Process
Change in Program Review Process Effective Fall 2004
For institutions required to undergo the NCATE program review process, NCATE has implemented an electronic system for submitting and revieweing program reports. This process entails the submission of 6-8 assessments that provide evidence of candidate mastery of specialized professional associations ( SPA) standards. Paper reports will no longer be accepted.
The national program review system is centrally managed by NCATE staff, although the development/revision of program standards and the review of programs are conducted by the SPAs. The new program report format is common across SPAs, although SPAs have customized the requirements for the 6-8 assessments to conform to the standards and assessments unique to each discipline. All SPAs, however, include the following five types of assessments:
- State licensure examinations of content knowledge
- At least one additional assessment of content knowledge
- An assessment of candidate ability to plan instruction, or (for non-teaching fields) to fulfill identified professional responsibilities
- The evaluation of clinical practice; and
- An assessment that demonstrates candidate effect on student learning, or (for non-teaching fields) the ability to create supportive learning environments.
Changes to the program review process were directed by a Program Review Task Force appointed by NCATE's Executive Board in Spring 2003.
State Requirements
Whether or not an institution is required to submit program reports to NCATE is determined by its state’s affiliation with NCATE. NCATE has partnership agreements with a number of states in which the terms of the partnership (see state protocols)
defer the program review process to the state. Other state partnerships require that NCATE specialized professional associations (SPAs) conduct the program reviews. In states with which NCATE has no partnership, institutions are also required to submit program reports to NCATE.
Institutions located in states where the program review process is conducted by the state should contact their state agency responsible for program approval for further information on how the reviews are conducted
The state chart below outlines the requirements and options for institutions in each state.
| NCATE Program Review |
State Program Review |
| Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, U.S. Territories, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming
| Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Washington, Wisconsin |
Programs and Standards
Click here to go to Program Standards and Report Forms
In states where NCATE program reviews are required, institutions must submit program reports for programs that align with program standards that have been adopted by NCATE. NCATE does not have standards for all programs that an institution may offer. For any program not covered by a set of NCATE standards, the institution should determine if the state has standards and/or a review process in place for that particular program.
In most cases, abbreviated programs (e.g. add-ons, endorsements, certificates) are not required to write to standards. Most NCATE program standards are written for stand-alone programs. Exceptions to this rule are noted by an asterisk in the chart below.
| Initial Teacher Licensure Programs Covered by NCATE Standards |
Advanced Teacher Preparation Programs Covered by NCATE Standards |
- Early childhood, elementary, and middle school education
- ESL*, Gifted education, Health education, physical education, special education, technology education, foreign languages education
- Secondary programs in math, sciences, social sciences, English/language arts, and computer science* education
- Middle grade programs in math, science, & social studies education
- Elementary specialist programs in math and science
|
- Early childhood, middle school, and physical education
|
| Other Advanced Programs Covered by NCATE Standards |
Common Programs for Which NCATE Does NOT Have Standards |
- Instructional technology, instructional media, technology facilitator*, technology leadership, library media specialist, reading specialist, school psychologist, educational leadership, special education (advanced roles)
|
- Art, music, dance, or drama education
- Business, speech, and vocational education
- Advanced teacher education programs (e.g. M.Ed., Curriculum & Instruction) except as noted in box above
- Guidance counselor
|
See Guidelines and Procedures for the NCATE Web-Based Program Review System for information on:
- Program report requirements for new, dormant, and revised programs
- Programs accredited by other accrediting agencies
Submission Timeline
NCATE will only accept program reports from institutions at fixed dates—in the spring semester (due by February 1) and in the fall semester (due by September 15). Program reports are due two semesters before the semester of an institution’s intended visit. Reports that are received after the February 1 or September 15 deadlines will be held in the NCATE office for submission in the next review cycle.
| Semester of NCATE Visit to the Institution |
Program reports are due on this date |
| Spring 2007 |
February 1, 2006 |
| Fall 2007 |
September 15, 2006 |
| Spring 2008 |
February 1, 2007 |
| Fall 2008 |
September 15, 2007 |
| Spring 2009 |
February 1, 2008 |
| Fall 2009 |
September 15, 2008 |
Relationship of the Program Review to the Unit Review
The NCATE accreditation process has two primary components: the unit review and the program review. The unit is the school, college or department of education, plus any other entities on campus that prepare personnel to work in school—the organization with the responsibility for managing or coordinating all programs offered for the initial and continuing preparation of teachers and other school personnel, regardless of where these programs are administratively housed. The unit is reviewed by an NCATE Board of Examiners team that completes a site visit and evaluates the unit against the six NCATE unit standards.
A program is a discipline-specific component within a unit that provides a planned sequence of courses and experiences for preparing P–12 teachers and other professional school personnel (e.g. social studies educators, school psychologists). These courses and experiences often lead to a recommendation for a state license to work in schools.
Program reviews are submitted on-line, using a form available on the NCATE web site. The standards for program are developed by the appropriate specialized professional associations (SPAs). Program reviewers evaluate the program report to determine if the program meets the appropriate SPA standards. Because NCATE Unit Standard 1 requires that the unit demonstrate that its candidates “know the content of their fields, demonstrate professional and pedagogical knowledge, skills, and dispositions and apply them so that students learn” this information becomes very important at the unit level. |
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