Offers excerpts from a guide developed for accreditation visit team members to help the team focus on substantive aspects of the school. Lists evaluation standards, characteristics and practices of good schools and districts, and questions for various subcommittees of the visiting team. (DMM)

The purpose of this article was to narrow the focus of the most commonly used evaluation procedures in such a way as to attain greater precision. (Author/RK)

Discusses a survey of administrators and accreditation association personnel to determine factors affecting the selection of particular formats/instruments for accreditation self-studies. The most commonly cited factors were previous experience and familiarity; the belief that self-study instruments are essentially the same; and an accreditation…

The idea of school evaluation is not new, but to be effective educational evaluation and accountability must be detached from particular schemes such as performance contracting and differentiated staffing, and must be observed in a positive light and not as a means to coerce administrators, teachers, and students. (AN)

Describes the purposes, origins, and evolution of accreditation; assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the accreditation process and the measures and indicators applied during the process; discusses the results of accreditation; and offers recommendations for improvement of the process. (DMM)

Reports on a study to determine differences between the self-evaluations completed by personnel at 28 Missouri high schools during accreditation studies and the assessments completed by visiting team members. Finds general agreement except in the areas of student behavior and media services. (DMM)

This short article is excerpted from the 1945 report of John Dale Russell, then secretary of the Commission on Colleges and Universities. The issue he raised, and the response he suggested, remain of current interest providing needed "consumer information." (Editor/RK)

Focuses on the various designs utilized in North Central Association elementary evaluations. As the accreditation program continues it will be critical to have an ongoing assessment of the appropriateness of the "Policies and Standards", the structure of self-study formats, the procedures used in visitation and the quality of the follow-up program…

Offers a progress report on the evaluation of alternative learning forms by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association. It is divided into four parts: 1) the commission's evaluation of nontraditional institutions and programs, 2) the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation--COPA--Project to Develop…

Reviews the purposes of institutional accreditation, changes in the policies and procedures of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools' Commission on Institutions of Higher Education, general institutional requirements and evaluative criteria for accreditation, services of the commission, types of member institutions, and candidacy…

Explains the evaluation and accreditation processes used by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools for postsecondary institutions. Focuses on the purposes of institutional accreditation, the relationship between accreditation and institutional improvement, accreditation requirements and criteria, and agency services. (DMM)

Argues that educational outcomes are a function of educational processes, and that outcomes evaluation expands upon process evaluation. Reviews literature linking outcomes to process. Concludes that outcome evaluation can improve educational process when attention is paid to the process leading to the desired outcome. (AYC)

Analyzes the results of research on the uses of and attitudes toward output analysis in U.S. postsecondary institutions, focusing on attempts to use the method to improve the college. Presents theoretical considerations, identifies six factors related to the use of output data, and reviews studies concerning output analysis. (DMM)

Describes the procedures and rationale involved in selecting the National Study of School Evaluation Elementary School Evaluative Criteria as the self-study instrument by a laboratory school in Iowa. Explores major features of these criteria and discusses their advantages and disadvantages as guidelines for elementary school self-study. (DMM)