Overview

A globally recognized standard of excellence, NEASC Accreditation attests to a school’s high quality and integrity.

Accreditation of public schools by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges indicates that the educational institution has conducted a self-evaluation of all of its programs and has hosted a visiting team to evaluate the institution in terms of its own stated educational goals and the Standards for Accreditation of the Commission on Public Schools.

The Standards for Accreditation are a research-based set of practices and concepts that provides guidance to school personnel on all aspects of the education of the young people under their care. The Standards - which are considered to be living documents - are reviewed and revised, as necessary, every five years. The process of review includes surveys of all member schools, specific consideration of feedback provided by schools that have recently undergone an accreditation visit, an appraisal of recent, relevant educational literature, and in-depth discussions at the Commission level. As needed, third parties, including consultants, are contracted to conduct relelvant research to inform the revision of the Standards. The Standards tend to be reflective of current trends in research on public education without espousing one particular mode of thought.

The awarding of Accreditation signifies that the school has met Commission Standards at an acceptable level and is willing to both maintain those Standards and to improve its educational program by implementing the recommendations of the Visiting Team and the Commission. Continued Accreditation is dependent upon a school demonstrating ongoing, reflective progress to improve teaching and learning and the support of teaching and learning.

Membership in and Accreditation by NEASC is similar to membership in professional organizations such as the American Bar Association and the American Medical Association. In each case, a commitment toward continual self-reflection, a pledge to self-improvement and growth, and a desire to maintain the Standards for Accreditation are necessary.

Accreditation is the oldest and most traditional of the Standards-based systems of accountability. A study of the regional Accreditation process conducted by The LAB at Brown University¹ found that the NEASC Accreditation visit, the “signature event of Accreditation,” is built upon a legitimate and valuable methodology for learning how well a school functions. This methodology, which is centered on a dynamic of inquiry, involves a visiting team of peers generating knowledge about practices in the school and then drawing conclusions about how well they align with the Commission’s Standards for Accreditation. The Visiting Team also identifies commendations and recommendations for what the school should do to improve. The results of that assessment are then made publicly available as an indication of the quality perceived and attested to by objective professional educators.

The attendant follow-up procedures are designed to ensure that all valid recommendations are acted upon in a timely fashion. The Commission expects that within five years the vast majority of the recommendations in the Accreditation Report will be completed or have a program/plan in place that will bring them to completion within a reasonable time. The Commission’s general expectation in judging all reports is that the school will continue to make “reasonable progress” toward meeting the recommendations. This process of self-renewal provides for continuous reassessment in light of both changing school and community needs and advances in pedagogy and school administration/organization.

¹ Thomas A. Wilson. Visting Accreditation: Strengthening the Regional Accreditation Process. Providence, RI: Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory at Brown University, 1999.