NAEYC Accreditation

NAEYC Accreditation of programs for young children represents the mark of quality in early childhood education. NAEYC Accreditation began in 1985 with the goal of providing an accrediting system that would raise the level of early childhood programs. Today, over 6,500 programs are NAEYC Accredited.

NAEYC accredited programs invest in early childhood education because they believe in the benefits to children and families. Early childhood experiences—from birth to age 8—have an enormous impact on children’s lifelong learning and positively contribute to their health and development. Early childhood education programs with the mark of quality benefit children with greater readiness for and success in school.

It is for this reason that parents and families are seeking out NAEYC-accredited programs. Parents choosing an early childhood education program can be overwhelmed by trying to find the highest-quality program for their child. NAEYC Accreditation is the mark of quality that families are looking for. NAEYC Accreditation gives families the chance to make the Right Choice for Kids.

About NAEYC Accreditation of Early Childhood Higher Education Programs

Since 2006, NAEYC Accreditation of Early Childhood Higher Education Programs has served as a quality improvement and quality assurance system accrediting early childhood degree programs that demonstrate evidence of excellence by meeting the NAEYC Professional Preparation Standards. The NAEYC accreditation process provides a framework for self-study, external evaluation, and improvement in the quality of teacher preparation programs. To learn more about NAEYC Accreditation of Early Childhood Higher Education Programs, visit the NAEYC website.

About NAEYC’s Higher Education Quality Assurance Systems

NAEYC values the role of higher education in advancing the early childhood education profession. Through its higher education accreditation and recognition systems, NAEYC provides two mechanisms for early childhood degree programs to demonstrate their commitment to high-quality professional preparation. NAEYC is the sole accreditor of early childhood degree programs. In 2006, NAEYC launched the Early Childhood Associate Degree Accreditation (ECADA) system. In 2016, the system expanded to accredit licensure and non-licensure programs from the associate degree through master’s degree levels that prepare early childhood educators in order to ensure that all early childhood degree programs could participate in a NAEYC quality assurance pathway. The system’s name has since changed to NAEYC Accreditation of Early Childhood Higher Education Programs to reflect this expansion.For more information on NAEYC’s higher education Accreditation program please visit their website.