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AACTE BRINGS TASK FORCE TO FINAL REPORT FOR A UNIFIED ACCREDITING BODY
The Accreditation Task Force convened by AACTE has identified preliminary principles to guide a unified approach to accreditation in educator development. Members of the task force represent AACTE, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), and the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC).
The AACTE Accreditation Task Force charge, reaffirmed by AACTE’s Board of Directors in February 2008, is to outline a vision of accreditation in educator preparation that provides common ground to guide accreditation, identify building components that would serve this vision, and recommend next steps and implementation needed to achieve these accreditation goals for the education profession.
The Accreditation Task Force held meetings during spring 2008 that focused on exchange of information on both NCATE and TEAC (basic values as well as operating systems) and identification of assets and resources that the existing systems offer. Task Force members also identified challenges and weaknesses in the current accreditation systems and explored implications that quality of evidence has for credibility of accreditation. As part of its dialogue, the task force utilized discussion tools incorporating AACTE’s Principles for National Accreditation in Educator Preparation to help determine where accreditation needs to move in the future.
The final report provides brief background and context within which the Task Force carried out its work, then focuses on the most important elements of the report: the shared vision for a unified accreditation system and recommendations for an implementation plan to move the process forward. Language in the vision statement and implementation plan represents a consensus agreed to by all members of the Task Force.
Aspirations the report outlines for quality assurance in educator preparation include these elements: common standards, evidence-based decisions, choice, and profession and public engagement; credibility, and sufficient resources for an accreditation system.
AACTE President and CEO Sharon Robinson welcomed the report, noting that “this represents a vision of unity regarding standards for the profession. I commend the Task Force for its work and its members’ significant sacrifice of time and work to this effort. Its potential impact reaches beyond our institutions to influence on state and national policy assuring quality of teachers for the children served in our schools.”
The report was formally relayed to NCATE, TEAC, and AACTE last week. AACTE Board of Directors Chair Kay Schallenkamp, president of Black Hills State University (SD), observed, “Teacher preparation is an extremely important endeavor involving the whole institution. Deans, teacher educators, and presidents should be very pleased to see this significant step in unifying the accreditation system.”
CLICK HERE for the Report of the Accreditation Task Force
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