Capital Area Online Learning Association Uses QM Standards to Improve Online Learning Across Pennsylvania

The Capital Area Online Learning Association (CAOLA) was founded in 2009 to help provide online options to the K-12 districts of Pennsylvania. Since then, it has grown into the commonwealth’s largest online learning program, offering more than 400 courses to tens of thousands of students — 115,000 in its history — as well as resources for districts, schools, educators, and learners. Throughout all of these efforts, the organization relies on Quality Matters to ensure that its many learners are served with courses designed in accordance with research-supported best practices.

CAOLA works with its member districts to shape and build online programs that meet the unique needs of their learners, connecting them with vendors who create curricula relevant to each district’s strategy. Additionally, it provides a platform for collaboration for member districts, with regular meetings and online venues for the exchange of best practices. The impact of these services has been significant for Pennsylvania’s learners. “For 15 years, we have maintained an average passing rate of 80% and a completion rate of 90%,” says Holly A. Brzycki, Supervisor of Online Learning for CAOLA. “Each year, we educate over 15,000 students through online learning, which tells me we are serving a need for students and districts.”

To underscore this critical service, CAOLA understands the importance of offering digital curricula that meets quality standards. CAOLA’s online vendors are subject to a quality assurance process grounded in QM K-12 Standards, including requiring that vendors submit a subset of their courses for Official QM Course Reviews. “Using QM as part of our review process gives third-party validity to what we are offering to our members,” says Holly.

This reliance on the QM K-12 Rubric, Holly says, also serves to demonstrate alignment with other significant standards. “We are able to say that our courses are Pennsylvania State Academic Standards- and National Standards for Quality (NSQ)-aligned, and show that through QM reviews.” Additionally, many CAOLA team members have earned the status of QM-Certified K-12 Course Reviewer, affording them firsthand knowledge of the review process that they can apply to their work with curriculum vendors. “We gained a deeper and richer understanding of course design,” Holly explains. “And that resulted in better articulation around quality curriculum."