In the review process, WASC inspectors visit a candidate school and decide whether it meets their pre-established accreditation standards. During inspection visits, you can be sure that school personnel are on their toes and problems are discretely curtained from view. Once accreditation is awarded, schools can go as long as six years between inspections. WASC standards are big on quantitative and material indicators, counting the number of books in the school library, and checking the reams of paperwork to see that they are neat and complete. Besides providing a pretense of quality assurance for the public to swallow, accreditation has a secondary purpose, one which is not publicly acknowledged.
Accreditation is a shrewd business practice.
Schools must pay to get accredited. Costs for approval can run to many thousands of dollars, and even more if a school's facilities are found wanting and must be brought up to standards. Accreditation, professional certification, and occupational licensing are all forms of regulation employed by interest groups to minimize market competition. School accreditation helps maintain the monopoly enjoyed by the public school system, with a small cadre of upper crust private schools also reaping the economic benefits. In this light, the tactic of refusing to accept homeschoolers' academic credits can be seen as a deliberate move to close down the competition posed by homeschooling.