The 2020-21 accreditation year continued to be impacted in significant ways by the ongoing nature of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. All accreditation activities, including site visits, were adjusted to reflect this new reality and to maintain full implementation of the system while continuing efforts to refine the newer aspects of the current system. The major objectives of the current accreditation system, as outlined in the "Accreditation Framework," include the following: (1) Accreditation assures that programs meet state standards for professional preparation programs, and, in so doing, are allowed to recommend candidates for state licensure; (2) Accreditation assures candidates and the public that educator preparation programs are of high quality and effective in preparing candidates to meet licensure requirements; (3) Accreditation assures candidates and the public that programs are accountable for the quality and effectiveness of the preparation they provide to candidates; (4) Accreditation assures that peers determine each program's quality and effectiveness in order to retain their accreditation status; and (5) Accreditation provides the means for programs to continuously improve based on evidence of candidate outcomes, program effectiveness, and on feedback from ongoing peer review processes. [For the 2019-2020 report, see ED610431.]