Describes a study of the relationship between faculty expectations of the accreditation visiting team and their satisfaction with the quality of the team visit. Responses to pre- and postvisit surveys revealed that faculty were well informed about and supportive of team visits and that knowledge was not correlated with perceptions of quality. (DMM)

Beginning with preevaluation and ending with postevaluation procedures, this publication addresses the entire process of evaluation of a secondary school by an accrediting association such as the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. It attempts to provide insights into conducting preliminary steps, doing a self-evaluation,…

Reviews research findings concerning the perceived value of the interaction between the accreditation visiting team and the faculty of the visited school. Reveals that the interaction was a highly valued part of the evaluation process, with time for interaction and the personal qualities of the team members affecting the success of the…

Reports on a study conducted by the North Central Association to determine the perceptions of professional certified high school personnel with regard to the intangible costs and benefits of accreditation, the value of the self-study process, and time investments of professional participants in the accreditation process. Includes sample…

Describes a study conducted to assess the quality of institutional self-evaluation as perceived by accreditation team members visiting 11 Arizona high schools during 1978-1979. The effect of consultative assistance on school self-evaluations and the different perceptions of public school and university team members are examined. (JP)

Explains the North Central Association's Outcomes Accreditation (OA) alternative to traditional accreditation status. Reviews the Effective Schools and Outcome-Based Education (OBE) literature, and considers basic requirements for OA. Considers OBE compatible with OA. (DMM)

Highlights several articles with relevance for outcomes accreditation, focusing on the education and power of superintendents, reasons for the failure of school reform efforts, the value of educational research, educational leadership, principals' perceptions of educational reform, teacher conflicts/participation in shared decision making,…

Describes the development of the North Central Association, from the early reactive measures to the more proactive efforts of the Commission on Schools, such as the implementation of outcomes accreditation (OA) in 1985. Argues that, with OA, changes in instruction, curricula, or organization are necessarily related to student performance and…

Reviews recent research about program and school evaluation, including studies of qualitative evaluation methods, replicability in program evaluation, assessment of equity in schools, triangulation, site-based management, approaches to evaluating staff development activities, state reform efforts, and educational inequality. (DMM)

Provides a history of the North Central Association, established in 1895 to achieve closer relations between colleges and secondary schools in the north central states. Describes the organization's establishment, the creation of its commissions, its development during the postwar period, and major developments since the 1960s. (MAB)