--Cognia Home--
- ️Wed Feb 12 2025
A Legacy of Learning, a Vision for the Future
Celebrating 130 years of service
Education priorities have shifted over time, but our mission has endured—to advance learning for all students. From our beginnings as a school accreditor to becoming a nonprofit global leader in education improvement, Cognia is committed to creating a lasting impact in education.
Together, let’s shape a brighter future.
What is Cognia
Cognia is a forward-thinking nonprofit organization. We are a global network of enthusiastic educators here to help you strengthen your schools. Our holistic approach to continuous improvement encompasses accreditation and certification, assessment, professional learning, and customized improvement services. Like you, we want all students to have the opportunities that knowledge brings. Are you ready to lead your education community to new levels?
OUR MISSION
To serve as a trusted partner in advancing learning.
OUR VISION
To impact and inspire education providers to advance and enable pathways of success for all learners.
OUR VALUES
Be Inclusive • Engage with Honesty • Pursue with Courage
Top News and Events at Cognia
130 Years Strong—Celebrate With Us
Since 1895, we've served tens of thousands of education institutions. Be inspired by their stories, reflect on our shared journey, and envision the future ...
We know schools because we’re in schools
Our global network of educators guides you to diagnose challenges and implement change.
Your success is our mission
Cognia has a singular focus on improving educational opportunities for all learners. When you work with us, you can expect:
- Unmatched expertise to help you achieve visionary goals
- Fresh perspectives to help you link student and school performance
- Insights from a global network of educators
- Services and solutions backed by research
Who we serve
We serve education providers of all types, including public, private, early learning, digital, and charter schools as well as State Education Agencies (SEAs). The impact of our accreditation, assessment, and improvement services reaches around the globe.
Your partner in education
Our expertise spans a wide range of educational issues. But when it comes to what’s most important in your school or region, you’re the authority. That’s why we partner with you to help reach your goals.
State leaders assess and improve schools with confidence.
States across the nation have worked with us on accountability, improvement, and assessment goals.
District decision makers generate momentum for improvement.
As a decision maker or a seasoned educator in an actively improving district, you need to know where your schools stand to accomplish real change. Work with Cognia experts to make a sustainable and measurable impact.
School leaders gain clarity and build on recognized strengths.
Get a streamlined, efficient, and expert perspective on what really works in education—and a clear view into what’s working in your schools. Engage in a process that allows your institution to earn a mark of quality recognized worldwide.
Be inspired
Districts and schools across the U.S. and around the world use Cognia solutions to help all learners realize their potential. Read their stories.
Stories that Matter
Measuring What Matters: School Excellence in 2024
Analysis of over 1,000 global K-12 accreditation reviews reveals schools excel at building positive cultures but need stronger systems for professional development and continuous improvement.
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Stories that Matter
Fresno Unified School District: Custom Assessments Drive Instructional Change
Conversations about standards and rigor abound in Fresno Unified School District.
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Stories that Matter
A Journey of Holistic Improvement and Cultural Resilience
Mandaree School District, ND
Ranked in the bottom 5% of performance in North Dakota, Mandaree School District partnered with Cognia in developing a strategic improvement plan to address the needs of this culturally-resilient, economically disadvantaged community.
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Stories that Matter
Carmen Schools of Science and Technology: Catalyzing Data-Driven Decision-Making
Milwaukee, WI
Carmen Schools in Milwaukee, WI, adopted Cognia Interim Assessments leading to improved rigor, better data-driven planning, and increased student performance.
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Stories that Matter
Data Driven Improvement
Jefferson County, Alabama
To address the root causes of performance discrepancies and improve student outcomes, Jefferson County Schools expanded their long-standing partnership with Cognia through a Diagnostic Review model.
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Stories that Matter
Design for Improvement: The Case for a New Accountability System
For next-generation accountability, states need to introduce curriculum-based interim assessments, external review of schools, and focus on continuous improvement to end the time-wasting and guesswork of a flawed school accountability system and shift SEAs from test administrators to improvement coaches.
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Stories that Matter
Memphis-Shelby County Schools: Empowering Education in Tennessee
Memphis-Shelby County, TN
Relentless and trusted partnerships helped two schools located on the northside of Memphis exit school improvement status for the first time in 15 years.
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Stories that Matter
Shaping Tomorrow’s Achievers
LLE Education Group and Cognia partner to elevate early childhood education.
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Stories that Matter
Loyola Academy’s Century-plus Partnership with Cognia
Loyola Academy, a Catholic, Jesuit college preparatory high school on the North Shore of Chicago, formed an accreditation partnership with Cognia that has lasted for more than a century.
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Stories that Matter
How Data and Inclusive Leadership Improve School Outcomes
When real-time data and collaboration drive decision making, schools see the benefit.
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Stories that Matter
Westminster Public Schools: A Competency-based Success Story
Westminster, CO
Strong partnerships transform Westminster Public Schools.
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Stories that Matter
Forest Heights STEM Academy: Charting a New Course
Little Rock, AR
Forest Heights STEM Academy in Arkansas underwent Cognia’s STEM Certification Review and implemented a research-based framework for success.
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Stories that Matter
Fairmont Schools: Creating a Cohesive Culture of Improvement
Orange County, CA
Cognia’s expertise and flexibility help unify a private school with multiple campuses and international programs.
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Stories that Matter
North Dakota Department of Public Instruction: Building Partnerships
Bismarck, ND
NDDPI turns a system of silos into a collaborative whole through trusting relationships that spur progress over time.
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Stories that Matter
The Role of Accountability Systems and Regional Accreditation in Improving K–12 Education
In the United States, nearly 55 million students are enrolled each year in K–12 schools. How can we be sure that every student receives the best education possible?
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Stories that Matter
Alabama’s Holistic Approach to School Improvement
How data and observation tools built for education help inform decision-making.
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Stories that Matter
The Future of Educational Assessment
Schools, districts, states, and their assessment partners are increasingly focused on classroom assessment practices embedded in instructional activities.
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Stories that Matter
Liberty Public Schools: Data-Guided Progress
Liberty, MO
A northeast suburb of Kansas City, MO, Liberty Public Schools (LPS) used the Cognia accreditation process to improve its data gathering and analysis process. The collected data helped to inform the district’s strategic plan and its guiding documents: LPS’ Vivid Vision and graduate profile.
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Stories that Matter
Mayar International Schools: Nurturing Excellence
Amman, Jordan
Mayar International Schools (MIS), located in Amman, Jordan, pursued Cognia’s accreditation process to continue and enhance its record of excellence. As a result, MIS increased educator capacity, boosted its credibility, provided a common understanding of standards, and improved classroom environment.
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Stories that Matter
It Matters: 347,248 Student Voices About Engagement in School
Volume 1
How are students feeling about their learning and school? Data from Cognia’s Student Engagement Survey reveal actionable insights.
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Stories that Matter
Montgomery Public Schools: Steady improvements
Montgomery, AL
Montgomery Public Schools in Montgomery, Alabama, used Cognia’s analysis of its underlying issues and continuing guidance to overcome a range of challenges, restoring the faith of both the state board of education and the local community.
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Stories that Matter
Moscow School District: Building on Strength
Moscow, ID
By addressing areas for improvement through Cognia’s rigorous accreditation process, the Moscow School District in Moscow, Idaho, boosted academic performance and even helped students withstand the disengaging effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Stories that Matter
Allendale County Schools: Rising Out of the Bottom 5%
Fairfax, SC
With critical support and focused improvement priorities identified after a diagnostic review by Cognia, Allendale County Schools in Fairfax, South Carolina, went from being a low-performing district to making unparalleled progress in its improvement initiatives.
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Stories that Matter
Redefining the Measurement of Early Childhood Program Quality and Child Outcomes
What factors consistently indicate the quality of an early learning program? Our research points to a new approach that starts by identifying valuable outcomes.
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Stories that Matter
Farmington Schools: Continuous improvement practices drive a common sense of purpose
Farmington, NM
A New Mexico district uses continuous improvement practices and insights from Cognia Accreditation Engagement Reviews and Assessment Services to hone its focus on instructional leadership development and student engagement.
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Stories that Matter
Fleming County Schools: A district in rural Kentucky moves from turnaround to transformation
Fleming County, KY
How do underperforming schools turn around and improve? With deliberate analysis and action. Using Cognia's Diagnostic Review process, Fleming County (KY) Public Schools went from being one of the state’s lowest-performing districts to one of its most successful—a Distinguished District—in just three years.
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Stories that Matter
Meeting the Promise of Continuous Improvement
Insights from the AdvancED Continuous Improvement System and Observations of Effective Schools.
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