School Accreditation

Accreditation is the process through which a school's services and operations are reviewed by an accrediting agency to determine if the school meets the minimum standards necessary to provide a quality education. There are six private, nonprofit regional accreditation agencies that accredit over 19,000 high schools and 9,000 other schools throughout the nation (Portner, 1997). To qualify for accreditation, schools must conduct a self-study, receive a visit from an accreditation committee, and follow any recommendations the committee makes toward improving its educational programming. Since most colleges prefer to accept students from accredited high schools, accreditation is valuable to students as well as instructors, administrators, school districts, and tax payers.

Keywords Accreditation; Accreditation Agency; Curriculum; Fees; Focus Visit; No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB); Self-Study; Standards

Overview

Although public education falls under some federal agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Education, there is no centralized governance of the nation's schools. In recent years, state and local governments have increased supervision over education, especially with the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act, but schools still have considerable autonomy. For more than a century, educators have seen the need to measure school programs against agreed-upon standards of excellence by awarding accredited status to schools. Six regional accrediting associations provide programs and services to monitor school performance and improvement efforts. These associations serve anywhere from 2 to 19 states. Accreditation agencies aim to maximize student learning by relaying best practices about student learning and support of learning to the schools they serve (New England Association of Schools and Colleges, n.d.[a]).

Applications

The accreditation process begins with a school applying for accreditation and paying all required fees. Guided by standards outlined by the accreditation agency, the school must then conduct a self-study of its programs, a process which can take up to a year to complete. These standards are research-based practices and concepts designed to guide schools in every facet of education, including the academic, civic, and social development of their students. They are periodically reviewed and adjusted in order to stay abreast of current best practices. In recent years, keeping up with best practices has shifted the standards' focus from administration and toward teaching and learning (Manzo, 2000).

The school then receives a site visit from an accreditation committee which evaluates the school on the goals and standards described in the school's self-study. A typical accreditation visit will include interviews with instructors about their curricula, staff members asked about their dropout statistics and other information, an inspection of all facilities, and making sure that the equipment in the labs is all updated and in working order. The committee completes a report on “the quality and comprehensiveness of the school’s self-study, offers recommendations for further study and implementation, and assesses the extent to which standards are met” (Northwest Association of Accredited Schools, 2007, p. iv). The school uses this report to establish goals and begin implementing processes to reach these goals.

A school that is awarded accreditation has met the standards outlined in the self-study, "and is willing to maintain [the standards] and improve its educational programming by implementing the recommendations of the evaluation team" (NEASC, n.d.[a]). Schools may be accredited from anywhere between five and ten years, but a interim site visit or report may be required to document the school's progress toward meeting the accreditation recommendations. The year before accreditation is due to expire, the school begins the accreditation process again with another self-study (Northwest Association of Accredited Schools, 2007).

Accreditation Agencies & Fees

There are six private, nonprofit regional accreditation agencies that accredit over 19,000 high schools and 9,000 other schools throughout the nation (Portner, 1997). Almost all have been in existence since the late 1800s and early 1900s.

• The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSACS) serves five states: Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania plus the District of Columbia (Middle States Association, 2006). It accredits over 60% of the high schools that it serves (Portner, 1997).

• The New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), founded in1885, is the nation's oldest regional accrediting association, and serves six states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont (NEASC, n.d.[b]). It accredits over 75% of the high schools in the states it serves (Portner, 1997).

• The North Central Association of Schools and Colleges (NCASC) serves the most states of any regional accreditation agency: Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming (Portner, 1997; North Central Association of Schools, 2007). It accredits about 50% of the high schools in states that it serves (Portner, 1997).

• The Northwest Association of Accredited Schools (NAAS) serves seven states: Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington (NAAS, 2005). It accredits over 90% of the high schools in states that it serves (Portner, 1997).

• The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) serves 11 states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia (Southern Association of Colleges, 2006). It accredits over 90% of the high schools in the states it serves (Portner, 1997).

• The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), founded in 1962 serves only two states: California and Hawaii (Portner, 1997; Western Association of Schools, n.d.). It accredits about 95% of the high schools in the states it serves (Portner, 1997).

There are annual dues for accreditation. The fee schedules vary with each agency: some charge a flat fee, some base fees on the size of the school, and still others base fees on the type of school (i.e. elementary, middle, high, all inclusive K-12, etc) The lowest annual fee is currently $200 (NAAS, 2006), and the highest is currently over $1,000 (NEASC, n.d.[c]).

Other fees may also be associated with accreditation. In addition to membership fees, schools may be charged self-study fees based on the number of committee members involved, initial visit fees, application fees, revisit fees, rescheduling fees, revisiting fees for schools that require a focus visit, and appeals fees (WASC Fee Schedule, 2007).

Standards of Accreditation

Accreditation agencies develop standards for accreditation that serve as benchmarks for accreditation decisions. As part of a school's self-study, school personnel, students, and the community address each standard by describing how well the school meets it and, if it does not, how it plans to do so in the future. Each accreditation agency may have slightly different standards, but they are all developed to reflect the "minimum requirements that have been substantiated by research, direct observation, or the judgment of experienced educators as basic requirements for a satisfactory program of education" (NAAS, 2007). All agencies cover the basics of curriculum, instruction, assessment, resources, and support services; however, some may focus more on physical plant and facilities, resources, and instruction, while others may highlight continuous improvement, communications and relationships, or instruction, governance, and mission.

Self-studies may also vary slightly. In general, the self-study lists a standard, such as "the school's mission statement describes the essence of what the school as a community of learners is seeking to achieve", followed by a series of expectations that support the standard, like "the school's mission statement represents the school community's fundamental values and beliefs about students learning" (NAAS, 2007). However, these components may be broken down differently. One agency may limit itself to three or four standards and use multiple expectations within each standard, and another may use nine or ten standards without any smaller, supporting expectations.

Depending on the agency, schools may respond to expectations and/or standards through a multiple choice format, an open response format, or a combination of the two. NAAS, for example, asks schools to respond to the expectations by choosing an answer from among "substantially met," "partially met," and "not presently met." For any expectation that is not "substantially met," the school must explain why it isn't being met, and how it plans to meet the expectation in the future.

Examples of different standards and questions from the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools (2007) are noted below:

Teaching and Learning Standard - Mission, Beliefs, and Expectations for Student Learning

• i.e., the school's mission statement and expectations for student learning are developed by the school community and approved and supported by professional staff, the school board, and other school-wide governing organizations.

Teaching and Learning Standard - Curriculum

• i.e., “the curriculum is aligned with the school-wide academic expectations and ensures that all students have sufficient opportunity to achieve each of those expectations.”

Teaching and Learning Standard - Instruction

• i.e., “Instructional strategies are consistent with the school's mission statement and expectations for student learning.”

Teaching and Learning Standard - Assessment

• i.e., “Teachers base classroom assessment of student learning on school-wide and course-specific indicators.”

Support Standard - School Services

• i.e., “the school allocates resources, programs, and services so that all students have an equal opportunity to achieve the school's expectations for student learning.”

Support Standard - Facilities and Finance

• i.e., “the physical plant and facilities meet all applicable federal and state laws and are in compliance with local fire, health, and safety regulations.”

School Improvement Standard - Culture of Continual Improvement

• i.e., “the school has developed and implemented a comprehensive school improvement plan that is reviewed and revised on an ongoing basis” (NAAS, 2007, p. 2-17).

Reports & Recommendations

Schools usually receive the visiting committee's written report with recommendations within a month of their visit. The classification of the visit can vary depending on the accrediting agency. The NAAS, for example, divides its classification system into four categories: approved, advised, warned, and dropped. A school is considered 'approved' when it meets the standards, or will have to make only minor improvements to meet standards. A school is "'advised' when it fails to identify or is in the process of addressing standards that are 'not presently met'" (NAAS, 2007). A school is classified as 'warned' if the school is failing to meet a number of standards, or has continued to miss standards after receiving an 'advised' classification. Schools are normally 'advised' first before being 'warned' to give them an opportunity to meet the standards. A school is 'dropped' and loses its accreditation if, after being 'warned' twice in succession, it still fails to meet standards the school has two consecutive 'warned' classifications and still has not met standards. Rescinding accreditation is ultimately at NAAS's discretion, however.

Further Insights

The Value of Accreditation

Accreditation carries value for students, administrators, instructors, districts, school board members, and taxpayers. Since they are the recipients of a school's educational programming, students are the group most affected by accreditation. If a student has to change schools, his or her credits are more likely to be accepted by the new school if the previous school was accredited; and because accreditation testifies to the quality of a student's education, colleges prefer accepting students from accredited schools.

Accreditation can also be valuable to both school administrators and instructors as it provides them with the opportunity to work toward educational improvement. The self-study process can give these groups a better understanding of their roles within the overall operations of the school, and can help clarify their individual purposes (NASC, n.d.[a]). By giving instructors and administrators the opportunity to analyze present teaching and learning conditions, the self-study process provides direction for the planning and implementation of any needed improvements.

Similarly, accreditation provides school districts with a plan for school review and improvement that they can use to stay in compliance with local, state, and federal mandates. The standards also provide districts with a basis on which they can make comparisons of the consistency of all the schools in the district. These comparisons can help with the school district's mission and with the coordination of curriculum across the district's schools.

Since school board members are responsible for the quality of a schools' educational programming, accreditation can help ensure that their educational policies and plans are sound. The self-study also provides an opportunity for school board members to gain a detailed knowledge about a school's operations.

Taxpayers can also find value in accreditation as it assures them that their schools are using tax money to support rigorous academic standards and meaningful programs. Accreditation can impact property values as well, since communities with accredited schools are more likely to attract new families than those without accredited schools, and parents may choose to move away from a community in which the schools have lost their accreditations (NEASC, n.d.[a]).

Losing Accreditation

Fewer than 3% of all the schools lose their accreditation each year. However, before a school loses its accreditation, it is first placed on probation and given an opportunity to develop a plan to fix its deficiencies (Portner, 1997). Trying to meet an accreditation agency's standards can be expensive. Schools may be in fine standing until an agency updates its standards. In 2002, for example, SACS updated its standards to increase the number of library books a middle school must have on hand for its students from 1,500 to 2,000. Middle schools with more than 1,500 students were likewise required to increase their holdings from 10,000 books to 15,000. One Florida school district with 38 middle schools had to come up with an extra $800,000 to purchase the books required to retain its accreditation (Ishizuka, 2003). Similarly, in 2004 a Massachusetts high school put itself at risk for losing its accreditation when budget cuts forced it to reassign its media specialist as a social studies teacher. It had to prove to the NEASC that the loss of the position didn't deprive students of "adequate library services" (McCaffrey, 2004).

Increasingly, schools that do not receive accreditation may decide to take legal action. Although postsecondary schools often go to court when faced with the loss of accreditation, according to the six regional accrediting agencies, legal action was unheard of in secondary education until 1997 when a group of Hartford, Connecticut parents and district leaders filed a lawsuit against the NEASC and won a state court injunction to temporarily block NEASC from rescinding Hartford Public High School's accreditation. To give some idea of just how important accreditation can be, the mere possibility of the school losing its accreditation prompted the state to take over the entire school district. The district replaced the superintendent and the entire board of trustees, "put a mechanism in place for monitoring district leaders, and replaced much of the administration [at the high school]" (Viadero, 1997).

Conclusion

Although schools are not required to maintain accreditation, losing accredited status can affect a school's prestige and cause it to lose students. “Since more than 85% of colleges and universities nationwide prefer to accept applicants from accredited schools,” students who have choice will prefer to attend accredited schools (McCaffrey, 2004, ¶ 3). Elementary and secondary schools that seek and maintain accreditation demonstrate their desire and ability to uphold high academic standards and continuous improvement.

Terms & Concepts

Accreditation: Accreditation is the process through which a school's services and operations are reviewed by an accrediting agency to determine if the school meets the minimum standards necessary to provide a quality education.

Curriculum: Curriculum is the entire body of courses taught to students.

Focus Visit: A focus visit is a second visit from an accrediting team to specifically determine if the recommendations from the original site visit have been addressed.

No Child Left Behind Act of 2001: The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is the latest reauthorization and a major overhaul of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, the major federal law regarding K-12 education.

Self-Study: A self-study is a guided self- assessment a school completes in preparation for accreditation. The self-study describes the accreditation agency's standards and helps schools determine if they meet these standards or, if not, what they will do to meet the standards.

Standards: Standards are established criteria for institutional quality that must be addressed in a self-study.

Bibliography

Accrediting Commission for Schools. (2007). WASC fee schedule 2007-2008. Retrieved November 10, 2007, from http://www.acswasc.org/pdf_general/WASC_FeeSchedule_California_Hawaii_08.pdf

Cram, H.G. (2011). De-mystifying accreditation: What are the basics?. International Educator, 26, 11. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=66863704&site=ehost-live

Hoffman, E. (2013). Ratings, quality, and accreditation: Policy implications for educational communications and technology programs in a digital age. Techtrends: Linking Research & Practice To Improve Learning, 57, 47-54. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=89941155&site=ehost-live

Ishizuka, K. (2003). Broward schools try to keep accreditation. School Library Journal, 49 , 22. Retrieved October 16, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=9254758&site=ehost-live

Manzo, K. (2000). Secondary accreditation to target academics. Education Week, 19 , 3. Retrieved October 16, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=2871322&site=ehost-live

McCaffrey, M. (2004). MA high school accreditation at risk. School Library Journal, 50 , 22. Retrieved October 16, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=15396585&site=ehost-live

Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges. (2006). About us. Retrieved November 10, 2007, from http://www.css-msa.org/about/index.html

New England Association of Schools and Colleges. (n.d.[a]). The meaning and value of accreditation. Retrieved November 10, 2007, from http://www.neasc.org/neasc/aboutneasc.htm

New England Association of Schools and Colleges. (n.d.[b]). About NEASC. Retrieved November 10, 2007, from http://www.neasc.org/neasc/aboutneasc.htm

New England Association of Schools and Colleges. (n.d.[c]). Commission on Public Elementary and Middle Schools. Retrieved November 10, 2007, from http://www.neasc.org/cpes/cpes.htm#staff

North Central Association of Schools and Colleges. (2007). North Central Association of Schools and Colleges. Retrieved November 10, 2007 from http://www.ncacasi.org

Northwest Association of Accredited Schools. (2007). Annual report and standards for the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools. Retrieved November 10, 2007, from http://www.boisestate.edu/naas/publications/101707/NAAS%20K-12%20Annual%20Report%20April%202007.doc

http://www.boisestate.edu/naas/publications/101707/NAAS%20K-12%20Annual%20Report%20April%202007.doc

Northwest Association of Accredited Schools. (2006). Policies and procedures (2006 Ed.) Retrieved November 10, 2007, from http://www.boisestate.edu/naas/documents/pdf/policyandprocedures.pdf

Northwest Association of Accredited Schools. (2005). Northwest Association of Accredited Schools. Retrieved November 10, 2007, from http://www.boisestate.edu/naas

Portner, J. (1997). Once status symbol for schools, accreditation becomes rote drill. Education Week, 16 , 1. Retrieved October 16, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=9704093947&site=ehost-live

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. (2006). Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Retrieved November 10, 2007, from http://www.sacs.org

Viadero, D. (1997). Hartford high school retains accreditation, gets probation instead. Education Week, 17 , 6. Retrieved October 16, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=9710304040&site=ehost-live

WASC International Accreditation. (2011). International Educator, 25, 11.Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=57997981&site=ehost-live

Western Association of Schools and Colleges. (n.d.). Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Retrieved November 10, 2007, from http://www.wascweb.org

Suggested Reading

Bernhardt, V. (2001). The school portfolio tool kit: A planning, implementation, and evaluation guide for continuous school improvement. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.

Flanders. (1997). Educational improvement through school accreditation and peer review. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University.

National Study of School Evaluation (2004). Accreditation for quality school systems: A practitioner's guide. Schaumburg, IL: National Study of School Evaluation.

Simmons, E. (1976). The emerging trend towards elementary school accreditation. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University.

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (2004). Accreditation and school improvement: The handbook for the next generation. Decatur, GA: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement.