Who uses this Rubric?

The K-12 Rubric is intended to be used for the review of courses that are delivered asynchronously online or with a significant online component (hybrid, synchronous online, or digital-first courses). Schools, districts, state education agencies, and educational publishers use the Rubric to help them design and improve their courses to result in student success. This Rubric also assists instructors and departments in selecting educational publisher courses that adhere to best practice and research-supported standards. Certification of course design quality using the K-12 Rubric is also an indicator of high-quality instructional materials (HQIM).

Leading providers of online courses for K-12 students have looked to QM as the national standard for quality assurance in online education and student learning, and inform the improvement of this Rubric. Members using the QM K-12 Rubric include: 

• Teachers, instructional designers, and design teams
• Administrators
• Public and private virtual schools and programs
• School systems, local and state boards of education
• Publishers of virtual education solutions
• Teacher education faculty

Key Features

Unique to the QM Rubric is the concept of Alignment. This occurs when critical course components integrated throughout the QM Rubric — Learning Objectives (General Standard 2), Assessment and Measurement (GS 3), Instructional Materials (GS 4), Learning Activities and Learner Interaction (GS 5), and Course Technology (GS 6) — work together to ensure students achieve desired learning outcomes. Specific Review Standards included in Alignment are indicated in the Rubric Annotations.

The eight General Standards of the K-12 Rubric are:

1. Course Overview and Introduction
2. Learning Objectives
3. Assessment and Measurement
4. Instructional Materials
5. Learning Activities and Learner Interaction
6. Course Technology
7. Learner and Instructor Support
8. Accessibility and Usability*

Development Notes

The initial standards (released in 2010) and subsequent modifications have been based on the insights of teams of experienced online teachers, course and instructional designers, and on the best practices standards promulgated by Florida Virtual School (FLVS) and subsequent research and Rubric Committee work. Since then, QM has contributed to the updated National Standards for Quality Online Learning (nsqol.org) with partners Virtual Learning Leadership Alliance and DLAC, including shared project management responsibility for the project and specific contributions to the NSQ for Online Courses based on QM Specific Review Standards. QM regularly undertakes a revision process to update the QM Rubric that includes input from the QM community, research about QM Course Reviews, and a review of the current research literature. It involves focused input from a Rubric Committee who have deep experience with the QM Rubric and conducting QM-Certified Course Reviews. In addition, the QM Standards have been examined for consistency with the conclusions of the educational research literature regarding factors that improve student learning and retention rates, as well as activities that increase learning and engagement.

*Meeting QM's accessibility Standards does not guarantee or imply that specific country/federal/state/local accessibility regulations are met. Please consult with an accessibility specialist to ensure that accessibility regulations are met.