Northwest Accreditation Commission

NWAC schools scheduled for an External Review in 2012-13 will work with their state office to determine their readiness to use the new AdvancED Standards or if the school school should prepare for the visit based on the former NWAC Standards.

Beginning in 2013-14 all NWAC schools (except for NW Partner (Third Party) Agreements will be using the new Standards of Quality as part of the AdvancED Accreditation Process. The new standards are being introduced to more than 30,000 other schools around the world under the AdvancED umbrella. You may loocate information on the AdvancED Standards at www.advanc-ed.org.

NWAC ACCREDITATION STANDARDS FOR THE ACCREDITATION
OF ALL CATEGORIES OF SCHOOLS

TEACHING AND LEARNING STANDARDS

1. MISSION, BELIEFS, AND EXPECTATIONS FOR STUDENT LEARNING

2. CURRICULUM

3. INSTRUCTION

4. ASSESSMENT

SUPPORT STANDARDS

5. LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZATION

6. SCHOOL SERVICES

• Student Support Services
• Guidance Services
• Health Services
• Library Information Services
• Special Education Services
• Family and Community Services

7. FACILITIES AND FINANCES

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT STANDARD

8. CULTURE OF CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT

STANDARDS FOR ACCREDITATION – INTRODUCTION

The eight Standards for Accreditation serve as the benchmarks by which the Northwest Accreditation Commission makes accreditation decisions for all categories of schools* that are accredited. Written and approved by the school membership, the Standards for Accreditation establish those aspects of schools that practitioners have identified as appropriate for ensuring an effective focus on teaching and learning, improving student performance, and the support or teaching and learning.

In order to maintain accredited status, schools must demonstrate that they meet the Standards of Accreditation and continually work to improve student performance. They do this by participating in a three-phase accreditation cycle that involves:

1. A nearly 12-month self-study in which the school assesses the degree to which its work is characterized by the practices articulated in the Standards for Accreditation. A school improvement plan is developed as a result of the self-study.

2. An on-site visitation by an external team of peer reviewers that determines by reviewing evidence, interviewing, and by observation the extent to which the school meets the Standards for Accreditation. A written evaluation report describing strengths and recommendations for improvement in terms of the Standards for Accreditation is provided for the school.

3. An action or school improvement program in which the school demonstrates through annual reporting to the State Accreditation Committee or International and Transregional Accreditation Committee that it is addressing identified needs in a timely fashion.

Students, parents, community leaders, the school board, and colleges can depend on the Standards for Accreditation and the Evidence-based School Evaluation (EBSE) accreditation process to ensure that schools in the Northwest Association meet high but reasonable expectations and are constantly striving to improve student achievement as well as systems, processes, practices, and conditions that support student learning in their schools.

AN INTEGRATED APPROACH

Evidence-based School Evaluation (EBSE) is a comprehensive and integrated approach to accreditation. All documents and forms follow a common format and identification system based on the Standards for Accreditation. The program does allow for and encourages state accountability initiatives to be a part of Standard 8, School Improvement standard: Culture of Continual Improvement. Additionally, the indicators for the eleven subgroups of schools contain unique indicators germane to each category of schools. EBSE documents include:

1. Initial Visit Templates

2. Annual Report Forms (Unique for each accreditation committee)

3. Consensus Self-study Templates

4. Narrative Self-study Templates

5. Visiting Team Report Templates (Visiting team report templates that work for both Consensus and Narrative Self-studies)

6. Self-study Resource Manual (One edition that covers all groups of schools and both versions of the self-study)

CATEGORIES OF SCHOOLS

K-12 Schools

Elementary Schools

Middle School

High Schools

Special Purpose Schools

Residential Schools

Online/Distance Education/Course Provider Schools

Supplemental Education Programs

Travel Study Programs

International K-12 Schools

Post-Secondary Non-Degree Granting Schools