Question of the Month
November
2003
Which
state departments of education in the Midwest accredit or conduct
performance reviews of schools or school districts?
According to
the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School
Improvement (NCA-CASI), Nebraska and South Dakota either
accredit or conduct performance reviews of school districts, while Indiana,
Kansas and North Dakota do this for individual schools. Illinois
and Iowa accredit or conduct performance reviews for both
schools and school districts.
The body given the power to grant
authority for accreditation varies from state to state, but it usually
falls either to the legislature or state boards of education. No
Midwestern state currently requires schools to be accredited by an
outside group. However, accreditation is a longstanding, voluntary
practice that provides a uniform method of assuring school quality.
The accreditation process can be
conducted not only by state boards of education, but by outside
agencies as well. In fact, the NCA-CASI, one of nine regional
associations recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, certifies
the majority of Midwestern public schools seeking the recognition that
they are meeting acceptable, common levels of quality. The number of
accredited schools is typically higher in states where the board of
education does not accredit schools or conduct school performance
reviews.
According to the U.S. Department of
Education, some of the functions of accreditation include providing
non-governmental peer evaluation to verify that a school meets
established standards; creating goals for self-improvement of weaker
programs; and stimulating a general raising of standards among
institutions. A six-year study conducted by the NCA-CASI shows that 79
percent of schools actively engaged in the association’s
accreditation process made verifiable gains in student achievement.
The NCA is now in the process of seeking a study that compares
achievement levels in accredited and non-accredited schools.
Because the No Child Left Behind Act,
for the first time, sets federal standards for schools to meet, the
law could increase interest in the accreditation process, which
assures schools or districts that they are meeting or exceeding the
new guidelines.
For
more information on this or any other public policy issue, please call
630-925-1922 or complete the online
form for research services.
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