Founded in 1895, NCA CASI accredits over 8,500 public and private schools in 19 states, the Navajo Nation, and the Department of Defense Schools. NCA CASI is an accreditation division of AdvancED. AdvancED is also the parent organization of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI) and the National Study of School Evaluation (NSSE).

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Please contact our office if you would like additional information regarding the accreditation process, resources and/or professional development opportunities.

AdvancED Vision

"dedicated to being the leader in advancing excellence in education worldwide so that every student is prepared for success in an ever-changing and diverse world"

Welcome to AdvancED

Advancing Excellence in Education Worldwide

AdvancED is the unified organization of the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI). AdvancED is dedicated to advancing excellence in education worldwide through accreditation, research, and professional services.

AdvancED creates the world's largest education community, representing 27,000 public and private schools and districts across the United States and in 65 countries worldwide, educating 15 million students.

NCA CASI and SACS CASI schools share a unified, clear and powerful accreditation process designed to help schools continuously improve.

About Us

In April 2006, the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI), Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI), and National Study of School Evaluation (NSSE) came together to form one strong unified organization dedicated to education quality. That unified organization, known as AdvancED, creates the world's largest education community, representing 27,000 public and private schools and districts across the United States and in 65 countries worldwide and educating 15 million students.

AdvancED leverages its size and global professional learning community to deliver the powerful combination of accreditation, research, and continuous improvement in a customized way to every school and district it serves.

Through AdvancED, NCA CASI and SACS CASI now have defined shared, research-based accreditation standards that cross state, regional and national boundaries. The accreditation process is designed to help schools and districts continuously improve through a unified, clear and powerful approach. The accreditation process is based on a five-year term accreditation that provides ongoing external checks, support and feedback.

"AdvancED delivers the powerful combination of accreditation, research, and continuous improvement in a customized way to every school and district it serves."

The inclusion of NSSE, the research and development arm of the regional accrediting associations, brings to

schools and districts greater access to NSSE's products, services, and strong research base on the factors that

impact student learning.

The combined strengths of NCA CASI, SACS CASI, and NSSE under AdvancED create a powerful organization built on and committed to advancing excellence in education worldwide.

Overview of the AdvancED Standards and Accreditation Process for Schools

"Accreditation is an activity, not a status. Schools are accredited because of the way they move, not the way they stand."

John A. Stoops, Late Executive Director, CITA

Earning and Maintaining Accreditation

To earn and maintain accreditation from NCA CASI or SACS CASI, schools must:

1. Adhere to the AdvancED Accreditation Standards and Policies.
2. Implement a continuous improvement process focused on improving student learning and organizational effectiveness.
3. Engage in internal and external quality assurance review.

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 Standards

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:

1. Vision and Purpose
2. Governance and Leadership
3. Teaching and Learning
4. Documenting and Using Results
5. Resources and Support Systems
6. Stakeholder Communications and Relationships
7. Commitment to Continuous Improvement

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:

1. Evaluate the school's adherence to the standards.
2. Assess the effectiveness of the school's improvement efforts.
3. Review performance results and how those results are used to inform improvement efforts.
4. Provide commendations and required actions.
5. Make an accreditation recommendation.

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."

Aristotle

When truly embraced by the school, the accreditation process breeds a culture dedicated to excellence - never satisfied with good, always striving for greatness. Accreditation engages the entire school community in a continuous process of self-evaluation, reflection, and improvement. It invites external scrutiny and welcomes the constructive feedback of peers. It demands rigor, is based in data, and approaches documentation of results with discipline. Accreditation is about making the quest for excellence a habit; it's about being the best a school can be on behalf of the students it serves.