The procedures followed in the accreditation of public and private schools in each of six northwestern states were examined to determine how current practices differed and what problems were perceived, and to help develop reasonable policy options for improvement. The first section of this report considers the legal basis for accreditation in the states, levels of approval or accreditation, the development and nature of accreditation criteria, the relationships of the state education agencies with other accrediting agencies, and the regulation of compliance. The second section notes several accreditation issues about which state agencies indicated some concern: accreditation of small private schools, the costs of accreditation programs, the state agency's dual role as accreditor and provider of technical assistance, and the question of what to measure when accrediting programs. The suggestions offered to state agencies in the report's third section include giving private school accreditation high priority, giving accreditation of elementary and junior high schools attention equal to that given high schools, lowering the profile of the state agency as an enforcer of standards, and shifting the agency's emphasis from the maintenance of minimum standards to active improvement of the schools. (Author/PGD)