School Accreditation

Christian Academy in Japan is accredited by ACS WASC, the Accrediting Commission for Schools, Western Association of Schools and Colleges, more commonly known as WASC. CAJ has been accredited by WASC since 1976, and indeed CAJ’s board requires that the school maintains this accreditation. But what is accreditation, why is it important, and how does it work?

What is accreditation?

Accreditation is recognition by an independent body of educators that a school is providing high-quality learning to its students and is committed to ongoing self-improvement. Accredited schools have a clear learning mission, are pursuing that mission well, and are continually evaluating what they are doing and considering how they can do better.

Why is accreditation important?

Accreditation is a validation, an educational stamp of approval. When a school has accreditation, then its students and families, colleges and universities, and the broader public can have confidence that the school and the education it provides is trustworthy. Independent reviewers have found that the school’s learning program is effective and that the school is well run, providing the sort of education that it says it is. Colleges and universities trust that a student applying from an accredited school has participated in a reliable learning program.

What is accreditation not?

Accreditation has student learning at its center, but accreditation does not mean that all schools must operate in the same way or with the same goals. Accreditation recognizes that every school is unique and that the missions of schools vary widely. The accreditation process allows schools to assess and to improve on how they are achieving their particular mission, not to become something different from and incompatible with their mission.

What is WASC?

WASC is a large accreditation body based in California currently providing accreditation for over 5,000 schools, many in the western United States but including almost 600 international schools.

How does the accreditation process work?

With WASC, the accreditation process runs on a six-year cycle. Every six years a school engages in a self-study that includes all members of the school community. The staff take the lead, dividing into different groups to research and analyze how the school is performing in its organizational arrangements, instruction and curriculum, support for students inside and outside the classroom, and broader school culture and child safeguarding issues. This work is compiled into a Self-Study Report. This report provides the school’s own assessment of its current operations, and includes an Action Plan for the next six years that is based on areas for growth identified during the self-study process. The Self-Study Report is submitted to WASC, who send a team of experienced educators from other schools to visit the school. The purpose of the visit is to see the school in operation and to speak with a wide variety of school community members, in order to assess whether the Self-Study Report is an accurate representation of the school and its operations, and to affirm the Action Plan or recommend additional areas for growth that the school should pursue. The visiting team presents its conclusions in a report and recommends that the school is re-accredited (or recommends against re-accreditation, with specific reasons). After that, the school submits an annual update on its progress toward implementing the Action Plan, and midway through the six-year cycle another visiting team comes to review developments, providing recommendations as needed. After six years, the cycle begins again.

How does the accreditation process help CAJ?

CAJ benefits from the validation that comes from being accredited. CAJ also benefits from the need to regularly and continually assess how well it is operating and from hearing the insights of experienced educators from outside the CAJ community. CAJ is always looking to improve, especially when it comes to serving students and student learning, and it can use the accreditation process to help it to fulfill its mission more effectively.

What is CAJ doing to achieve re-accreditation?

CAJ is accredited through June 30, 2024. The school started the self-study process in the spring of 2023 and has now compiled and submitted its Self-Study Report; you can find the report here. You may be particularly interested in reading the Action Plan that you will find at the end of the report. WASC is sending a team of four experienced educators to visit the campus, March 3-7. If you are on campus during these days you will see them around and they may ask you questions as they seek to learn about the school. Please welcome them and feel free to share with them whatever you have to say about CAJ. After their visit the team will share a report with the school, including the areas for growth that should be addressed, and (hopefully!) recommend re-accreditation of CAJ for another six years.

Where can I find CAJ’s 2024 Self-Study Report, including its Action Plan?

You can find CAJ's 2024 Self-Study Report here.

What do I do if I have further questions about accreditation?

WASC answers more questions on its website, here. If you have other questions, please send an email to accreditation@caj.ac.jp.