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NCA CASI accredited and candidate schools must engage in a process of
continuous improvement. Schools may use the process of their choice as
long as it meets NCA CASI's criteria.
NCA CASI makes available to interested schools the NCA CASI School Improvement
Process, formally referred to as "Performance Accreditation,"
which provides schools with a powerful approach to improving student performance.
NCA CASI's School Improvement Process is based on three assumptions:
- Schools are at differing stages or levels of maturity concerning continuous
quality improvement.
- A rigorous, sustained, and well-implemented school improvement process
promotes continuous growth.
- Building upon certain capacities within the school will enhance its
ability to implement quality school improvement activities that lead
to improved student performance.
NCA CASI's process promotes growth by ensuring successful transitions
for both the individual student and the school/system. For students, the
transitions are from school to school and school to career. Schools/systems
that transition from one stage in the improvement framework to another
build upon their capacity to improve as an organization. For both students
and schools, the results of school improvement are growth and enhanced
student performance.
By design, any systematic improvement process must have a specific series
of steps to produce quality results. Many educators are aware of the "Plan-Do-Study-Act"
cycle used in a variety of improvement models. NCA CASI expanded these
four basic steps to more clearly describe the actual actions that should
take place when approaching any process or system in need of improvement.
NCA CASI's process includes eight steps, or phases:
| Phase I |
Making or Renewing the Commitment |
| Phase II |
Getting Started |
| Phase III |
Collecting and Analyzing Data |
| Phase IV |
Clarifying Mission and Selecting Appropriate
Goals and Measures |
| Phase V |
Developing the Improvement Plan |
| Phase VI |
Implementing and Monitoring the Improvement
Plan |
| Phase VII |
Documenting and Analyzing Results |
| Phase VIII |
Acting on the Findings & Continuing
the Process |
These eight phases can be used to address a process or system in need
of improvement no matter how simple or how complex: the only variable
is time. A simple problem can be addressed using the eight phases in a
very short period of time, perhaps as short as a class period. More complex
systems and processes could take weeks, months, or even years to complete
all eight phases. In fact, the more mature the organization, the more
of these "improvement cycles" can be running simultaneously!
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