The history of institutional accreditation and the standards of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) are discussed. The societal and related economic and political reasons for the evolution of accreditation in its present form are addressed, since accreditation is related to prestige, political influences, consumer protection, and program and professional improvement. NCATE, a professional accrediting agency, is responsible for accrediting 550 of the total 1,367 state-approved teacher education programs. The 18 educational associations that support NCATE are listed. The key element of the teacher education accreditation process is NCATE's standards, which are outlined separately for undergraduate and graduate programs. The overall areas of evaluation are as follows: governance, curricula, faculty, students, resources and facilities, evaluation, program review, and planning. The accreditation process involves both the measurement of the institutional program and evaluation of the measurements based on the NCATE standards. Attention is also directed to the views of critics and proponents regarding NCATE accreditation. Finally, the question of universal accreditation is considered, since existing accrediting agencies are voluntary. (SW)