New Edition of Quality Matters K-12 Standards Helps Educators Improve Online and Digital-First Learning Experiences

Quality Matters — the international leader for quality assurance in online and innovative digital teaching and learning environments — has released the Sixth Edition of its K-12 Rubric, bringing improvements in accessibility, learner communication, academic integrity, and more to online K-12 educators.

The Quality Matters K-12 Rubric is a set of research-supported quality standards for online course design at the K-12 level. Considered the gold standard for assessing courses that prioritize learner experience, the Rubric is the core of QM Course Reviews, a process by which online courses are peer-reviewed to ensure they meet the highest standard of quality.

As the footprint of online learning continues to grow, the QM K-12 Rubric is a critical resource for conducting this transition with learner needs in mind. In service of this goal, the Rubric addresses critical concerns including learning objectives, assessment and measurement, instructional materials, learning activities and learner interaction, course technology, learner and instructor support, and accessibility and usability. By engaging with these Standards, organizations can ensure that their learners have access to courses that are clear, accessible, navigable, and welcoming, and which consider their background and social-emotional wellbeing.

The updated Rubric is the result of nearly two years of community feedback, review and collaboration conducted in the spirit of QM’s philosophy of “continuous improvement.” These updates were developed by the QM K-12 Rubric, Sixth Edition Committee, a group of professionals from across the field of education, spanning a wide variety of roles, locations and experiences. These educators met over a period of more than nine months to incorporate new best practices and improve existing Standards. These updates include:

• Deeper scrutiny regarding the consistency and connection of learning objectives and the way these objectives are communicated to learners.
• Guidance for upholding academic integrity.
• Clarification on the accessibility of text and images in online courses and guidance for the way accessibility policies are communicated to learners.

“The Quality Matters K-12 Rubric, Sixth Edition reflects the realities of post-pandemic online and digital course design,” said Brenda Boyd, Vice President of Quality Standards & Evaluation. “We are excited about the impact the new edition will have on student learning, persistence and attainment. It represents the most thorough review of online and digital course design in K-12 education to date.”

The QM K-12 Rubric, Sixth Edition also introduces a major overhaul to how different course developers and audiences are addressed in the Standards. Previous editions featured two separate Rubrics: one for K-12 schools/districts and one for publishers, aligning course reviews to the type of organization. With the Sixth Edition, all course creators will use a single K-12 Rubric, using annotations to apply the Standards to one of two new course formats based on the course’s intended use: Locally Delivered courses are those developed by an organization for use by its own instructors, while Distributed courses are those developed for use by other organizations with their instructors.

In addition to these updates, the QM K-12 Rubric, Sixth Edition has content standards embedded throughout the Rubric, allowing users to more clearly and straightforwardly achieve alignment between QM Standards and those set by their district, state or organization. “The added emphasis on content standards throughout the Rubric further strengthens the use of the K-12 Rubric as a measure of high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) for digital and online courses,” said Pam Shaw, Senior K-12 Quality Assurance Manager for QM. The new edition recategorizes and clarifies several Standards to enhance their effectiveness and the consistency of their application. Point values assigned to each Specific Review Standard were reevaluated to accurately reflect the relative importance of each one to quality online course design. This shift will support the Course Review process, improving the ability of peer reviewers to accurately determine the quality of online courses.

To help its community understand the changes in the new edition, QM has released the K-12 Rubric Update, a free, self-paced, online professional development session. The session conveys how the QM K-12 Rubric, Fifth Edition was updated to the Sixth Edition and all changes present in the Rubric and its ancillary materials.

About Quality Matters

Grounded in research. Driven by best practices. A community that puts learners first. Quality Matters (QM) is the global organization leading quality assurance in online and innovative digital teaching and learning environments. It provides a scalable quality assurance system for online and blended learning used within and across organizations. When you see QM Recognition and Certification Marks on courses or programs, it means they have met QM Course or Program Quality Standards in a rigorous review process.