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Documenting Compliance

Most Frequently Cited Standards

The CAA closely monitors the citations that result from its reviews. A summary of these trends are updated annually on the website. The following guidance is offered on standards that have been most cited in recent years:

Standard 1.5 Long Term Strategic Plan

When providing your response to this standard, be sure to include in your discussion steps that have been or will be taken to implement the strategic plan, the process to regularly assess the plan that leads to ongoing quality improvement as it relates to the program’s mission and goals, and the mechanism(s) to share the plan with stakeholders.

Standard 2.3 Faculty Qualifications

The CAA assesses the qualifications of faculty and their competence to teach graduate-level courses and to provide clinical education based on the appropriateness of their degree level, practical or educational experiences specific to their responsibilities in the program, and other indicators of competence to offer graduate education.

Programs are expected to demonstrate that all individuals providing didactic and clinical education—both on site and off site—have appropriate experience and qualifications for the professional area in which education in provided.

Additionally, the program must demonstrate that the faculty possess appropriate qualifications and expertise to provide the depth and breadth of instruction for the curriculum as specified in Standard 3.

Finally, the majority of academic content must be taught by doctoral faculty who hold the appropriate terminal academic degree (PhD or EdD).

Standard 5.2 Program Assessment of Students

When providing examples of formative and summative assessments, please be sure your examples are proper representations of these types of assessments:

  • Formative Assessment—ongoing measurement throughout educational preparation for the purpose of monitoring acquisition of knowledge and skills and improving student learning
  • Summative Assessment—comprehensive evaluation of learning outcomes, including acquisition of knowledge and skills, at the culmination of an educational experience (e.g., course, program)

Programs are advised that the Praxis exam is designed to be taken by individuals who have at least completed all academic and clinical work and often are in longer-term clinical placements or clinical fellowships (i.e., graduates of the program, rather than students). This philosophy was set forward by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) in a letter to programs in 2007 that included a description of the proper use of the examination. Therefore, programs are advised that use of the Praxis exam as a summative assessment may not be appropriate.

Standard 5.6 Praxis Examination Pass Rate

The percentage of test-takers who pass the Praxis® Subject Assessments in audiology or speech-language pathology must meet or exceed the CAA’s established threshold of 80%.  

Programs should report results on all test-takers from the program who take the Praxis exam within the referenced period/test cycle (comparable to an academic year). You can use ETS data from the Institutional Summary Report to identify individuals who took the exam in a particular reporting year/cycle. However, you also should compare ETS data to your own data within the past 3 years. You should not report data for individuals who graduated from the program more than 3 years ago. Programs also should develop a mechanism for tracking, documenting, and reporting on their graduates’ performance on the Praxis examination.  

Programs are required to report results only once for test-takers who took the Praxis exam multiple times in a single examination reporting period. Note that test-takers who may have taken the exam in the first year of the 3-year reporting period and retook the exam in the second year of the 3-year reporting period should be reported in both years.

About ASHA

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for members and affiliates who are audiologists, speech-language pathologists, speech, language, and hearing scientists, audiology and speech-language pathology assistants, and students.

Connect With ASHA

About the CAA

The Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA) accredits eligible clinical doctoral programs in audiology and master's degree programs in speech-language pathology. The CAA relies on a dedicated corps of volunteers serving as Council members and site visitors to accomplish the work of the accreditation program.

Contact the CAA

Questions and/or requests for information about accreditation or the CAA can be directed to:

The Council on Academic Accreditation in
Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
2200 Research Boulevard, #310
Rockville, MD 20850

800-498-2071

Email the CAA