Cognia recognizes 33 Schools and School Systems across the globe for excellence in education


Cognia, the global nonprofit school improvement organization that helps grow learners, teachers, and leaders, has announced its list of Schools of Distinction among Cognia Accredited schools and districts. These 33 Schools and Systems of Distinction earned this recognition based on the results of Cognia’s rigorous Accreditation Engagement Review process. The 2023 Schools of Distinction are listed on the Cognia website.

During the 2022-2023 school year, Cognia conducted approximately 1,100 accreditation engagement reviews. Of the 33 institutions recognized this year, 18 schools and one system are in the U.S. across 12 states, seven are international schools and another seven are international school systems in four countries. The number of institutions reviewed and those that earn this designation vary from year to year. Winners carry the designation for one year.

“Congratulations to the 2023 Schools and Systems of Distinction for demonstrating excellence in education in meeting the new Cognia Performance Standards,” said Cognia president and CEO Dr. Mark A. Elgart. “These institutions are benchmarks of school quality in their commitment to continuous improvement.”

Based on the results of their 2022–2023 Cognia Accreditation Engagement Review, these schools and systems demonstrated evidence of high-quality teaching and learning. Institutions were evaluated and provided evidence of growth in learning, a healthy culture for learning, engaging and high-quality instructional environments, and effective leadership for learning—all characteristics Cognia expects to see in quality schools.

Candidates for Cognia Accreditation and reaccreditation participate in a rigorous evaluation process that includes a period of self-assessment; an evaluation conducted by trained external, third-party evaluators; and an improvement phase focused on the results of the evaluation. The Cognia Performance Standards for K-12 accreditation are based on the latest research and understanding of learning, teaching, and leading. Once an institution is accredited, it engages in a similar engagement review process at least every six years to maintain Cognia Accreditation.

About Cognia

Cognia is a global, nonprofit improvement organization dedicated to helping institutions and other education providers grow learners, teachers, and leaders. Cognia offers accreditation and certification, assessment, and improvement services within a framework of continuous improvement. Serving 40,000 public and private institutions from early learning through high school in 90 countries, Cognia brings a global perspective to advancing teaching and learning.