Please do not forget to check all slides and replace any text in RED with the appropriate information and change the text color to BLACK. Thank you for joining us today. In this brief exit report, I will share some information about AdvancED, the accreditation process this school has gone through to arrive at this point today, and the findings of our Quality Assurance Review team. This exit briefing is only a small part of the accreditation process, which is truly a continuous process, not a single event. If you wish to introduce individual members of the QAR team, this is an appropriate time. Remember to keep the length of this presentation around 20 minutes. *
* AdvancED came into being in 2006 when the National Study of School Evaluation, the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement, and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement joined forces.
* AdvancED came into being in 2006 when the National Study of School Evaluation, the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement, and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement joined forces.
* In doing so, AdvancED became the world’s largest educational network, currently serving over 27,000 schools across the nation and around the world. These schools represent over 15 million students, 3 million teachers, and over 18,000 professional educators, who believe so strongly in peer review that they serve on Quality Assurance Review Teams such as this one.
* AdvancED provides more than a stamp of approval through accreditation. If schools and districts choose to do so, they can take advantage of a wide variety of professional learning opportunities, learn and grow using the research and tools provided through AdvancED’s continuous innovation, and make use of the their own information through diagnostic tools and other educational technology.
* Let us spend a few moments discussing the school accreditation process.
* Our world is no longer bound by school district lines, state lines, or even national boundaries. This was the primary reason our founding organizations combined their resources to create AdvancED—an international agency that uses research and best practices to help schools and districts around the world improve student learning and increase their effectiveness.
* AdvancED accreditation is different from other accreditation agencies in that it supports a “systems approach” – ensuring that subsystems work together interdependently to create a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts. AdvancED does not replace other accountability requirements, it strengthens the school’s efforts to succeed. AdvancED is built not on a philosophy of compliance , but on a philosophy of commitment to continuous improvement and excellence in education.
* In order to earn and maintain accreditation, schools must apply themselves to three complex and ongoing tasks: Meeting ever higher levels of the standards of excellence set by AdvancED Engaging in a process of continuous improvement, standardized across the organization, and Demonstrating quality assurance through self study and external evaluation.
* Schools are evaluated against AdvancED’s seven standards that reflect research and best practice not just in education, but in organizational excellence in general. These seven standards provide the framework through which school personnel can examine the effectiveness of their own organization, and as lenses for external reviewers to evaluate the school from a variety of perspectives.
* Our role as a Quality Assurance Review team has been to evaluate this school using the AdvancED standards as our guide. Using the framework provided by the standards, we are also able to determine the degree to which the school engages in a process of continuous improvement and provides internal and external quality assurance. Our job as a QAR team is to collect and analyze evidence that will provide support for an accreditation decision.
How did we collect that evidence? We conducted interviews with a representative sample of school stakeholders. We reviewed the school’s self assessment document, profile data, student performance results, improvement plans, and other documents. We observed classes and the everyday operations of the school. We made observations of how the school daily demonstrates adherence to the AdvancED standards. Finally, we analyzed this evidence, and engaged in deliberation to determine the degree to which this school meets AdvancED standards.
* I would like to share a few of the numbers that will tell you that we have indeed been busy and visited with enough people to confirm our analyses. During interviews, our team talked to: Share the numbers you have filled in on the slide.
* During our deliberations, we sought not to examine components of the school at a microscopic level, but rather the school as a whole, as an organism made of interdependent parts. We triangulated data using multiple sources and multiple methods. We studied the schools vision and purpose and the beliefs of the people who make up this school. Then we applied our criteria – the standards and related indictors – for accreditation.
* Our work does not end today, nor is this event the end of the process. This report today is only a representation of a thorough written report providing context, strengths, and opportunities for the school to use in the coming years to sustain high performance, and to grow in areas of opportunity. In this briefing, I will share with you some overall commendations —our praise for a job well done. And no matter how highly performing a school is, a key part of the AdvancED process is to provide required actions for growth and improvement that will help this school chart a path of continuous improvement. We are sharing only a small part of this information with you today, and providing an overview of our findings that may ultimately result in accreditation of this school.
* Today I will not get into deep detail of all the findings and information we will include in our final written report, but I would like to share our overall findings—the broad categories AdvancED refers to as commendations and required actions .
* After we finish today, we will complete our written report. Our report will be vetted by AdvancED, and sent to the school. It is then incumbent on this school to analyze the information provided in that report to set a course of continuous improvement for the coming years. In fact, AdvancED requires that before the next accreditation visit, this school must submit one or more reports on the progress they have made toward sustaining those practices we have listed as commendations, and improving upon those issues we have identified as required actions. So you see, while today we celebrate the culmination of an extensive self study and external review, it is really only the beginning of the next cycle of continuous improvement.
* At this time, I would like to share the commendations from our QAR team: State and briefly discuss each commendation. You may wish to create copies of this slide and have one commendation per slide.
* At this time, I would like to share the commendations from our QAR team: State and briefly discuss each commendation. You may wish to create copies of this slide and have one commendation per slide.
* At this time, I would like to share the commendations from our QAR team: State and briefly discuss each commendation. You may wish to create copies of this slide and have one commendation per slide.
* At this time, I would like to share the commendations from our QAR team: State and briefly discuss each commendation. You may wish to create copies of this slide and have one commendation per slide.
* At this time, I would like to share the commendations from our QAR team: State and briefly discuss each commendation. You may wish to create copies of this slide and have one commendation per slide.
* At this time, I would like to share the commendations from our QAR team: State and briefly discuss each commendation. You may wish to create copies of this slide and have one commendation per slide.
* And now I will share the required actions the QAR team feels will help this school be even better. I remind you that, because of AdvancED’s commitment to a philosophy of continuous improvement, it is an integral to the quality assurance review process that we identify these required actions no matter how high a school’s current performance. State and briefly discuss each required action. You may wish to create copies of this slide and have one required action per slide.
In addition to our overall commendation and required actions, we have evaluated this school using each of the seven AdvancED standards. These are the four ratings the QAR team uses to indicate the degree to which a school meets each standard. The rating for each standard is based on evidence the team has reviewed before and during our visit to your school. You should know that schools sometimes receive a rating of “Not Evident” on one or more standards, and are still accredited. We will discuss those circumstances under which that might happen in a moment. Many schools receive a rating of “emerging” on one or more standards. In fact, because schools are constantly striving to improve, new programs and procedures are often in the early stages of implementation at the time of a visit, so this rating on one or more standards is quite common. Operational is another level where many schools score on one or more standards. Operational is the level at which AdvancED considers a standard “fully met.” The highly functional rating is reserved for those standards for which the QAR team found evidence to indicate that the school is performing in an exemplary manner. The combined ratings of these seven standards are used by the QAR team and state council to determine whether or not the school should be accredited and if so, to determine an accreditation status. *
We would like to share findings of the QAR team, based on the evidence we have collected during our visit. Please remember that we base our ratings on evidence that was aligned with the seven AdvancED standards and related indicators. Also, please keep in mind the four ratings, and that most schools have a range of ratings among the seven standards—it is rare that a school will have all ratings in any one category. Click to reveal the ratings. Announce the ratings for each standard. *
* Using data from the previous slide, we have totaled the number of standards falling into each of the ratings categories. This categorization guides the team in selecting the most appropriate accreditation status to send to the state council for review. Click to reveal the number of standards in each category. Announce the number of standards in each rating area.
[Be sure to place the top “X” in the “Accredited” or “Deny or drop” box before the presentation. Place the bottom “X” in the appropriate status box. Change the color on both to BLACK.] According to AdvancED policies, if a QAR team finds three or more standards rated at “Not Evident,” the state council could deny initial accreditation or drop a school from accredited status. I am pleased to report that the evidence we have reviewed indicates that [ name of school ] should [ become/remain ] an accredited school! Congratulations! Click to show “X” in “accredited” box. Now we come to the accreditation status. Click to display the four status choices. AdvancED policy provides four status levels of accreditation based on the combination of standards ratings, any required actions related to a serious problem in the quality of the school's educational program, or a violation of AdvancED standards or policies . Typically, if the evidence reviewed indicates a rating of “not evident” for two of the seven standards, the school will most likely be granted accreditation with a status of “Probation.” If one standard is rated “not evident,” the status will be “Warned.” If one or more standards are rated at “emerging” and no standards are rated at “not evident,” the status granted will most likely be “On Advisement.” If all standards are at operational or above, the status granted will be “accredited.” Please understand that, for the most part, the status is simply a term that helps the school determine how to prioritize their continuous improvement work. Causes for standards being rated at “not evident” should be determined and addressed immediately, followed by those that resulted in standards rated at “emerging.” Our “required actions” that we have already discussed also help guide the school in prioritizing their improvement activities. The evidence reviewed by this QAR team indicates that [name of school] should be accredited with a status of [insert status]. Click to reveal the “X” in the appropriate status box. *
Once again, the responsibility of the QAR team is to provide evidence and commentary to the [name of your state] state council. The state council will follow up by reviewing our report and considering any additional information they may have to determine an accreditation status. The state council then forwards their findings to the accreditation commission. It is the accreditation commission that grants the term of final accreditation. *
Make sure to thank the school, the community, and any individuals who were especially involved in preparing for the QAR visit. *
On behalf of AdvancED and the members of this Quality Assurance Review team, we congratulate you for your hard work, and wish you and [ name of school ] the very best in coming years. Thank you! *
