A Crosswalk Between the Quality Standards for Expanded Learning & Program Quality Assessments Tools

In 2013 the California Department of Education’s After School Division approved twelve Quality Standards for expanded learning programs recommended by the California Afterschool Network (CAN) Work Group on Quality Standards. The Standards describe high levels of performance at the point-of-service and in program management and are a guide for California’s expanded learning programs.

The twelve Quality Standards represent the first phase of the Work Group’s role in supporting the After School Division’s (ASD) strategic initiative to improve their results and impact. This phase allowed the ASD to define the elements of program quality within its strategic initiative area of improving Systems of Support. 

The Standards were developed through a collaborative process, reflecting the broad regional diversity of the state of California as well as various stakeholder groups in expanded learning. 

Phase two is focused on providing expanded learning program stakeholders with more context for the Standards. This phase includes two components; first the Work Group utilized the same collaborative process as phase one to develop more in depth descriptors of each Standard including indicators of quality at the program, staff, and youth participant levels. This report, part of the second phase of the Quality Standards project, crosswalks the Quality Standards with existing quality assessment tools. 

This guide is a resource for programs considering different assessment tools; there is no requirement to use the tools in this guide.

Access the Crosswalk Between the Quality Standards for Expanded Learning & Program Quality Assessment Tools here.