Background

One of the changes being made as part of the reinvention of NAEYC Accreditation is the development of clear steps and expectations for programs moving through the accreditation process.

To give programs and other stakeholders a more complete understanding of what programs will be expected to demonstrate when seeking NAEYC Accreditation, a four-step framework has been proposed. This addresses a goal established by the National Commission on Accreditation Reinvention and the NAEYC Governing Board: increasing the accountability of the system for children, families, and all customers of NAEYC Accreditation.

To earn NAEYC Accreditation in the new system, a program will need to meet all 10 NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards. To do so, the program must meet a majority of the NAEYC Accreditation Performance Criteria related to each standard. Programs will also need to meet certain Required Criteria, outlined in Step Four, below. This approach will enable NAEYC Accreditation to set a high standard for quality in early childhood education while allowing some flexibility.

In addition to clarifying the process, the proposed framework of steps and expectations will help ensure that a program does not formally begin the accreditation process before it has crucial components of program quality in place. This preparation will increase a program's success with the accreditation process and reduce the potential for frustration-frustration experienced not only by the program, but also by the families, funders, and other stakeholders working to help the program improve and earn NAEYC Accreditation.

The proposed four-step framework is built on a set of principles that stress quality and access. The framework has been reviewed by the Commission on NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and Accreditation Criteria, the Council for NAEYC Accreditation, a Board-appointed work group, and a group of representatives from large systems of programs for young children. Your comments are welcomed. Please submit feedback to nexterasystem@naeyc.org by no later than June 15, 2005.

STEP 1. ENROLLING IN SELF STUDY

PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS:

Center- or school-based programs study their performance relative to the NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and Accreditation Performance Criteria using tools developed by NAEYC (or others) and make needed improvements.

PURPOSE:

To encourage programs to participate in a structured approach for improving program quality that considers all of the necessary components of high quality program provision.

HOW ASSESSED:

Payment of self-study fee determines enrollment. Program decides how to use the self-study tools to meet its needs and determines the pace for self study.

STEP 2. BECOMING AN APPLICANT

PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS:

The program:

• Meets eligibility requirements for NAEYC Accreditation:
  • Is a center- or school-based early childhood program serving children birth through kindergarten
  • Serves a minimum of 10 children
  • Has been in operation for at least one year prior to submitting materials for candidacy
  • Is regulated by the appropriate licensing/regulatory body. (When the program is exempt and eligible for licensure/regulation, the appropriate licensing/regulatory body licenses the program. If the state does not permit the exempt program to go through licensing/regulation, the program documents compliance with criteria specially created for this purpose by the NAEYC Academy for Early Childhood Program Accreditation.)
  • Is located in the United States or its territories, unless affiliated with the United States government (for example, Department of Defense schools and child development centers/programs).
  • Is able to meet NAEYC's early childhood program standards.
• Demonstrates an understanding of the NAEYC accreditation process by key program staff/leadership
• Has established a collaborative process for completing program assessment that involves the program administrator, teaching staff, families, and representatives of the program's governance

PURPOSE:

To ensure that

• Only eligible programs submit applications to formally begin the accreditation process
• Program leaders understand what the NAEYC Accreditation process entails
• The program has the capacity to complete within one year a comprehensive, formal program assessment that reflects that the program meets each of the 10 NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards through satisfactory performance on the majority of NAEYC Accreditation Performance Criteria.

HOW ASSESSED:

Program applications must include signoffs by the program administrator and members of a program assessment team that includes representatives of the teaching staff, families, and governance that:

• The program meets the eligibility requirements for NAEYC Accreditation
• The team understands what the NAEYC Accreditation process entails
• The program is prepared to complete a formal, comprehensive self assessment within one year. (Program applications will include the recently introduced Notification of Intent, by which a program informs the NAEYC Academy that it will submit its Program Self Assessment report within a specific calendar month during that year.)

STEP 3. BECOMING A CANDIDATE

PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS:

The program:

• Maintains good standing in its regulatory status by having no repeated or serious issues of noncompliance within the last year
• Operates with teacher:child ratios within group sizes that may exceed those stated in the accreditation criteria but are within thresholds established as candidacy requirements (see Table 1)
• Demonstrates necessary early childhood and management/leadership expertise among its teaching, supervisory and leadership staff (see Table 2)
• Demonstrates sound fiscal practices and program viability
• Used a collaborative process to complete its Program Self Assessment report, actively engaging the program administrator, teaching staff, families, and the program's governing body
• Believes that it can meet each of the 10 NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and can document satisfactory performance on at least 80% of each standard's associated accreditation performance criteria in its Program Self Assessment report.

PURPOSE:

To ensure that the infrastructure to support program excellence is in place and to optimize for programs the probability of a successful on-site assessment.

HOW ASSESSED:

The program's candidacy materials must include documentation of the following:

• Current good standing in their regulatory status by providing copies of regulatory reports for the last 12 months and/or documentation from the regulatory agency (An alternative is under development for exempt programs.)
• Enrollment figures by class/group with teaching staff assignments over the course of the day that are within the candidacy requirements specified in Table 1.
• Evidence that the educational qualifications of program administrator(s) and the teaching staff meet the requirements in Table 2.
• Copy of the program's current audited financial statement or an affidavit by a certified public accountant (CPA) regarding program's fiscal soundness.
• Family, staff, and governance participation in preparation of submitted evidence (demonstrated through results of surveys as well as evidence of involvement in program planning).
• Evidence that each of the 10 NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards is met by documenting the program's assessment of its satisfactory performance on at least 80% of each standard's associated accreditation performance criteria, including all required criteria (Criteria 3.4, 3.6, 1.19, and 5.7).

STEP 4. MEETING THE PROGRAM STANDARDS

PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS:

During the on-site assessment by NAEYC Assessors who have been trained to acceptable levels of inter-rater reliability, the program must

• Meet all required criteria:
  • Supervision of children at all times (3.4 and 3.6)
  • No use of physical punishment or other forms of physical or psychological abuse or coercion (1.19)
  • Infants placed to sleep on their back unless otherwise ordered by a physician (5.7)
  • Verification of application and candidacy requirements [See Step 3: good standing in regulatory status; teacher:child ratios within group sizes as listed in Table 1; meets program administrator qualification criterion (10.2) and meets two of the three staff qualifications criteria (6.6, 6.7 and 6.10); sound fiscal practices and program viability; and collaborative process used to complete Program Self Assessment report.]
• Meet each of the 10 NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards by demonstrating satisfactory performance on at least 80% of each standard's associated accreditation performance criteria upon which the program is assessed.

PURPOSE:

To provide an independent assessment that the program fully meets NAEYC's Early Childhood Program Standards.

HOW ASSESSED:

Specially trained NAEYC program assessors who have achieved acceptable levels of reliability in their assessment performance will visit the program to conduct classroom observations with all eligible age groups, review program documents, analyze the results of staff and family surveys, and interview the program administrator.

A portion of the accreditation performance criteria across each of the 10 NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards, including the required criteria, will be assessed in every program. The assessment will include randomly selected criteria that will include groups of Predictive Criteria. Research indicates that programs that meet the Predictive Criteria are more likely to meet the standards, and programs that do not meet the Predictive Criteria are less likely to be high quality.

NAEYC Academy staff will review the onsite assessment process for procedural accuracy. Accreditation decisions, including appeals procedures, will be reviewed and finalized by the Council for NAEYC Accreditation and/or committees it establishes for this purpose.

Table 1. Proposed Candidacy Requirements for Teaching Staff: Child Ratios and Group Sizes

Programs seeking Candidacy for NAEYC Accreditation may operate with ratios and group sizes that exceed those specified in the NAEYC Accreditation Performance Criteria as long as the ratios and group sizes do not exceed the Acceptable levels stated below. To earn accreditation, programs must meet each of 10 Early Childhood Program Standards by demonstrating satisfactory performance on at least 80% of the criteria associated with each standard upon which the program is assessed.

Mixed age groups are allowed. In a mixed-age preschool class of 2.5 to 5-year-olds, up to 20% of children 2.5 to 3-years-old may be enrolled. The ratios within group size for the predominant age group apply. If infants and toddlers are in a mixed-age group, the ratio for the youngest child applies. Ratios may need to be lowered when there are one or more children who need additional adult assistance to fully participate in the program due to ability, language fluency, developmental age and/or stage or other factors in order to meet accreditation performance criteria.

Age Group	Criteria	ACCEPTABLE*	UNACCEPTABLE
Infants (0-15 months)	Group size of 6-8 withratios of 1:3 or 1:4	2 teaching staff: 8 children 3 teaching staff: 12 children	2 teaching staff: 9+ children 3 teaching staff: 13+ children
Young Toddler/2s (12 to 28 months)	Group size of 6-8 or 12 Ratios of 1:3 or 4	2 teaching staff:10 children 3 teaching staff: 15 children	2 teaching staff: 11+ children 3 teaching staff: 16+ children
Older Toddler/2s (21-36 months)	Group size of 8-12 Ratios of 1:4 to 1:6	2 teaching staff: 15 children 3 teaching staff: 16 children	2 teaching staff: 16+ children 3 teaching staff: 17+ children
2-1/2 to 3s (30 to 48 months)	Group size of 12-18 Ratios of 1:6 to 1:9	2 teaching staff: 20 children 3 teaching staff: 25 children	2 teaching staff: 21+ children 3 teaching staff: 26+ children
4s/5s	Group size of 16 to 20 with ratios of 1:8 to 1:10	2 teaching staff: 27 children 3 teaching staff: 30 children	2 teaching staff: 28+ children 3 teaching staff: 31+ children
K	Group size of 20-24 with ratios of 1:10 to 1:12	1 teacher: up to 16 children or up to 20 children if a teaching assistant is present for at least half of the school day2 teaching staff for the full school day: up to 31 children3 teaching staff for the full school day: up to 37 children	1 teacher: 17+ children or 21+ children if an assistant is present for at least half of the school day. 2 teaching staff: 32+ children3 teaching staff: 38+ children

*These ratios within group size are acceptable only when the criterion for indoor space is met. The indoor space criterion is recommended but not required for programs that meet the criterion for ratios within group size. Group sizes may not exceed the above limits even if additional teaching staff are present.

Table 2. Proposed Candidacy Requirements for Ensuring Early Childhood Expertise

Staff role	Criteria (for 2006-2009)	Proposed Candidacy requirement
Program administrator	Must have at least a baccalaureate degree with at least 9 credit-bearing hours of specialized college-level course work in administration, leadership, and/or management and at least 24 credit-bearing hours of specialized college-level course work that addresses child development and learning from birth through kindergarten in early childhood education, child development, elementary education or early childhood special education OR documents that a plan is in place to meet these qualifications within 5 years. NOTE: An alternative way for program administrators to document a certain number of years of successful work experience and significant, relevant professional development experiences is under development and will be announced in July 2005.	Must be met
Supervisors/Mentors of teaching staff	All teaching staff who supervise or mentor other staff members have specialized college-level course work or professional development training and preparation in adult supervision and leadership development.	At least two of the three criteria related to staff qualifications (supervisors/mentors, teachers, teaching assistants) must be met, and a detailed professional development plan must be submitted describing a process for meeting all three criteria within 5 years. The application must describe a process for ensuring the provision of early childhood expertise to guide curriculum and learning in the interim as well as the current professional expertise of all teaching and supervisory staff and the program administrator.
Teachers	Minimum of CDA or equivalent and working on Associate or Baccalaureate degree or equivalent
Teaching assistants	High school diploma or GED. 50% of assistant teachers/teacher aides have at least a Child Development Associate Credential (CDA) or equivalent, and all assistant teachers/teacher aides who do not have at least a CDA are demonstrating progress toward the CDA or equivalent.

Principles Underlying the Performance Expectations for NAEYC Accreditation

Performance expectations leading to NAEYC Accreditation should:

Be based on the presumption of substantial compliance - no program should be expected to meet every criterion;

Accommodate diversity of program types and auspices that participate in NAEYC's early childhood program accreditation system;

Accommodate the diversity of ways in which programs demonstrate commitment to high-quality programming as it relates to their community and program context and the performance expectations for NAEYC Accreditation;

Take into consideration the dynamic character of daily life in high quality early childhood programs;

Affirm program continuous improvement as an essential premise of NAEYC's early childhood program accreditation system;

Recognize, affirm and incorporate the importance of programs' and assessors' professional judgment;

Make it possible for assessors to be trained to acceptable levels of individual and inter-rater reliability;

Use a decision-making process that has a "logic" validity to the accreditation system's users and stakeholders.

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