HERNDON, Va., July 21, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- K12 Inc., America's leading provider of K-12 online school programs in partnership with the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) has developed a researched-based rubric to serve as the basis for evaluation, coaching, and teacher development in K12's online learning environments.

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A summary of the collaboration and rubric can be found here.

"In collaboration with NIET we have developed a common teacher evaluation system for online K-12 teachers. Our ongoing goal is to support our teachers by providing a shared vocabulary and frame of reference for what constitutes effective teaching in online and blended learning environments," said Dr. Margaret Jorgensen, K12's Chief Academic Officer. "The teacher evaluation rubric and handbook were developed to ground online teacher effectiveness in a strong foundation of research and experience."

To develop the rubric, K12 partnered with NIET, renowned for its work in building educator effectiveness systems, including evaluation rubrics and comprehensive evaluation systems, to set forth on obtaining a clear understanding of the practices specific to the virtual learning environment.

"The partnership with K12 on this effort allowed us to work on creating an exemplary rubric for K-12 educators in the online setting," said Kevin Guitterrez, NIET's Senior Vice President of Services and Partnerships. "NIET researchers held focus groups, observed teachers at work, conducted detailed interviews, and paid special attention to teacher practices and behaviors. NIET worked with K12 to develop a rubric that was field-tested and underwent multiple iterations to ensure it was applicable to the teachers in the field."

The K12-NIET rubric is organized into four domains: Professionalism, Synchronous Instruction, Planning, and Environment. The rubric provides specific indicators of effective performance in each domain, where teachers may earn a score from 1 (Significantly Below Expectations) to 5 (Significantly Above Expectations).

The rubric is presented in the K12 Rubric Instructional Handbook, which provides detailed explanations and examples based upon the work of observed teachers for each of the indicators. The Handbook serves as a guide for both teachers and school leaders in implementing high quality teaching standards. The K12-NIET rubric is currently being piloted for the 2015-2016 school year in many K12-partner schools across the country.

About K12 Inc.

K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN) is driving innovation and advancing the quality of education by delivering state-of-the-art, digital learning platforms and technology to students and school districts across the globe. With nearly a half-billion dollars invested in developing award winning curriculum, K12 serves over 2,000 schools and school districts and has delivered more than four million courses over the past decade. K12 is a company of educators with the nation's largest network of K-12 online school teachers, providing instruction, academic services, and learning solutions to public schools and districts, traditional classrooms, blended school programs, and directly to families. For more information on K12 Inc., visit www.K12.com

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SOURCE K12 Inc.