An Overview of the Accreditation Process
Introduction
The accreditation process has long been recognized in international school circles as a highly effective means of initiating and maintaining school improvement and demonstrating adherence to a set of publicly stated standards. The information contained in this Overview is intended to clarify the various aspects of the accreditation process, its declared purpose, the procedures involved in the self-study and team visit components of the process, and the benefits that accreditation offers to a school.
On request CIS or NEASC may undertake an evaluation alone, in collaboration with each other, or in collaboration with another accrediting association. When two agencies are involved, the school produces one Self-Study and hosts one Team Visit. The Chair and Co-Chair, representing the two associations, convey the recommendations of the Team to their respective organizations. Each association makes its own independent decision with regard to the possible accreditation of the school.
A. Purpose of the Accreditation Program
There are a number of benefits associated with the award of accreditation to a school, but the main aim of this evaluation program is to provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the education offered at the school through a rigorous process of self-examination followed by an objective external appraisal by a team of peers, focusing on student learning and well being. The resulting Visiting Team Report and the independent actions of the accrediting association(s) attest to the quality of education at the evaluated school.
The Underpinning Concepts
The accreditation process helps a school use its mission, vision and objectives to guide its development and to ensure that school systems and services have student learning and well being as their primary focus.
B. Criteria for Evaluation
Each school is evaluated against two basic 'benchmarks', these being:
Each school is required to have clear statements of vision, mission, and educational goals. Such guiding documents/statements may have different names depending upon the individual school, but in each school they must align with the standards under Section A. Most importantly, each school’s programs and services will be assessed in terms of how successful they are in meeting its own stated vision, mission, or educational goals.
2. The Standards for Accreditation
Each school is required to align its operations with a set of written standards that cover every aspect of a school’s operation. These common standards, grouped in seven sections (A-G) have been developed, reviewed, and endorsed by educational peers representing the accrediting organization(s). The focus of the standards in every section is on student learning and well being.The Standards for Accreditation are designed to reflect the characteristics of a high quality educational experience. However, they do not pre-suppose any specific model of excellence nor do they suggest comparing the characteristics of one school with those of another. The guiding principles of the accreditation process are that a school will be evaluated against prescribed standards (but in relation to its own guiding statements) and that the school’s program and services are appropriate for its unique demography.
C. Outline of the Accreditation Process
The process involves these five essential stages which are repeated on a routine ten-year cycle:
1. The Preliminary/Preparatory Visit
A school seeking accreditation for the first time hosts a Preliminary Visit, usually lasting three days and normally involving one or two visitors. This booklet provides specific information about this visit.
2. The Self-Study
The self-study, lasting one to two years, is the most important part of the entire evaluation and accreditation process, both in the commitment of time and effort involved and in the value to be derived. The self-study begins with the Part One Committee creating a School Profile which is a central repository of data and information that can be used by other self-study committees and by the Visiting Team and which includes information on a broad range of student achievements. The Part One Committee also collects and analyzes data from opinion surveys reflecting the views of all constituent groups in the school community.
In Part Two, the school conducts a searching and reflective review of its own operations with each self-study committee using the results of the recently completed profile, the opinion survey data and the school’s own guiding statements as the starting point for its work.
Part Two of the self-study is divided into seven Sections, listed below. Each Section covers a major area of the school’s operation, for which there are Standards for Accreditation against which the school will rate the degree of alignment. Indicators for each Standard will guide the school in understanding the meaning of the standards and also in assessing the degree of its own alignment with the stated Standards.
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A
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Guiding Statements
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B
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Teaching and Learning
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C
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Governance and Leadership
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D
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Faculty and Support Staff
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E
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Access to Teaching and Learning
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F
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School Culture and Partnerships for Learning
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G
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Operational Systems
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The report for Part Three of the self-study will consist of a synthesis of the major conclusions of each of the self-study committees and a discussion, with recommendations to the school’s leadership, of how plans for improvement could be incorporated as part of the school’s long term planning or existing strategic planning initiatives.
Please refer to ‘The Guide’ and ‘The Self Study’ booklet for more information.
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3. The Team Visit
Following the successful completion of the self-study, the Team Visit will be conducted by a team of trained and suitably qualified administrators and teachers, drawn from other CIS/NEASC member schools.
The primary function of the Visiting Team is to assist the school by providing an objective assessment of the conclusions of the self-study and by articulating specific recommendations for school improvement. The Team visits the school for approximately one week to see it in action. Team members visit classrooms and other work places and campus facilities, examine documentation compiled by the school, and speak with students, parents, members of the administration, faculty and support staff, and the Governing Body. They examine all aspects of the school in the light of the self-study findings, the school's own Guiding Statements and unique demography, and the Standards for Accreditation focusing on student learning and well being.
The Visiting Team will write a detailed report which will address each of the three parts of the self-study. The Visiting Team will also make an overall recommendation with regard to possible accreditation of the school directly to the respective agencies.
Please refer to ‘The Team Visit’ booklet for more detailed information.
4. Decisions on Accreditation
CIS (through structures reporting to the Board of Trustees) and NEASC (through the CAISA Commission) will review carefully the Visiting Team Report and consider the recommendation of the Visiting Team relative to possible accreditation of the school. Those processes will result in recommendations upon which the CIS or NEASC Board of Trustees may act:
The CIS Board decision may be to:
- award Accreditation or Re-Accreditation.
- award Accreditation or Re-Accreditation with specific qualifications.
- postpone Accreditation or Re-Accreditation for some specified reason(s).
- not award Accreditation or Re-Accreditation.
The CAISA Commission decision may be to:
- award Accreditation or Re-Accreditation.
- award Accreditation or Re-Accreditation with specific qualifications.
- postpone Accreditation or Re-Accreditation for some specified reason(s).
- not award Accreditation or Re-Accreditation.
Any adverse decision is subject to appeal by the school. Adverse accreditation decisions are defined as denial of accreditation, placement on probation, postponement of accreditation, or termination of accreditation.
5. Subsequent Procedures
A number of follow-up procedures have been established, including:
- The Two Year Report is prepared by the school at a date to be specified by CIS or NEASC/CAISA (approximately 24 months from the Team Visit). This shall contain a summary of the recommendation responses already completed by the school and Action Plans for addressing the other recommendations of the Visiting Team. An on-site visit may be required at the option of CIS or NEASC.
- A Five-Year Report that shows how the school has addressed the Visiting Team’s recommendations following its own action planning. CIS and NEASC will expect also to see evidence of planning for the future included in this report. Schools must indicate whether they are still well aligned with Standards and demonstrate that systems are still in place to ensure on-going alignment. Receipt of the school’s Five-Year Report will be followed by an on-site visit by at least two persons representing the accrediting agencies; these visitors will themselves write a comprehensive report for review and response by the respective agencies. The school’s plans may well need to be reviewed according to the Five Year Visitors’ comments.
- Special Reports and/or Special Visits may be required at any stage of the accreditation cycle if considered necessary by the agencies.
Please refer to ‘The Subsequent Procedures’ booklet for more detailed information.
D. Benefits of the Accreditation Process
The award of accreditation itself
The school's own claim to excellence, however well justified, will always be open to question in the absence of an objective verification of quality. The school's earning of accredited status from a respected agency can be very reassuring to parents and faculty. It is an indication to the school community and to other individuals and establishments (including universities) that the school offers a quality education.
The opportunity for self-assessment
To some extent continuous improvement is already a goal of schools, but not at the level to which self-evaluation is taken during the writing of the self-study when the school is working to meet clearly stated external standards and demanding deadlines. Schools earning accredited status tend to agree that introspection has been the most valuable aspect of the entire process. Also of significant benefit is the opportunity for school staff to meet collaboratively, often across disciplines and divisions of the school, to discuss issues, to identify concerns, and to propose improvements.
The opportunity for improved intra-school contact and understanding
In some schools it is quite possible to go from year to year feeling that staff members in other areas are vague acquaintances at best and that the concerns of other sections are of little interest to them. It is the common experience of schools undergoing evaluation that the accreditation process is a unifying force in a school.
The opportunity to receive an external assessment
The Team Visit involves a detailed, objective evaluation which reflects the perspectives of fellow professionals who have been trained in the evaluation process and who are familiar with both the Standards for Accreditation and the unique nature and concerns of International schools.
A plan for the future
The Self-Study document, the Visiting Team Report, and the Two Year and the Five Year Reports serve as guides to planning for the school as they identify both strengths upon which to build and developing areas for attention. This information will help to move the school forward with a goal of ongoing improvement.
Maintaining the right points of focus
The accreditation process will help the school to ensure that it is focusing on certain vital aspects of its existence – most notably: the quality of student learning aided by the best possible teaching, student well-being, the promotion of internationalism/inter-culturalism, and the planning and actions necessary to support these features.
Affirmation of the school's needs
It may be that Governing Body members, faculty and support staff, leadership, students or parents have felt the existence of certain needs for some time. The Visiting Team Report will serve to validate concerns and to guide staff, Governing Body and administration in establishing priorities and developing action plans. Schools are encouraged to integrate the recommendations from the various CIS and NEASC reports into its own strategic planning processes to the extent possible.