Fall 2002 Issue

Dear NCA CASI Colleagues: Educators have a responsibility and challenge to participate in four aspects of organizational improvement. First, we need to develop and implement a performance-based education system capable of meeting local and state standards and new federal reform legislation. Second we need to develop processes and methods for evaluating the implementation of such a system. Third, we need to develop means of evaluating and documenting enhanced student learning; and fourth, we must demonstrate to schools and districts that multiple improvement models can be focused in one school improvement plan at the building or district level.

As educators we all share a collective interest in the performance of America's students through setting high standards and pressing for continuous quality improvements in our learning systems. We have watched and participated in previous attempts to produce and measure quality. In terms of accreditation, the focus on quality began with inputs: making sure the school had certain conditions present. School improvement evolved from a focus on process to a focus on results. NCA CASI has been focusing on results for the last 15 years with our Outcomes Accreditation model. During this 15 year period, we have learned that quality comes only when all aspects of a learning system get attention-inputs, process, and results. A problem, however, is that all of us to some degree have tried to convince schools that "our way is the best way." The result has been what Tom Peters referred to as the "not invented here" syndrome. Gary Marx, in Ten Trends Educating Children for a Profoundly Different Future observes that, "People of talent and knowledge buy ownership in the learning structure they help create." He goes on to say that as the learning center or school matures and develops capacity for improvement, the changes create a more effective, efficient organization focused on the learning. NCA CASI views this as personalizing the accreditation and school improvement framework.

Educators today are challenged to make connections with others, to collaborate at all levels of the profession, and to bring about a change in the culture of schooling. Ernest Boyer in an NCA invitational seminar in 1988 entitled "Connections" made the following observations: "If educators are to help students perceive those connections that will be needed to survive in future decades, then educators must strive to deliver themselves, their profession, and the nation's schools from the disconnectedness now plaguing American education. The task of education is to ensure both a celebration of the individual and an understanding of the interdependence of the individual within the larger community."

How do we reduce overlap between various accrediting bodies and school improvement initiatives for you at the school and system level? How can we collaborate to assist schools and districts in documenting increased student performance? I believe there is tremendous potential for collaboration among states. The alliance of five regional accreditation associations and two private associations has formed CITA-the Commission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditation. The regional accrediting associations involved in CITA include the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS); the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSACS); the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC); the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges (NASC); and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI). CITA currently has 32,000 member schools that serve nearly 20 million students in the US and overseas. CITA schools employ one million teachers, and will require approximately 30,000 peer evaluators each year as they engage in school improvement.

There are collaborative opportunities for state and local education leaders as well. Accreditation is no longer limited simply to traditional schools and districts. The Department of Defense schools, private and charter schools, schools in others countries, and child care agencies, to name a few, all value and seek accreditation so they can demonstrate to the public that their programs are of high quality.

We know accreditation has to demonstrate value. Schools seek accreditation because they see value in participating in a peer review process or because they want to demonstrate that they can meet high standards. However, there needs to be a cultural change in how our profession views evaluation. Evaluation must be perceived as a learning tool-a vehicle for school improvement. One of our challenges is that too many educators believe that evaluation for improvement is something one does for someone else-for compliance. Until we embrace the idea that evaluation serves the purpose of improvement, we will be hampered in implementing school improvement.

NCA has been positioning itself since 1985 to focus on every child and to look at RESULTS as evidence of effective school improvement. We are committed to an accountability framework that holds districts or systems accountable for increasing their capacity to deliver improved student performance. It is a growth model. We are committed to starting earlier and are initiating early childhood standards this school year. We are committed to long term solutions (three to five years) that rely on multiple measures to demonstrate improved student performance. We recognize the importance of focusing assessments, instruction, and staff development on the standards and curriculum that are in place. We are committed to personalizing accreditation and the Performance Accreditation Framework.

Through making connections, collaborating, and creating a change in culture, NCA CASI has the ability to ratchet up the performance of students in accredited schools and make a difference in the education profession.

Sincerely,

Kenneth F. Gose
Executive Director
NCA CASI

NCA challenges schools to prepare each student for life's transitions.