"Accreditation is an activity, not a status. Schools are accredited because of the way they move, not the way they stand."
To earn and maintain accreditation from NCA CASI or SACS CASI, schools must:
In addition, accredited schools pay annual accreditation fees that are used to provide accredited schools with research-based standards, nationally-trained quality assurance review team chairs, high-quality resources and tools, and ongoing professional development.
Term Accreditation
The accreditation process is based on a five-year term accreditation. The process provides external checks, support, and feedback to help schools continuously improve. The following chart outlines the process over the five-year term.
The AdvancED Accreditation Standards serve as the foundation for the accreditation process. The seven standards and accompanying indicators are tied directly to the research on factors that impact student learning. The seven standards address the following areas:
Accredited schools adhere to the standards and use them as a tool for ongoing self-assessment. They use the standards to continually ask themselves, "What more can we be doing to benefit our students?"
Accredited schools use a disciplined approach to document and maintain evidence of their adherence to the standards. They are continually ready to answer the question, "How do we know we meet the standards?"
The Quality Assurance Review
Purpose. Once every five years, the school hosts a Quality Assurance Review team. The purpose of the Quality Assurance Review is to:
Preparation. To prepare for the Quality Assurance Review, the school engages in a comprehensive internal review guided by the AdvancED standards. Schools hosting QAR visits through June 2010, complete the Standards Assessment Report as part of their internal review. Schools hosting QAR visits beginning July 2010 complete the Self-Assessment and Executive Institutional Summary. The school uses the AdvancED web-based reporting system to submit all required reports. Reports must be completed within six weeks of the scheduled review.
The Team. The Quality Assurance Review team is led by an AdvancED trained and certified team chair who is appointed to the school by the NCA CASI or SACS CASI State Office. Team members are selected for the team by the state office with input and discussion from the team chair to ensure that team members reflect areas of need/focus for the school. The size of the team varies depending on the size of the school, with teams ranging from 3-7 members.
Length of Visit. The review is scheduled by the NCA CASI/SACS CASI State Office and lasts a minimum of two full days.
The Review. While on site, the Quality Assurance Review Team provides an orientation, conducts interviews with members of the school community, visits classrooms, collects and reviews evidence, and meets to review findings. The team provides an oral exit report to the school, highlighting commendations, opportunities for improvement, and required actions for improvement. The team also recommends an accreditation status for the school.
The Report. Following the visit, the review team completes the Quality Assurance Review Report and submits it to a nationally-trained reader who reviews the report to ensure it is well-written, is of high quality, and contains targeted required actions that will enhance the school's capacity to improve student learning and school effectiveness. The school then receives the final report and uses the required actions in the report to guide improvement efforts.
Continuous Improvement
Accredited schools are committed to being better today than they were yesterday. This commitment to continuous improvement is demonstrated by the school's adherence to the standards and implementation of a quality improvement process that yields results for students.
Flexibility in Choice of Process. Schools may use the improvement process of their choice that meets the requirements of the AdvancED standards. This may include the use of the state's improvement model, NCA CASI's eight-phase school improvement model, Breakthrough School Improvement, or any number of improvement processes that schools have found to be effective in enhancing organizational effectiveness and student performance.
Efficacy of Process. The Quality Assurance Review team examines the quality of the implementation of the process and looks for evidence of the effectiveness of the chosen school improvement process. The team offers guidance and support on ways to enhance the school's continuous improvement efforts.
Accreditation Progress Report. Following the Quality Assurance Review team visit, the school submits a progress report detailing the actions and progress the school has made on the team's required actions. The progress report is intended to serve as a tool for schools to stay focused on the required actions of the team and to use the team report as a guide to enhancing their school's improvement efforts. The report is also used as a monitoring tool by the NCA CASI/SACS CASI State Office to provide assistance to the school and to ensure that the school is addressing any deficiencies in the standards.
The Accreditation Decision
The NCA CASI/SACS CASI State Office receives the Quality Assurance Review Team Report. The office works with a the AdvancED State Council of practitioners to review the team's accreditation required actions and other evidence to recommend an accreditation status for the school. The state's recommendations are reviewed at the national level, where a final accreditation status is granted. The Accreditation Progress Report and other documentation gathered over the course of the school's accreditation term are reviewed on an ongoing basis at the state and national levels to ensure continued adherence to the standards.
Making Excellence a Habit
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."
|
