How does the QM Rubric work in tandem with the National Standards for Quality Online Courses?

While the Quality Matters K-12 and K-12 Publisher Rubrics have, since their inception, been aligned with the  National Standards for Quality Online Courses, the recent revision and release of the third edition of the National Standards for Quality Online Courses (previously known as the iNACOL National Standards for Quality Online Courses), under the oversight of QM in partnership with the Virtual Learning Leadership Alliance, have an even closer relationship. 

While the NSQ Online Course Standards contain explanations and examples, the QM K-12 Rubrics take this a step further. Rich annotations throughout the QM Rubric — that address difficult concepts — provide examples of good practice, and guide course reviewers and developers in the application of the Standards. While the NSQ Courses and QM K-12 Rubrics are in tight alignment, they are structured differently.  

QM Certification of a course is the official mark of quality for the National Standards for Quality Online Courses. QM can provide a report in the NSQ format based on the correlation below:

Correlation Between NSQ Course Standards & QM K-12 Rubric

 

NSQ Courses —> QM K-12 Rubric
 
QM K-12 Rubric —> NSQ Courses

Standard A: Course Overview and Support

General Standard 1: Course Overview and Introduction

A1

1.1 T

1.1 T

A1, A8

A2

1.4 T

1.2 C

B2

A3

1.7 C (K-12), 5.4 C

1.3 T

A5

A4

1.5 T (K-12), 1.6 T (K-12)

1.4 T

A2, B4

A5

1.3 T

1.5 T (K-12)

A4

A6

3.5 C

1.6 T (K-12)

A4

A7

7.1 T

1.7 C (K-12)

A3

A8 

1.1 T

1.8 C

N/A

Standard B: Content

General Standard 2: Learning Objectives (Competencies)

B1

2.1 C

2.1 C

B1

B2

1.2 C

2.2 C

N/A

B3

2.3 C

2.3 C

B3

B4

1.4 T

2.4 C

N/A

B5

7.2 T

General Standard 3: Assessment and Measurement

B6

4.6 C

3.1 C

D1

B7

4.4 C

3.2 C

D5

B8

4.7 C

3.3 C

D3

B9

4.5 C

3.4 C

D2, D4

B10

7.3 T

3.5 C

A6

Standard C: Instructional Design

General Standard 4: Instructional Materials

C1

5.2 C

4.1 C

C9

C2

5.1 C

4.2 C

N/A

C3

8.1 T

4.3 C

C4

C4

4.3 C

4.4 C

B7

C5

N/A

4.5 C

B9

C6

5.2 C

4.6 C

B6

C7

5.3 C

4.7 C

B8

C8

5.3 C

General Standard 5: Learning Activities and Learner Engagement

C9

4.1 C

5.1 C

C2

Standard D: Learner Assessment

5.2 C

C1, C6

D1

3.1 C

5.3 C

C7, C8

D2

3.4 C

5.4 C

A3

D3

3.3 C

5.5 C

C7

D4

3.4 C

General Standard 6: Course Technology

D5

3.2 C

6.1 C

F2

Standard E: Accessibility and Usability

6.2 T

N/A

E1

8.1 T

6.3 T

F1

E2

8.2 C

6.4 T

N/A

E3

8.3 C, 8.4 C

6.5 T (K-12 PUB)

F3

E4

8.5 T

6.6 T (K-12 PUB)

F5

E5

8.6 T

6.7 T (K-12 PUB)

F4

Standard F: Technology

6.8 T (K-12 PUB)

F3

F1

6.3 T

General Standard 7: Learner and Instructor Support

F2

6.1 C

7.1 T

A7

F3

6.5 T (K-12 PUB), 6.8 T (K-12 PUB)

7.2 T

B5

F4

6.7 T (K-12 PUB)

7.3 T

B10

F5

6.6 T (K-12 PUB)

7.4 T (K-12)

N/A

Standard G: Course Evaluation

General Standard 8: Accessibility and Usability

G1

N/A

8.1 T

E1, C3

G2

A QM Review

8.2 C

E2

G3

A QM Review

8.3 C 

E3
   

8.4 C

E3
 

8.5 T

E4
 

8.6 T

E5

Making the Grade Standard by Standard

  • QM K-12 “MET” = at least 2 out of 3 reviewers finding the standard being MET at an 85% level.
  • QM K-12 Publisher “MET” = review team unanimous met decision.
  • QM “MET” = NSQ Rating 3-4 | QM “Not Met” = NSQ Rating 0-2

Making the Grade Overall

  • QM K-12 “MET” = Overall Score of 94/111 + All 3 Pt. “Essential Standards”
  • QM K-12 Publisher “MET” = Overall Score of 97/114 + All 3 Pt. “Essential Standards”