According to its Mission Statement, "CAEP advances equity and excellence in educator preparation through evidence-based accreditation that assures quality and supports continuous improvement to strengthen P-12 student learning.

[8] The founding leader of CAEP was James Cibulka, who had previously been president of NCATE and dean of the College of Education at the University of Kentucky.

From the beginning, CAEP staked out a position of imposing tougher standards for accreditation of teacher colleges than had been expected under the prior organizations.

[9] The Council’s new performance standards were created following a multi-year effort involving a diverse group of education professionals.

[11] In 2015, Cibulka was replaced by former Illinois state superintendent of education, Dr. Christopher Koch, who was then vice chair of the CAEP board.