Memphis City Schools - Every Child. Every Day. College Bound.

School Accreditation in the United States: Information and Much More provides a brief history of school accreditation in this country:

The word accreditation is derived from the Latin credito (trust). Its application to American schools dates from 1871, when, on the basis of on-site visits by representatives of its faculty, the University of Michigan began "accrediting" secondary schools entrusted with providing adequate preparation for university studies. The practice was soon taken up by universities in nearby states, and in 1884 was adopted by the University of California. In 1899, graduates of 187 high schools in fifteen different states were eligible, by diploma alone, for admission to the University of Michigan.

A Community of Trust

Between 1895 and 1917, American colleges and secondary schools came together in five (later six) regional associations for consensus-building discussions about the developing system of American education. The movement of students from school to school, school to college, and college to college was on the agenda, along with other transactions that depended upon trust among institutions. The regional associations sought a voluntary method for identifying institutions capable of their objectives and worthy of trust, and accreditation became the preferred name of this process.

The diversity of sponsorship and purpose among educational institutions prohibited equating accreditation with advocacy. The regional associations simply wanted to establish that accredited institutions were what they said they were, had what they said they had, and did what they said they did in accordance with standards approved by the American academic community. Anything an accredited institution might say about its staff, facilities, curricula, services, or the accomplishments of its students was presumed to be true. Credibility was therefore essential for successful participation in the free American system. Institutions unwilling or unable to establish credibility through accreditation had to use some other means - none could prosper without it. (Retrieved from http://www.answers.com/topic/school-accreditation-in-the-united-states?print=true)

Memphis City Schools

One hundred-eighty Memphis City Schools are accredited. All schools meet the approved standards of the Tennessee State Department of Education and the accreditation standards of AdvancED—the parent organization of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement.

The Memphis City Schools has the largest number of accredited schools among school districts in Tennessee. Comprehensive external reviews are conducted of each school every five years, school improvement plans are updated every year, and progress reports are electronically submitted to AdvancED every two years. Each school's comprehensive five-year review is confirmed by a Quality Assurance Review Team of external reviewers that visits the school.

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