ALPHARETTA, Ga., Oct. 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Cognia, the global nonprofit school evaluation and improvement organization, has announced its list of schools and systems that earned an Accredited with Distinction status among Cognia Accredited schools and districts. These schools and systems earned this recognition based on the results of Cognia’s rigorous Accreditation Engagement Review process. The full list of schools that earned these statuses in the 2025-2026 school year is on the Cognia website.

During the 2025-2026 school year, Cognia conducted approximately 1,265 accreditation engagement reviews. Of the 54 institutions recognized this year, 40 schools and 14 systems earned the highest status of Accredited with Distinction and displayed exemplary performance against Cognia Performance Standards. Forty-five institutions that earned this status are located in the U.S. across 17 states, and nine are international schools and systems across six countries.

“Congratulations to the schools and systems who earned the Accredited with Distinction status in the 2025-2026 school year for meeting and exceeding the Cognia Performance Standards,” said Cognia President and CEO Dr. Mark A. Elgart. “These institutions exemplify educational excellence through their commitment to continuous improvement.”

Based on their 2025–2026 Cognia Accreditation Engagement Review results, 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.

Cognia Accreditation and reaccreditation is 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 evaluation’s results. The Cognia Performance Standards for K-12 accreditation are based on the latest research and understanding of learning, teaching, and leading. Once accredited, an institution undergoes a similar engagement review process at least every six years to maintain Cognia Accreditation.

About Cognia

Cognia is a forward-thinking nonprofit improvement organization committed to serving schools and other education providers. We offer accreditation and certification, assessment, improvement services, and professional learning within an evaluation and continuous improvement framework. Serving over 40,000 public and private institutions from early learning through high school in more than 100 countries and territories, Cognia brings a universally recognized perspective to advancing teaching and learning.

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SOURCE Cognia