About the Standards
The first edition of the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools (NSBECS) was published in 2012 to serve as both a self-assessment and a tool for continuous improvement in the four domains of Mission and Catholic Identity, Governance and Leadership, Academic Excellence, and Operational Vitality.
In 2023, the NCEA NSBECS Advisory Council (NNAC) revised the NSBECS, and NCEA published the second edition.
The NSBECS may be reproduced and used for purposes consistent with the support and improvement of Catholic education. It may not be sold for profit by any person or institution. The document and items within it may not be altered, edited, or amended without express written permission from NCEA upon the advice of the NNAC. Any reproduction must include acknowledgment of the Greeley Center for Catholic Education (originally the Center for Catholic School Effectiveness), Loyola University Chicago, in partnership with Roche Center for Catholic Education, Boston College.
Preferred Citation
NCEA NSBECS Advisory Council (Eds.). (2023). National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools, 2nd edition. Arlington, VA; National Catholic Educational Association.
Learn More
Tools and Resources
This website serves as a platform for providing, exchanging, and creating knowledge and information related to the NSBECS and to other projects and initiatives that grow out of implementing these standards and benchmarks.
Assessment Tools assist Catholic educators in gauging and assessing school quality and performance based on the NSBECS. Resources offer additional guidelines, video tutorials, and more to support implementation of the NSBECS. Applications provide links to wide-ranging field-based implementation programs and initiatives. In Impact, Catholic school practitioners and researchers describe the results of implementing the NSBECS for accreditation, planning, guidelines, accountability, and more.
Catholic educators at all levels are invited to share their additional applications and impact based on implementation of the NSBECS. Further information is forthcoming from NCEA NSBECS Council (NNC).