| STANDARDS for ACCREDITATION
Accreditation is the affirmation that a school provides a quality
of education that the community has a right to expect and the
education world endorses. Accreditation is a means of showing
confidence in a school's performance. When the Commission on
Secondary Schools accredits a school, it certifies that the
school has met the prescribed qualitative standards of the Middle
States Association within the terms of the school's own stated
philosophy and objectives.
Given the unique variety found in the member schools of Middle
States, the Commission on Secondary Schools offers a number
of protocols for schools wishing to undertake the accreditation
process. Regardless of the protocol, however, schools are expected
to meet the CSS standards before accreditation will be granted
or renewed.
To recognize the unique characteristics of schools, the Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools and Commission on Elementary Schools have adopted four sets of Standards for Accreditation:
Standards for Schools
Standards for Career/Technology Institutions
Standards for Educational Service Agencies
Standards for Supplementary Education Organizations
To assist schools in this task, Middle States provides surveys for this purpose, including:
- For all the Standards and their Indicators of Quality – for members of the school’s staff and who wish to participate in this most broad based of assessments.
- For students – a shorter survey that focuses on those areas in which the perceptions of students are most important and about which students can be expected to have knowledge.
- For students in the Spanish language – the student survey but in Spanish.
- For parents - a shorter survey that focuses on those areas in which the perceptions of parents are most important and about which parents can be expected to have knowledge.
- For parents in the Spanish language – the parents survey but in Spanish.
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