According to this story on Inside Higher Ed, Secretary Spellings is going to put accreditation under scrutiny in a forum to be held November 29th.

The accreditors are defensive. “I don’t think there’s any question but that we’ve made our processes more rigorous,” said Ralph Wolff of the Western Association of Colleges and Schools. Quoting from the article, “virtually all accreditors have clear standards that require colleges to provide specific evidence that they measure student learning, and take steps to improve programs based on the results of these measurements.”

Sounds nice, but how much confidence does it instill? Suppose that automobile manufacturers were accredited. You go to a dealership and the salesman immediately tells you that the model of car you’re interested in has been accredited. “The manufacturer had to prove that it has clear standards for the evaluation of its vehicles and has taken steps to improve the quality of this model based on those standards.” Are you sure you want to buy it?

What parents, trustees, and public officials should insist on is not second-hand “we’ve satisfied our accreditor” information about educational quality, but direct evidence that students gain significantly in skills and knowledge.