All Archdiocesan high schools and elementary schools are accredited as a system through Cognia. Every five years, the Department of Catholic Schools completes the system-wide accreditation review, which culminates with a visit by a Cognia External Review Team. Each school is evaluated based on the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools. These standards and benchmarks can be found at: https://www.catholicschoolstandards.org.

Cognia is a Peformance-based model that:

  • Adopts a balanced, systemic approach
  • Employs diagnostic tools
  • Uses Standards, stakeholder feedback, student performance
  • Focuses on evaluating performance

All schools must…

  • Meet Cognia Standards for Quality
  • Implement continuous improvement process
  • Update demographics
  • Conduct an Internal Review, which includes:
    • Self Assessment
    • Executive Summary
    • Stakeholder Feedback and Student Performance Diagnostic
    • Improvement Plan
    • Assurances
  • Host an External Review once every five years
  • Respond to Improvement Priorities in Accreditation Progress Report