How it all began

In 1997 Qualis started as a project and a network of municipalities and schools that was financed by the National Board of Education. 12 municipalities, from Helsingborg in the south to Skellefteå in the north, participated in this development work.

The purpose of the project was

• To develop methods for the evaluation of quality in schools 
• To establish networks to collaborate in the field of quality 

What is Qualis?

The Qualis Model is unique in that it was created especially for the schools sector. It gets to grips with the need schools have for easily applied certification models and is simple to use. It is aimed not only at all professional groups within schools but also at students and parents. It mirrors the vital processes of the work of a school, from a quality perspective, in a staircase consisting of seven developmental steps.

Click here to view Qualis Stair for Schools 2009

The school must first achieve step one in order to proceed to step two. On the lower steps the following are developed: the school’s organization, leadership, rules, goals and evaluation etc. On the middle steps you can determine the ability of the school to develop tools for different areas, e.g. cooperation with students and parents, to operate in a “client-oriented” manner, and to entrust students with responsibility for their own learning and actions, to provide a good school environment and good communications as well as the systematic development and improvement of teaching. To reach the upper steps the school must be able to carry out systematic and long-term development work.

There are eleven different quality areas for schools. Five of those are what we call main processes (the left column below) and six are support processes:

Criteria

For each of the Qualis sectors, criteria have been devised for each of the seven steps as a basis for evaluation and quality assessment. As mentioned above, the criteria build on each other. If you have not reached the criteria for the third step, you cannot advance to the fourth step. One example from the sector, Security and well-being, can be used to illustrate this:

Click her to view an example

Self assessment and external evaluation

Both qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods are used in the certification model. During the process of certification, the schools themselves assess their placing on the staircase for each one of the eleven Qualis sectors. This self-assessment is later compared with the evaluation of the Qualis examiners.  During the external examination, the external examiners visit the school for two days, during which time they observe the work of the school and interview school principals, teacher groups, student groups, and parent groups. The examiners compile a quality report, offer suggestions for improvements and place the school on the Qualis Staircase.  If the school is placed on step three or higher, the school is certified and receives a diploma and a Qualis plaque as proof of the school’s high quality. The school will get a point summary according to the following example. This “test school” will receive its “Qualis certification”.

Click here to view test school example

The model exists in web-based form and each school can regularly carry out its own self-assessments, based on its own work on improvement. 
Qualis Schools in Sweden use the web tool, “Proof” in evaluation and in some forms of communication. The data that emerges during the certification of schools is stored in a database which contains both a quality profile on a scale of 1-7 for each Qualis sector, something each school receives after certification, along with other quantitative figures pertaining to the work of the school. This means that each participating school can enter the database and compare itself with other schools. Responses from surveys that have been carried out may also be added.

For more information. Please contact us!