responsibilities of the academic profession. Accredited schools participate in the self-renewing activity of evaluation and accreditation. 
• It is recognized. It cares enough about what it does to seek verification by a recognized accreditation authority. 

Does Accreditation Assure the Future Quality of Education?

Yes, say the accrediting commissions because they provide: 

• standards based on the most reliable educational research available. 
• "best practices" that require member schools to demonstrate through maintaining standards that these "best practices" are being implemented. 
• a focus on the school as the unit of change with participatory decision-making a key element toward improving student performance. 
• a process that requires self-examination with a site-based response from professional colleagues who have no agenda other than helping schools to improve. 

Why Is Accreditation Important?

The accrediting commissions argue that accreditation is important to various constituent groups because it represents a commitment to quality education. With respect to specific groups, they say: 

• Business and industry leaders are interested in quality schools and consider regional accreditation status an important factor when relocating.
• Superintendents realize dollar savings through the peer review process where educators from throughout the state volunteer their services as members of review teams to assess standards and school improvement.
• Citizens are assured of accountability and of value for their tax dollars because their schools meet established standards and undergo regular re-evaluation by teams of professionals whose focus is on school improvement.
• School board members know that their accredited schools compare favorably with schools in other regions.

How Are the Nation's Accrediting Commissions Organized?

The six regional accrediting commissions and the states in which they accredit schools and institutions of higher education are:   

• New England Association of Schools and Colleges: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont
• Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges: District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania
• North Central Association: Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia
• Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges: Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington
• Western Association of Schools and Colleges: California and Hawaii

The regional accrediting commissions also have a national organization, the National Study of School Evaluation (NSSE). NSSE is a non-profit educational research and development organization founded in 1933. 

NSSE offers a variety of publications that are available to interested schools and its member organizations. Some, like its School Improvement: Focusing on Student Performance can be used by schools that are preparing for or renewing their accreditation. But they also are useful to schools that are being held accountable for schoolwide school improvement planning and strategic planning. In addition, they can help schools meet the planning requirements for Title I programs. 

NSSE's School Improvement Planning Software Tools help schools and districts develop, implement, and monitor their school improvement plans. The software is organized around a six-part school improvement planning framework developed by the NSSE and the regional school accreditation commissions, and outlined in NSSE's School Improvement: Focusing on Student Performance: 1) developing the profile, 2) defining beliefs and mission, 3) defining the desired results for student learning; 4) analyzing instructional and organizational effectiveness; 5) developing the action plan; and 6) implementing the plan and documenting results.