The Quality Standards
The Quality Standards are a set of 12 standards used to describe high levels of “Quality” of a program at the programmatic, staff, and participant levels. The quality standards are not intended to serve as a compliance tool, but as a framework and guide of clear expectations, and a shared vision of quality among multiple stakeholders.
Continuous Quality Improvement
The Quality Standards are a central component of the cycle of quality improvement. All state and federally-funded expanded learning programs serving elementary and middle schools in California shall engage in a data-driven program quality improvement process.
Resources
Quality Standards for Expanded Learning in California:
Creating and Implementing a Shared Vision of Quality
- Outlines California’s Quality Standards and what each Standard in Action, describing what the standard looks like in action at the programmatic, staff, and participant levels.
- Describes recommended uses of the Standards.
A Crosswalk Between the Quality Standards for Expanded Learning and Program Quality Assessment Tools
- Outlines multiple quality assessment tools that have significant alignment with the California Quality Standards.
- Provides a detailed description of each tool, its purpose and properties, cost, and training support available.
- Supports programs in the process of continuous improvement.
Background
How Standards Were Developed
The Quality Standards were developed in two distinct phases (Phase I and Phase II) through a partnership between the After School Division and the California AfterSchool Network Quality Committee.
The Work Group on Quality Standards emerged from the larger California Expanded Learning strategic planning process. The development of quality after school standards is embedded within the System of Support, the first goal of which is to “define elements of program quality.”
In the fall of 2012, the California Department of Education After School Division (CDE-ASD) contracted with the California AfterSchool Network (CAN) Quality Committee to recommend a set of clearly defined standards of program quality in California. CAN worked closely with the CDE-ASD and its Quality Committee Co-Chairs to form the Work Group on Quality Standards (Phase I). The Work Group, selected through a competitive process, represented a broad and diverse set of stakeholders including program providers, K-12 educators, technical assistance providers, and evaluation experts.
The Work Group (Phase I) began their process by reviewing existing quality standards and frameworks. The UC Davis CRESS Center was commissioned to review and summarize after school standards from twelve cities or states. Based on its analysis of these existing standards and with a foundation of the five Learning in Afterschoool and Summer (LIAS) principles the Work Group (Phase I) drafted recommendations for standards. After receiving several rounds of feedback from a broad array of stakeholders across the state, eleven key standards of quality were were recommended to the ASD in June 2013. Some revisions were made by the After School Division, most significantly the addition of a twelfth standard for Sustainability. The Quality Standards were adopted by the After School Division and released in the winter of 2013. This work, including the twelve approved quality standards, is summarized in:
Winter 2013 Quality Standards for Expanded Learning Phase One Report
In early 2014, CAN’s Quality Committee created the Quality Standards Work Group (Phase II). Its charge was to create recommendations for what the approved Quality Standards should look like in action, as well as inform the development of a Crosswalk of tools that could be utilized to assess program quality as outlined by the Standards. The Quality Standards Work Group (Phase II) began its work in March 2014. The work group created a draft of Standards in Action based on public input and existing quality frameworks, and then revised this draft multiple times based on public input and suggestions from Work Group members. The Work Group submitted its final recommendations on Standards in Action, as well as the Crosswalk to the After School Division, in June 2014. This work is encapsulated in the following two documents:
Quality Standards for Expanded Learning in California: Creating and Implementing a Shared Vision of Quality
12 Quality Standards and descriptions of what each Standard should look like in action (Standards in Action). Standards in Action are described at the programmatic, staff, and participant levels.
A Crosswalk Between the Quality Standards for Expanded Learning and Program Quality Assessment Tools
This Crosswalk outlines a number of available tools that can be used for quality assessment and improvement.
The Purpose of Quality Standards
The purpose of the Quality Standards is to describe high levels of quality of a program at the programmatic, staff, and participant levels. The quality standards are not intended to serve as a compliance tool, but as the following:
A framework of clear expectations for all stakeholders.
A guide to inform the After School Division’s decision-making, e.g., technical assistance decisions, language in requests for application, and policy development.
A guide for program providers to assess their own programs in order to help determine what they are doing well and what needs improvement.
A guide for parents and youth to identify quality programming.
A guide for school principals and district superintendents to reinforce and advance key priorities.
A complement to other standards in the State of California focused on quality improvement, e.g., Learning in After School and Summer, Quality Self-Assessment Tool, Quality Self-Assessment Rubric, Center for Youth Program Quality, etc.
For more information visit the “Quality Standards for Expanded Learning in California” section of the California Department of Education Website for Before & After School.