Beyond Accreditation

“Duerr and Pickreign engage readers in critical conversations that explore assessment and quality assurance. Through their lens of practice and experience, they underscore the importance of assessment in driving continuous improvement, providing rich descriptions of the fundamental principles of evaluation and practical tools for investigating data quality. While situated in education, the strategies can easily be adapted and applied across a wide range of disciplines. This book is a must-read for faculty and staff who are planning or contributing to assessment systems that inform quality assurance and continuous improvement.”

Nicole Wise, Associate Dean for Assessment and Accreditation, College of Education, Health, and Human Services, SUNY Oswego

“Beyond Accreditation: Designing and Implementing Meaningful Quality Assurance and Continuous Improvement Systems is a comprehensive and accessible resource for stakeholders involved in evaluation and accreditation efforts. In this important and timely effort, Duerr and Pickreign summarize how to understand, analyze, and represent varying forms of data, skillfully employing dynamic narrative styles such as author dialogues and “real-world” case studies. In common sense fashion, the authors emphasize how a focus on continuous improvement is at the heart of all program evaluation efforts and how data-informed decision-making serves as a vehicle for achieving high quality programs and compliance with organizational and agency standards. The authors go beyond merely calling for change; they provide strategic guidance on how to institutionalize a shared vision of meaningful assessment as well as concise summaries of the content knowledge needed for valid, reliable, and relevant assessment processes.”

Michael S. Rosenberg, PhD, Retired Professor and Dean, SUNY New Paltz, Professor Emeritus, Johns Hopkins University

“The authors of Beyond Accreditation: Designing and Implementing Meaningful Quality Assurance and Continuous Improvement Systems have accomplished the astounding outcome of making accreditation conversational, humorous, and accessible. This book captures discussions that will be familiar to those working in accreditation, collected in an engaging, page-turning exploration useful to beginners and veterans alike. The Author Dialogue chapters read like podcasts where musings are combined with critical ideas core to the subsequent topics, which build upon each other like a well-designed class. Grab a cup of tea, curl up in your favorite chair, and don’t skip the notes.”

Gina Garner, Educator Preparation and Accreditation, Michigan Department of Education

“Beyond Accreditation: Designing and Implementing Meaningful Quality Assurance and Continuous Improvement Systems provides essential support for developing and refining an assessment system that supports continuous improvement rather than focusing on compliance. Duerr and Pickreign’s conversations invite the reader to consider challenges to engaging in the work of quality assurance followed by theoretical explanations and practical examples to support professionals of varying levels of expertise. Beyond Accreditation is a perfect companion to the work of continuous improvement that results in accreditation.”

Louise R. Moulding, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Teacher Education, Weber State University

“Beyond Accreditation: Designing and Implementing Meaningful Quality Assurance and Continuous Improvement Systems is highly instructive for those of us involved in assessment and/or accreditation work. In the dialogues and explanations, I found many helpful clarifications of deceptively simple terms, such as evidence, data quality and assessment systems. Strikingly useful are the methods and sound, practical ideas of engaging in assessment; the processes of which are, initially, often nebulous. Beyond Accreditation: Designing and Implementing Meaningful Quality Assurance and Continuous Improvement Systems will be of service to anyone undertaking assessment and/or accreditation activities, regardless of level of experience.”

Dr. Clare Sng, Associate Director of Accreditation and Assessment, Teachers College, Columbia University

“Duerr and Pickreign offer a no-nonsense novice-friendly approach to engaging in the work of assessment and accreditation. Through conversations and real-life examples, the authors aim to demystify key concepts, reduce assessment anxiety stemming from unreasonable expectations, minimize busy-work that leads to frustration and resentment, and elevate genuine continuous improvement, no matter how big or small. By focusing on the most useful and readily accessible components within any given topic, the authors democratize assessment work and allow experts and novices to come together to engage in conversations around the assessment data.”

Alexandra (Sasha) Gribovskaya, Director, Office of Accreditation and Assessment, Teachers College, Columbia University

Acknowledgments

Prologue

Chapter 1. Author Dialogue: Culture of Assessment for Continuous Improvement

Chapter 2. Understanding Evidence, Assessment, and Continuous Improvement

Chapter 3. Author Dialogue: Everything and the Kitchen Sink

Chapter 4. Understanding and Reporting Data

Chapter 5. Author Dialogue: Data Quality

Chapter 6. Understanding Validity

Chapter 7. Understanding Reliability

Chapter 8. Understanding Fairness

Chapter 9. Understanding Trustworthiness

Chapter 10. Author Dialogue: Signature Assessment Instruments

Chapter 11. Constructing or Identifying Signature Assessment Instruments

Chapter 12. Investigating Data Quality

Chapter 13. Author Dialogue: Data Management Systems vs. Assessment Systems

Chapter 14. Designing an Assessment System

Chapter 15. Author Dialogue: Data Reporting and Presentation

Chapter 16. Data Analysis, Reporting, and Visualization

Chapter 17. Author Dialogue: Decision-Making

Chapter 18. Making the Case for Continuous Improvement

Chapter 19. Meta-Assessment

Glossary

About the Authors

Index

Sunny Duerr

Sunny Duerr earned an MS in applied statistics and research methods from the University of Northern Colorado and a PhD in psychology with specialization in behavioral science research methods from the University of Rhode Island. Dr. Duerr is currently the Assistant Dean for Assessment and Accreditation and Director of Compliance for the School of Education at the State University of New York at New Paltz, and was instrumental in establishing and being part of the leadership team of the SUNY Educator Preparation Providers’ Assessment Consortium. Dr. Duerr has been volunteering as an accreditation review team member and team lead since 2014, first with CAEP and now with AAQEP, and has also been serving as an accreditation commissioner with AAQEP since 2023. For fun, Dr. Duerr teaches graduate courses in research methods and statistics, plays video games, and builds things out of wood.

Jamar Pickreign

Jamar Pickreign earned an MSEd in Mathematics Education and a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction/Mathematics Education from the University of Kansas. Currently the Associate Dean for Assessment and Accreditation in the School of Education, Health, and Human Services at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh, Dr. Pickreign has been facilitating and guiding continuous improvement efforts since 2007. He was instrumental in establishing and being part of the leadership team of the SUNY Educator Preparation Provider’s Assessment Consortium (EPPAC) since 2014 and continues to teach courses on assessment in education. He enjoys a good single-malt, bicycle riding, and playing the electric bass.