States Lead the Way with SEA Accreditation

Their report, State Education Agencies as Agents of Change: What It Will Take for the States to Step Up On Education Reform, noted that SEAs—once small-time agencies focused on managing federal programs and compliance with legal obligations—had to take on unprecedented demands. State education agencies sometimes found themselves overwhelmed by challenging new responsibilities, such as managing high-stakes state assessment programs, turning around low-performing schools, fixing state data systems, and improving teacher evaluations.

The report, written by education policy experts from the Center for American Progress and the American Enterprise Institute in 2011, found common problems with SEAs. The findings showed that some major challenges facing SEAs include a lack of capacity and transparency, bureaucratic obstacles, siloes in federal programs, agency culture focused on compliance, and limited innovation. Since then, SEAs have made improvements, first reorganizing by function rather than funding streams and then taking steps to develop new types of relationships with school systems.

In 2019, a report from researchers at the University of North Carolina, Four key actions for State Education Agency teams to support implementation of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, identified where SEAs could do more to support learning programs in schools. The report concluded:

SEAs, because of limited resources and distance from the classroom, may seem to have little influence over practices with students. However, with careful planning, the SEA can play a lead role in influencing practice and improving student outcomes. Placing a focus on measuring and improving the fidelity of implementation, ensuring effective resources and materials, and empowering local capacity are all ways that SEAs can improve outcomes for students…

The report noted that state departments could further directly support students by “assisting districts or regions with the development of teams to manage the implementation of programs and place trainers and coaches closer to the school.” This allows the SEA to be more “responsive to contextual and scheduling needs and can assist in local evaluation efforts for continuous improvement.”

“Investing in local capacity,” the report says, “means that there are local functions for training, coaching, technical expertise, leadership for guiding implementation efforts, and use of evaluation for continuous improvement.”

Identifying characteristics of effective agencies, setting standards

To help position states to become agents of improvement for schools and districts that can advance better learning outcomes for all children, Cognia has worked with the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (NDDPI) over the past two years to develop a new accreditation program for state education agencies.

The idea of accrediting state agencies was first suggested during the 2022-23 school year by North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler, one of the nation’s leading advocates for continuous improvement in education.

We believe in the importance of rigorous evaluations for our school districts, and it is only fair that we hold ourselves to the same high standards.

“While we have always strived to do good work, receiving positive feedback and confirmation of this work from a third-party reviewer like Cognia is truly meaningful,” noted Baesler. “We believe in the importance of rigorous evaluations for our school districts, and it is only fair that we hold ourselves to the same high standards.”

To develop this new accreditation model, Cognia identified characteristics of highly effective state education agencies, including:

• Healthy culture, where personnel feel connected to the purpose and work of the organization and behave in alignment with the values and norms.
• Leadership communicates expectations for all personnel with consistency and purpose, and model positive interactions with personnel, client districts and schools, and other organizations.
• Policy management, where the state education agency develops, implements, maintains, and evaluates processes for ensuring state and federal policies are implemented with fidelity within the agency and in client districts, schools, and with partner organizations.
• Communications and support, where all agency offices anticipate and respond to client needs by developing and delivering information, seeking and responding appropriately to feedback, and maintaining trustworthy processes.
• Partnerships, where the agency builds and maintains effective partnerships with other agencies and organizations that impact the improvement of education.
• Continuous improvement, where the agency continually identifies and pursues areas for improvement, and consistently measures progress at all levels within the agency.

These characteristics focus on providing ongoing technical assistance to stakeholders, collaborating with constituents, and leading innovative initiatives to use data to make informed decisions and resolve issues between local education agencies, partners, and other entities. Cognia then developed standards for accreditation of state education agencies across those characteristics.

The accreditation process examines the ‘whole’ state organization and its policies, programs, practices, learning conditions, and cultural context. The SEA accreditation process helps state agencies increase their efficiency, improve collaboration, eliminate redundancy and silos, and work more effectively with school and district leaders to help them meet improvement goals.

North Dakota becomes first state to receive Cognia accreditation

In July 2024, the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (NDPPI) became the first state education agency in the country to earn Cognia Accreditation.

NDDPI followed a similar improvement process to the one its schools follow to become accredited, beginning by completing a self-review based on Cognia’s new Performance Standards for SEAs. A professional review team then gathered evidence using the standards and research-based tools.  In early 2024, Cognia met with NDDPI’s partners, including district leaders, state and local officials, and stakeholders, including parent and community partners, and developed a complete picture of the SEA’s operations and relationships as part of a thorough review process. Afterward, NDDPI received a final report with detailed insights into where the agency excels and where its leaders can focus and invest further resources for improvement.

‘Trusted eyes’ outside the agency

The final report identifies an agency’s strengths and weaknesses and helps put the SEA on a path toward improvement. For example, Cognia recognized NDDPI’s greatest strengths, including:

• Its authentic and nurturing focus on children
• The climate of collaboration with schools, communities, and stakeholders
• Innovative efforts to address the supply of high-quality teachers and principals
• National leadership in initiating innovative curricula and board training
• Designing and implementing programs to meet students’ needs and inform instruction, including for the Native American population

The areas of improvement identified for NDDPI include:

• Creating systems to monitor and adjust state improvement actions
• Calculating graduates’ success in the workforce, postsecondary education, or military to bolster student readiness and preparation for success after high school
• Communicating with the public and educators to clarify expectations for student achievement
• Coordinating research findings on the effectiveness of state teaching and learning initiatives to build on what works and eliminate what does not

“At a time when state agencies need to eliminate duplication of work and effort, state leaders must have trusted eyes outside the agency that can walk them through a research-based process with high standards and meaningful protocols,” said Superintendent Baesler.

All SEAs can use the accreditation process to gain critical perspective, do more with less, and eliminate duplication to function more effectively.

Greater effectiveness, better results for students

All SEAs can use the accreditation process to gain critical perspective, do more with less, and eliminate duplication to function more effectively. SEA accreditation helps move the entire agency toward a culture conducive to continuous improvement. These are necessary next steps for SEAs to evolve, moving out of the compliance business and into the business of supporting school districts to reach their goals.

Through accreditation, state leaders signal to parents, constituents, policymakers, and partners that they, too, are willing to be accountable for their own performance. With this approach, SEAs can lead the way for all education providers and model educational excellence to support the success of learners statewide.

Cognia SEA Accreditation offers an innovative approach to improving education for states. Want to learn more about Cognia’s vision for the future of accountability systems? Read our whitepaper, Design for Improvement: The Case for a New Accountability System.

References

Brown, C. G., Hess, F. M., Lautzenheiser, D. K., & Owen, I. (2011). State Education Agencies as Agents of Change What It Will Take for the States to Step Up on Education Reform.

Goodman, S., Ward, C., & McIntosh, K. (2019). Four Key Actions for State Education Agency Teams to Support Implementation of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support. National Implementation Research Network, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Cognia. (2024) Cognia is First to Accredit a State Education Agency in the U.S.

Mark A. Elgart, Ed.D.,  serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Cognia. Dr. Elgart works closely with government agencies and other leading education-focused organizations to help establish the policies, strategic vision, and actions to propel and transform the learning experience so that every learner is prepared for the rapidly and ever-changing global world. Dr. Elgart provides vision and leadership for a global nonprofit in over 90 countries, 40,000 institutions serving and supporting nearly 18 million students and 5 million educators every day. Cognia is an undeniable force for enhancing schools, engaging students, and driving better outcomes for all learners. Dr. Elgart’s professional experience includes serving as a mathematics and physics teacher; a middle and high school administrator; and a middle school principal. He earned a bachelor’s in mathematics from Springfield College, a master’s in education from Westfield State College, and a doctorate in education from the University of Massachusetts.

André L. Harrison, Ed.D., serves as the Vice President of Accreditation Services for Cognia. He has supported institutions throughout the United States and other countries across the globe during their continuous improvement journey. Prior to joining Cognia, he served as superintendent, principal, teacher, and library media specialist for the Elmore County Board of Education in Wetumpka, Alabama. He also currently serves as an adjunct assistant professor of Educational Leadership for the University of Alabama. Dr. Harrison has a passion for supporting institutions as a thought leader during their continuous improvement journey. His areas of expertise include educational leadership, board governance, finance, human resources, and school improvement. Dr. Harrison has written extensively about school leadership and board governance, curriculum and instruction, and school finance. He co-authored The Alabama School Finance Handbook, which will be used in training sessions for aspiring and new superintendents. This handbook will also be used by Alabama professors teaching school finance in leadership courses at universities in Alabama. Dr. Harrison received his doctoral degree from Auburn University.