Education accreditation is a type of quality assurance process under which the services and operations of educational institutions or programs are evaluated by an external body to determine whether applicable standards are met. If standards are met, accreditation status is granted by the appropriate body.

In most countries the function of educational accreditation is carried out by a government organization, such as the Ministry of Education. In the United States there is a quality assurance process that is independent of the government and carried out by nonprofit organizations.[1]​ The United States accreditation process was developed at the end of the century and beginning of the century after educational institutions perceived the need to improve coordination and articulation between secondary and postsecondary institutions, along with the standardization of requirements between the two levels.[2][3][4]​.

Higher education accreditation varies by jurisdiction and may focus on either or both the institution or individual programs of study.

The accreditation of higher education in the United States has long been established as a review process coordinated by accreditation commissions and institutional members. The federal government began playing a limited role in higher education accreditation in 1952 with the reauthorization of the GI Bill for Korean War veterans. With the creation of the United States Department of Education and under the terms of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, the United States Secretary of Education is required by law to publish a list of nationally recognized accrediting agencies for higher education.

In the United States, there is no federal government list of recognized accrediting bodies for elementary and secondary schools, as there is for higher education. Public schools must meet criteria established by state governments, and there is wide variation among individual states in the requirements applied to non-public elementary and secondary schools. expanded its accreditation activity to include schools outside the United States.[8][9]​.