Becoming CAEP

On October 22, 2010, the boards of the National Council for Accreditation or Teacher Education (NCATE) and the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) unanimously agreed to create a new accrediting organization to consolidate the work of TEAC and NCATE. The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) was designed by a 14-member Design Team, with equal representation from the two organizations.

One of the initial goals for CAEP was to enable the education profession to speak with a single voice about the preparation of teachers, administrators and other P-12 professional educators. Other goals for CAEP are to raise the performance of candidates as practitioners in the nation’s P-12 schools and to raise the stature of the profession by raising standards for the evidence the field relies on to support its claims of quality.

To accomplish these goals, accreditation will have to be based on a set of common standards to ensure that accreditation decisions will reach the same result based on similar evidence. In an effort to develop standards that would be "fewer, clearer, and higher," the Design Team has proposed the following three standards:

Candidates demonstrate knowledge, skills and professional dispositions for effective work in schools
Data drive decisions about candidates and programs
Resources and practices support candidate learning

One of the fundamental principles on which CAEP was designed was to offer applicants a choice of accreditation processes. As a result, CAEP through its two Commissions will initially offer applicants four options: (1) Academic Quality Audit, (2) Continuous Improvement, (3) Inquiry Brief, and (4) Transformation Initiative. All the CAEP options require an assessment or quality control system. They all also require that the evidence submitted by the applicant be organized in a manner that would enable the Commissions, the Board or any outside reviewer to determine whether CAEP standards are being met. They are based on the review of available reliable and valid evidence and require the demonstration of sufficient capacity to offer quality P-12 educator preparation.

For additional details about CAEP, review the proposal that was adopted by the NCATE and TEAC boards on October 22, 2010:

Report and Recommendation of the NCATE/TEAC Design Team to Our Respective Boards of Directors (Adobe PDF)

CAEP Standards for Educator Preparation

The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) will ensure that programs prepare future teachers to know the content of the subject(s) they will teach, know how to teach that content effectively to students from diverse groups and demonstrate their positive impact on P-12 student learning in diverse school settings. CAEP will ensure that other school professionals have the knowledge and skills to support the academic and social development of all students. CAEP will ensure that programs collect, analyze and use evidence of candidate learning to improve the preparation program. CAEP will ensure that programs have the capacity, resources and practices to support candidate learning. These Common Standards for Educator Preparation serve as a framework for the standards, processes and procedures of each Commission in CAEP.

1. Candidates Demonstrate Knowledge, Skills, and Professional Dispositions for Effective Work in Schools

Teacher candidates and completers:

know subject matter (including pedagogical content knowledge) and pedagogy.
teach students in schools effectively and demonstrate their impact on P-12 student learning.
nurture the academic and social development of all students through professional dispositions such as caring, fairness and the belief that all students can learn.
use technology to enhance their teaching, classroom management, communications with families and assessment of student learning.
work collaboratively with the community and other school personnel to support student learning.
engage in ongoing learning that improves practice.

Other school professionals:

know the professional knowledge for their field (e.g., educational leadership or school psychology).
work effectively with P-12 students, their families and their teachers to support learning and demonstrate the impact of that support on student learning.
nurture the academic and social development of all students through professional dispositions such as caring, fairness and the belief that all students can learn.
use technology effectively in their job role to support student learning.
engage in ongoing learning that improves practice.

2. Data Drive Decisions About Candidates and Programs

Decisions are based on evidence from multiple measures of candidates’ learning, completers’ performance in the schools and school and community conditions and needs.
The unit has a system for routine self-assessment based on a coherent logic that connects the program’s aims, content, experiences and assessments.
The reliability and validity of each assessment measure are known and adequate, and the unit reviews and revises assessments and data sources regularly and systematically.
The unit uses data for program improvement and disaggregates the evidence for discrete program options or certification areas.

3. Resources and Practices Support Candidate Learning

Curricula and other program components meet state and/or national standards.
Field experiences and clinical practice, offered in collaboration with P-12 schools, support candidate development as effective educators.
Programs provide opportunities for candidates to work with diverse P-12 students and teachers, faculty and other candidates.
Full-time and part-time faculty members are qualified individually and in aggregate, for academic and/or clinical teaching.
Support services for candidates/completers are sufficient and equitable.
Facilities are appropriate and adequate to support candidate learning.
Administrative structures and financial resources support candidate learning and show parity at the institution.
Admissions and mentoring policies encourage the recruitment and retention of high quality candidates.
Provision exists for candidates/completers to voice concerns.
Policies and practices (academic calendar, grading policy, program requirements, outcome data, etc.) are transparent and consistent.

Accreditation Choices Offered by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation

The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation offers institutions a choice among four options for accreditation. Each of the options requires institutions to meet CAEP’s Standards for Accreditation of Educator Preparation; each offers institutions a distinctive framework for accomplishing the work of accreditation.

Regardless of the accreditation option chosen, institutions that are members of CAEP must meet CAEP Eligibility Requirements. To be eligible for institutional membership in CAEP, an institution must:

Show evidence of regional or national accreditation by an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or its equivalent (a copy of formal letter from the regional accreditor must be attached to the application).
Show evidence that graduates/completers are eligible for a credential (license, certificate, etc.) from the state (a copy of state program approval letter must be attached to the application).
Provide demographic information about enrollment, program completers and faculty in the application.
Provide links to the catalog, policies and procedures that guide educator preparation, including the published criteria for admission to and exit from all educator preparation programs.
Identify the CAEP accreditation option(s) to be pursued and agree to comply with relevant requirements.
Acknowledge that accreditation status will be disclosed per CAEP policy.
Be willing to provide all information requested by CAEP.
Submit a CAEP application form completed by dean/chair and signed by both the dean/chair and the president/CEO.
Pay required CAEP fees.

Once an institution has met the eligibility requirements, it becomes a member of CAEP and a candidate for accreditation. The institution has up to five years to achieve accreditation.

The Scope of CAEP Accreditation

Institutions seeking CAEP Accreditation must include all programs that prepare teachers or other educational professionals to work in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade settings.

Commissions

The work of CAEP is organized under two Commissions, one offering the accreditation options currently offered by NCATE, the other offering the options currently available through TEAC. CAEP offers professional development through national workshops, state and regional workshops, webinars and presentations at national meetings to support faculty from member institutions in their accreditation-related work. Each CAEP Commission is guided in its work by a statement of standards or principles that are aligned with the CAEP Standards. Each includes a formative phase in which the institution is guided and supported in completing its self-study. Each requires a site visit. Institutions accredited by either Commission submit an annual report to CAEP.

All institutions, regardless of the accreditation option chosen, must have evidence that the CAEP Standards for Educator Preparation are adequately addressed. Institutions are expected to have a functioning quality control system and regularly to collect and analyze valid and reliable evidence regarding candidates’ subject matter knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and skills, professional knowledge and skills, professional dispositions and accomplishments in relation to state and professional standards. Evidence must also show that completers are capable of continuing professional growth, using technology in their work, and incorporating knowledge about diversity in their work. Evidence must show that program planning and decisions are based on evidence of candidate learning. Institutions must also have the capacity to offer sound programs and the institutional commitment to continue doing so. All this evidence must be organized in a manner that would enable the Commissions, the Board or any outside reviewer to determine whether CAEP standards were met.

During the two-year transition period during which CAEP is established, each current accreditor (NCATE and TEAC) will continue to refine and improve its respective accreditation options. To as great an extent as possible during that same time period, common procedures, policies and accreditation terms will be developed. Though similar on many dimensions, each Commission’s accreditation options offer distinctive emphases and processes. The following description of the options aims to help institutions understand the distinctions as they consider the option or options that best fit their needs.

Resources

Read the press release:

NCATE and TEAC Form New Accrediting Body: The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP)

Contact Information for CAEP

Telephone: (202) 223-0077

E-mail a representative for CAEP: caep@caepsite.org