What Is Accreditation, and Is It Necessary?

Most people are unaware that there are no agreed-upon standards for whether or not a school is granted accreditation. In fact, there is nothing to stop a school from creating its own accrediting agency in order to bestow accreditation on itself.

Most agencies evaluate schools according to the lowest common denominator, so it is extremely rare for a school to be denied accreditation. Many failing inner-city schools are accredited even though the majority of their students fail to meet the standards for college admission. Because of this, the fact that a school is accredited does not mean that its program is academically excellent. Colleges and universities know this, which is why they pay more attention to SAT/ACT test scores and to admissions essays than to whether an applicant’s transcript comes from an accredited school.

Even NAPCIS, the organization that provides accreditation for multiple Catholic homeschool programs, admits that accreditation is not necessary for college admission:

Maybe, as long as 20–25 years ago, colleges and universities did consider the accreditation status of the applicant’s high school. But no longer. Why not? The answer may be summed up in two words: homeschooling! Because of the growing number of homeschooled students that are applying for college admission, as well as the fact that the best colleges and universities across the country are actively recruiting homeschooled students, the accreditation issue is moot in the college admission process.

When applying to colleges, homeschooled students have multiple options for demonstrating the excellence of their education without an accredited transcript, including:

• SAT or ACT score
• Application essay
• Parent-signed transcript demonstrating the course of studies taken and GPA
• A portfolio of volunteer work, extracurricular activities, awards, and other evidence of a motivated young adult
• Course descriptions (short descriptions of high school courses and what texts, if any, were used)
• Recommendations from significant adults (tutor or online instructor, employer for high school job, volunteer coordinator)
• Transcript and grades for one or more community college classes

Using these methods, “non-accredited” homeschoolers are routinely accepted into colleges and universities across the country.

Even though accreditation is not required for college admission and is not an indicator of academic excellence, some homeschooling families prefer to enroll their children in an accredited home-study school because it makes them feel more comfortable. Situations in which accredited school records could be useful are:

• If you are homeschooling a stepchild or are separated from your spouse. Enrolling with an accredited school would make it difficult for the child’s other parent to object to your decision to homeschool. This is because your child will be enrolled in a private school, so technically, you will not be homeschooling.
• If you are seeking U.S. citizenship for an adopted child, you may need to provide proof of your child’s residency in the U.S. Accredited school records are one way to provide this proof.

If you feel strongly that you want accreditation but still want the freedom and flexibility to adapt the curriculum to your child’s needs, you might consider enrolling in Clonlara School’s Off-Campus Program. Like all accredited enrollment programs, Clonlara charges high tuition fees and requires periodic progress reports. But Clonlara does an excellent job of allowing homeschoolers the flexibility and freedom to use whatever curriculum they want or even to design their own curriculum.

Explore CHC’s top favorites! From art to literature, science to hands-on religion, CHC has materials to enrich every Catholic homeschool.