Step one: choose the right accrediting agency
Private schools are accredited by independent accrediting agencies, and there are many of them. Some serve schools in a particular region or state, some serve schools with a shared faith tradition or educational philosophy, and some focus on particular kinds of programs, such as early childhood or online learning. Choosing the right one is the first real decision a school makes.
A few questions help narrow the field:
- Does the agency's mission fit your school's mission and educational approach?
- Are its standards published, and do they cover academics, governance, leadership, safety, and continuous improvement?
- Does it conduct peer review with an on-site or virtual visit, and on what renewal cycle?
- Is the agency itself accountable to an outside body? Accreditation by an NCPSA-recognized agency means the accreditor has been reviewed through NCPSA's peer process. You can see the full list of member organizations.
- If you plan to take part in a state scholarship, voucher, or education savings account program, which accreditors does that program accept? Our guide to accreditation and school choice programs explains why this matters.
It's also worth asking an agency's current schools about their experience. Heads of school are usually generous with advice, and they can tell you how responsive the agency is, how its visiting teams approach the review, and what kind of support it offers between reviews.
Step two: confirm eligibility
Most accrediting agencies have baseline requirements a school must meet before it can begin. These commonly include being legally registered or licensed to operate in the state, having been open for a minimum period, having a governing board or clear ownership structure, maintaining required health and safety compliance, and being able to show financial stability. Many agencies also require a school to have enrolled students and graduated at least one class, or to have operated for a set number of years, before full accreditation is possible.
Each agency sets its own rules, so the best source is the agency itself. If your school doesn't meet every requirement yet, many accreditors offer a candidate or applicant status that lets you begin the relationship while you finish getting ready.
Step three: complete the self-study
The self-study is the heart of accreditation. The school examines itself against each of the accreditor's standards, gathers evidence, and writes an honest account of where it's strong and where it needs to grow. Evidence might include policies, board minutes, curriculum maps, student assessment results, staff credentials, safety plans, financial statements, and surveys of families and staff.
A good self-study involves the whole school community, not just the head of school. Teachers, board members, staff, and sometimes parents and students take part. The result is a document that shows the review team who the school really is, and it usually ends with a set of improvement goals the school commits to pursuing.
Step four: the peer review visit
After the self-study is submitted, the accrediting agency sends a team of trained reviewers, usually experienced educators from other schools, to visit the campus in person or virtually. The team reads the self-study, interviews leaders, teachers, board members, and families, observes classes, and checks the evidence against the standards.
At the end of the visit, the team writes a report with findings, commendations, and recommendations. That report goes to the accrediting agency's decision-making body, which decides whether to grant accreditation, grant it with conditions, or defer until certain issues are addressed.
Step five: keep it current
Accreditation is granted for a set term, and it doesn't stop at the decision letter. Accredited schools typically submit annual or periodic reports to their accreditor, notify the agency of major changes such as new leadership, new campuses, or new grade levels, and work on the improvement goals from their self-study. At the end of the term, the school goes through the renewal process, which usually includes a new self-study and another visit.
This ongoing cycle is what gives accreditation its meaning. It shows families and public agencies that the school isn't just meeting standards once, but continuing to meet them.
Tips from schools that have been through it
Schools that move through accreditation smoothly tend to share a few habits. None of them are complicated, but they make a real difference in how the process feels for staff and how useful the result turns out to be.
- Name a coordinator early. One person who owns the timeline, gathers documents, and keeps committees moving saves a great deal of last-minute stress.
- Start collecting evidence before you need it. Board minutes, policies, curriculum documents, assessment data, safety drills, and financial reports are easier to organize as you go than to reconstruct later.
- Be honest in the self-study. Review teams are experienced educators, and they respect schools that name their own gaps and show a plan to address them. A self-study that reads like marketing tends to raise more questions, not fewer.
- Involve the board. Governance is part of nearly every set of standards, and board members who understand the process can speak to it confidently during the visit.
- Treat the goals as the real outcome. The improvement goals you set in the self-study become the roadmap for the next several years, so choose ones your community actually cares about.
Many school leaders describe accreditation as one of the most useful planning exercises they go through. As one member association leader put it after going through NCPSA's own peer review, being reviewed by other experts in the field wasn't just a compliance exercise; it strengthened their confidence, clarity, and capacity to serve schools. The same spirit applies when a school is reviewed by its accreditor.
How long it takes and what it costs
Timelines and fees vary by accreditor and by the size and complexity of the school. Many schools spend one to two years moving from their first inquiry to an accreditation decision, especially if the school is newer or is preparing its first self-study. Accreditors generally charge application or candidacy fees, visit fees that cover the review team, and annual membership dues, and some scale their fees by enrollment. Ask each agency you're considering for a written outline of its timeline and costs before you commit.
If you have questions about how accreditation works at the national level, or you'd like help finding which recognized agencies serve schools like yours, you're welcome to contact the NCPSA office.