The minefield of_accreditation

The Minefield of AccreditationDoug Phelps, Head of Park Century School (2013)

Sanje Ratnavale, Co-Head of the Cohort SchoolNat Damon, Assistant Head of John Thomas Dye School

January 2013

We 3 are NOT

of accreditation

Presentation

• Who is driving the Quality Debate– iNACOL– Public Schools– Colleges– The landscape

• Granular Analysis– Collaborative Arrangements– Grades

• Suggestions

Public Schools

• In the past quality was based on Inputs- Teacher Credentialing- Standards/Textbook Selection- Seat Metrics-Time metrics-Some outputs

• Common Core changing all that-Assessing Learning not summative achievement - Most tests online for all courses (blended, online, class)-Trying to establish accountability

New Emphasis of

Quality

Inputs

Outputs OutcomesPartnership for Assessment of

Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and SMARTER

Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC)

“We believe there is a small window of opportunity to pilot within the field of online and blended learning a set of new outcomes-based performance metrics for quality that—once adopted and disseminated—would ultimately forge a path for outcomes-based quality assurance in K-12 education at large”. (iNACOL : “Measuring Quality from Inputs to Outcomes” October 2012”)

BETTER OUTCOMES PARADIGMS?

(iNACOL : “Measuring Quality from Inputs to Outcomes”)

• Building Blocks data on– Proficiency- Problem: age, cohort, point in time– Graduation rates Problem: enrollment disincentives– College/career readiness Problem: no standards– Closing the achievement gap– Individual student growth– Fidelity to Student’s academic goals

• “Systems of Assessment”– Entry data for growth models– Adaptive assessments– Formative assessments– Summative assessments

• Based on– Multiple measures of proficiency and student growth– No Age based Cohorts – Individual data

Online Learning IssuesA College Perspective- UC Boars

• “Sheer volume of “homegrown” teacher-created online courses” UC Boars

• “online learning could give students with better access to technology or money to pay for courses an advantage” UC Boars

• “positive outcomes of online learning have yet to be demonstrated”

• “the profit motive inherent in many online providers may be at odds with providing sufficient staffing”

• “ authenticity of who is submitting key assignments is not always evident”

Source: Presentation by Monica Lin at CLRN conference

Online Learning IssuesA College Perspective- UC Boars

+ if “Definition of online entities are not always clear-cut” UC Boars,

what do you do?

UC system

Accredit

Accredit

Online Course

Online Provider

Shifting the focus from UC “approving providers” to UC approving courses

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FROM UC Presentation The appropriate experts are reviewing online courses:

–CLRN ensuring quality online delivery

–UC ensuring quality “a-g” content

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Review of Online Courses(effective 2013-14)

Submit online course to CLRN for review*

Assess the online course against the iNACOL Standards for Quality Online Courses and CA content standards

CLRN-certified OR

Self-assessed

Submit online course to UC for “a-g” review

Conduct subject-specific review against UC faculty’s content criteria

Approve course for “a-g”?

Add course to online publisher’s or online school’s “a-g” course list; approval expires in 3 years

STEP 1

STEP 2

*If not eligible for CLRN review, the online course must be self-assessed by the online publisher or school.

YES

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Step #1A: CLRN Certification

–Online course publishers serving public institutions

–Public online schools

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Step #1B: Self-Assessment

Effective for:– Online course publishers serving only private institutions– Private online schools– Any online courses not aligned with state standards– 2014-15 school year: Non-online high schools, districts, and programs

Institution conducts self-assessment against iNACOL Standards for Quality Online Courses

Self-assessment will be incorporated into the course submission process for UC “a-g” review

What questions arise fromColleges and the Public School actions?

• Will there be more Clearing Houses around the country?– “State would set up an online course

clearinghouse” (iNACOL: Measuring Quality from Inputs to Outputs” P 23)

• Are schools becoming less accreditable/credible in their online offerings?

• What do independent school accreditation organizations think?

The “Quality” Standards/ Accreditation Universe

NAIS1400

members Non-Profits only

No consortiaK-12

Federally Approved Regional Accreditation AgenciesServing Colleges and Schools

WASC,MASC,NEASC,SACS

NAIS Approved Regional Accreditation Agencies

CAIS,AISNE etc

Independent Schools


iNACOL3800+members

with mostly public schools

for K-12

NAIS1400


No consortiaK-12




CAIS,AISNE etc

Independent Schools

Fully OnlineSchools

Charters,StanfordLS,K12

Public Schools


iNACOL3800+members


for K-12

NAIS1400


No consortiaK-12




CAIS,AISNE etc

Colleges

Independent Schools

Clearing HousesCLRN,NCAA

Other states?

Fully OnlineSchools


Public Schools


iNACOL3800+members


for K-12

NAIS1400


No consortiaK-12




CAIS,AISNE etc

Colleges

Independent Schools

Clearing HousesCLRN,NCAA

Other states?

Fully OnlineSchools


Moocs

Public Schools

Council on Higher Education


iNACOL3800+members


for K-12



Fully OnlineSchools


Public Schools

SupplementalProtocols

Learning Service

ProvidersExtensions

Where do Consortia go?Accreditation organizations with flexible

protocols

Important Other Questions

• Ubiquitously acceptable, should we just go with the iNACOL standards?

- input- “standards” like NAIS - student population - missions - accountability

• Should we jump on the public school railroad?

At this stage it looks like…

Outcomes, NOT inputs or even Outputs=1. “Quality Control”2. Not “Quality Assurance”= IS mindset3. World of Data- ready or not?

Quality ControlQuality Assurance

“Schools should consider colleges and universities, for-profit and non-profit organizations, charter

schools, and other entities as both potential partners and competitors in this market”.

NAIS Task Force RecommendationTask Force, September 2011

Independent School

(Member School)

Online Course Provider (Partner

Institution)

Need for Oversight re:

Alignment

Partnership with a consortium or a separated program or provider

Who are the teachers?

How are they evaluated?

How do they grade?

Who developed the curriculum?

Independent Schools

Mores

Standards

Population

Pedagogical Approach

Learning and Teaching

Styles

Faculty Composition

Geographical Location

Etc. Etc. Etc. . . .

At JTD, Blended ¼ High School Spanish 1 for 5th Graders Not done for 20 years Schedule time required Need 180 minutes per week No Spanish teacher in current faculty Major demand

What kind of partnership? Which provider/content? Who would hire/train the teacher? Who would manage the teacher? Who would evaluate pacing and progress? Who would evaluate the teacher? How would we manage the grade? How would we fit it in?

Collaborations RaiseImportant Questions

Collaborative ArrangementsDegree of Equivalence

• In all cases = Substantive Change

• Degree of burden dependent on partner accreditation– Same regional body

• prior notification

– Equivalent D. of E. body• Prior approval• Self-certification

– Non Equivalent body• Prior approval• Prospectus

None of our Partners have equivalent accreditation!

iNACOL3800+members


for K-12

NAIS1400


No consortiaK-12




CAIS,AISNE etc

Colleges

Independent Schools

Clearing Houses

CLRN,NCAA

Other states?

Fully OnlineSchools


Moocs

Public Schools

Council on Higher Education

Supplemental

Protocols

Learning Service

Providers

Extensions

“…institutions describe collaborative academic arrangements in many different ways, most commonly identifying them as dual or joint educational programs, affiliations, partnerships, consortial agreements, and other similar terms.”

SACS/COC states that:

SACS/COC States

“Because the SACS/COC accreditation that has been awarded to a Member (accredited) institution, it is not transferrable to a Partner institution – either in actuality or appearance – SACS/COC reserves the right to prohibit the use of its accreditation to authenticate credit courses or programs offered with organizations not so accredited. Member institutions are responsible for ensuring the integrity of their accreditation and of their education programs when entering into collaborative academic arrangements.”

Collaborative ArrangementsEnsuring the Quality of the Credits Recorded on Transcripts.

SACS/COC1. Conformity with Core Standards. 2. Effective Assessment and monitoring by academically-qualified persons. 3. Disclosure to constituencies and Transparency4. Agreement on Teaching Methodologies5. Equivalent Quality of Teaching Qualifications6. Processes for assessing Educational outcomes8. Joint accountability of faculty

Collaborative ArrangementsEnsuring the Quality of the Credits Recorded on Transcripts.

Taking a grade as your own

“it must be able to demonstrate that the instruction was accomplished under the Member’s own supervision and included approval of the academic qualifications of each instructor in advance and the regular evaluation of the effectiveness of each instructor. The Member institution’s approach might include the joint appointment of instructors.”

As Independent Schools:

• Adapt 21st century learning models– Blended, flipped, supplemental learning

• Maintain accountability channels that ensure school culture / identity

• Reassurance to independent schools is established under an accrediting organization

PNAIS (Pacific Northwest Association of Independent Schools)

• a. Describe the use of online education and/or distance education at the school. Be specific regarding program development, scope, and number of students involved. Describe how/why these decisions regarding distance education were made.

• b. How does the school’s mission inform the development of the online education and/or distance education program?

• c. How are these courses congruent with the school’s beliefs about how students learn?

• d. What is the relationship between the online/distance education program and the overall school program and school culture?

• e. How does the school assess and evaluate the effectiveness and impact of online education and/or distance education at the school?

PNAIS (Pacific Northwest Association of Independent Schools)

Physical Location or Place

• Top educational opportunities and experiences for elementary and secondary children are grounded in teacher-student interactions. To this end, we expect schools to have a campus where students are able tofrequently and meaningfully interact with adults and peers.

What do our accrediting agencies need to do?

1. Fill Vacuum1. More resources- Our Own Standards?2. Feeder Expertise for all Regional Associations

like iNACOL or NAIS sponsored or new entity

2. Look at more flexibility in “school models” that can be accredited

1. Collaborative arrangements2. Extensions3. Consortia

Documents

The minefield of_accreditation