AACTE Board Reaffirms Importance of National Accreditation for Educator Preparation

(January 30, 2018, Washington, D.C.) – Today, the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) publicly released a statement by its Board of Directors regarding its recent vote on national accreditation:

AACTE champions high-quality preparation that assures educators are profession-ready as they enter the classroom. National accreditation serves a critical function in assuring this quality by requiring providers to address profession-wide standards of excellence. To uphold AACTE’s commitment to supporting high quality, the AACTE Board of Directors held an extensive discussion about national accreditation at a special meeting in Washington, DC, on January 18, 2018, devoted solely to this topic. After much deliberation on behalf of the membership, the AACTE Board approved by the overwhelming majority the following statement:

The Board of Directors of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) reaffirms the importance of a unified national professional accreditation system that aligns with AACTE’s Principles for National Accreditation in Educator Preparation.

“AACTE members are very engaged in evidence-based program improvement and quality assurance work, and we believe national professional accreditation helps to elevate educator preparation,” said Dr. Renée A. Middleton, chair of the AACTE Board of Directors. “As we face many challenges in education today, we are focused on supporting a unified system of accreditation that moves the profession forward in a way that will ultimately ensure high-quality preparation of future teachers and school leaders.”

The AACTE Board also restated its position that AACTE is the leading voice on high-quality educator preparation and re-emphasized the Association’s commitment to:

• Uphold AACTE’s Principles for National Accreditation in Educator Preparation – a detailed statement on the role of accreditation originally approved by the AACTE Board in 2006, and thoroughly revised and reaffirmed in 2016.
• Promote the power of a unified educator preparation professional community to lead and effect positive change in the science of teaching and learning.
• Acknowledge a national professional accreditation system that is formally recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, the national advocate and institutional voice for promoting academic quality through accreditation.

AACTE encourages its members to pursue accreditation on the national as well as state level, not only to show accountability but also to engage in continuous improvement for effectively preparing educators to serve all students. As accreditation and program recognition requirements are determined on a state-by-state basis, AACTE acknowledges the right of each state and institution to determine the appropriate national or state processes it deems suitable for its educator preparation programs.

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AACTE: The Leading Voice on Educator Preparation

The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education is a national alliance of educator preparation programs dedicated to high-quality, evidence-based preparation that assures educators are profession ready as they enter the classroom. The 800 member institutions include public and private colleges and universities in every state, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands and Guam. AACTE leads the field in advocacy and capacity building by promoting innovation and effective practices as critical to reforming educator preparation. For more information, visit www.aacte.org.