New Accreditation Standards Adopted to Ensure Quality in Educator Preparation

(WASHINGTON) Today, the Board of Directors of the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) adopted the next generation of accreditation standards for educator preparation. The standards are based on evidence, continuous improvement, innovation, and clinical practice, to ensure that accredited providers are preparing educators that are classroom-ready and demonstrably raise learning for all students.

"These standards demonstrate CAEP’s commitment as the new, sole specialized accreditor of educator preparation to innovation and continuous improvement based on data and evidence,” said Mary Brabeck, Chair of the CAEP Board of Directors and Gale and Ira Drukier Dean of the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. “CAEP’s approach to accreditation will further professionalize the field. The new standards demand the use of quality evidence in the continuous improvement of educator preparation, as well as in the evaluative accreditation process."

"CAEP is taking up its new responsibilities at a critical time of sea change in the education policy landscape," said Terry Holliday, Commission co-chair and Commissioner of Education with the Kentucky Department of Education. "As states are undertaking new initiatives related to the educator workforce, CAEP is positioned to be an important partner guided by its standards for a new organization, and an ambitious new agenda."

The new standards were presented to the board of directors as consensus recommendations from the CAEP Commission on Standards and Performance Reporting, comprised of prominent critics of teacher education; deans of schools of education; content experts in mathematics and reading; P-12 teacher, principal, and school superintendent leadership; alternative provider/charter leadership; state policymakers; representatives of education policy/advocacy organizations; and public members. Created in 2012, the Commission was charged with developing accreditation standards for all educator preparation providers, as well as with recommending transparent CAEP public accountability reporting with multiple measures.

"The historic breadth of the CAEP Commission on Standards and Performance Reporting must be underscored," said Camilla Benbow, Commission co-chair and Patricia and Rodes Hart Dean of Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt University. "In June, the Commission unanimously approved their recommendations to the CAEP Board, signaling a proud moment in educator preparation when stakeholders took charge of their field, and built and agreed on a set of standards to evolve the way providers will prepare future teachers."

"Now that the standards have been formally adopted, making expectations clear, CAEP is diligently developing the necessary guidance for educator preparation providers," said CAEP President James G. Cibulka. "CAEP is raising the bar for educator preparation, ensuring that providers are producing highly effective teachers for every classroom and helping to ensure that all of America’s P-12 students are prepared to compete in today’s global economy."

The approved standards are posted online and will be required for all educator preparation providers with self-study reports due in 2016, although providers may choose to seek accreditation under the new standards sooner. Further guidance will be available in January 2014.

For more information:

Board-approved Standards
http://caepnet.org/accreditation/final-standards/
Please note that guidance documents are under development and will be made available in January 2014.

CAEP Board of Directors
http://caepnet.org/about/governance

CAEP Commission on Standards and Performance Reporting
http://caepnet.org/standards/commission-on-standards

###

The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (www.CAEPnet.org) advances excellence in educator preparation through evidence-based accreditation that assures quality and supports continuous improvement to strengthen P-12 student learning.