Assessing the quality of open educational resources: Validation and norming of the IQOER rating scales

Abstract

This article presents an instrument for assessing the quality of open educational resources (IQOER Rating Scales), which can be used by authors and developers of open educational resources (OER) to evaluate the quality of their own resources. The instrument is based on the comprehensive quality model for higher education OER developed by Zawacki-Richter and Mayrberger (2017) and was created and validated through an extensive multi-stage process. This paper describes the final stage of validation and the norming of the instrument. Norming establishes a reference to the parallel IQOER Classification Scales, which define a minimum and a premium level for each quality dimension. As part of the final validation and norming stage, 50 OER were evaluated by 45 raters using the IQOER Rating Scales, the IQOER Classification Scales, and the MERLOT Peer Review Form. The results show that the IQOER Rating Scales demonstrate strong psychometric properties and substantial correlations with global quality measures, confirming their practical relevance for assessing key aspects of OER quality. The empirically derived thresholds offer indications of whether an OER meets minimum or premium standards, supporting developers and educators in systematically improving their resources. By combining rigorous validation with practical applicability, the IQOER Rating Scales contribute to enhancing the quality and effectiveness of OER in higher education