Every course claims to follow the learning science. Pedagrade checks.
Most courses get built content-first, with the assessment bolted on at the end. That's the #1 mistake I've seen in 15 years. Paste a course and Pedagrade grades it against Bloom's, Mayer, Gagné, Merrill, assessment alignment, and WCAG, cites the principle behind every note, writes the fix for you, and shows you how to put it into practice so it sticks.
An actual results screen. Every score traces back to a named principle, and every finding comes with a fix you can paste in.
How it works
Three steps, right in your browser. Nothing to install, no API keys, no AI account to set up.
Drop in your course
Paste a storyboard, script, or transcript, or upload Word, PowerPoint, PDF, or your Articulate export. Slide text, speaker notes, tables, and text boxes are pulled in automatically.
Run the audit
A quick Draft pass for triage, or a deep Rigorous pass for the courses that matter. Each is anchored to the same learning-science rubric.
Get cited fixes
An overall score, per-framework scores, and findings ranked by learning impact, each with the principle cited and a concrete rewrite you can paste in.
What you can audit
Paste it, or drop in the file you already have.
Pedagrade reads the instructional design in your course's text: the objectives, content, activities, assessments, and the accessibility they describe. Whatever you build in, there's a way in.
You don't need the .story file. Export the course text in a couple of clicks:
Drop the file in and Pedagrade audits the whole course. It reads the text, so it doesn't need your visuals, and your content never leaves our private AI.
See it work: a real finding, then the fix applied
Every finding cites the principle, quotes the evidence from your course, explains why it matters, and writes the fix. Approve the ones you want, and Pedagrade works them back into your course as a revised draft you can export.
Objective: Understand why phishing is a problem.
Objective: Identify three common signs of a phishing email.
Q1: In what year was the term "phishing" first used?
Q1: Which of these is a warning sign of a phishing email?
You choose which fixes to apply. Pedagrade rebuilds the course around them, shows every change, and exports to Word or Markdown. Applying fixes is a Pro feature.
How Pedagrade compares
One tool. Every check.
Authoring tools only check content built inside them. Scanners see accessibility but not teaching. Consultants cost thousands. Pedagrade grades any course you already have, on the learning science and the accessibility, and writes the fixes, privately.
| PedagradeThe all-in-one | CourseAgent | Authoring tools | WCAG scanners | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audits a course you already have | only courses built in it | their own content | web pages, not courses | |
| Grades the learning science Bloom, Mayer, Gagne, Merrill |
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| Checks your tests measure your objectives every exam question mapped to what it teaches |
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| Checks accessibility (WCAG) | ||||
| Writes the fixes for you | flags only | |||
| Applies the fixes into a revised draft rebuilds the course, with a change log |
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| Runs on private AI your content never leaves |
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| Free to start, self-serve | trial | from ~1,299 a year |
Everything the alternatives split across separate tools, in one:
- Audits any course you already have
- Grades the learning science Bloom, Mayer, Gagné, Merrill
- Checks your tests measure your objectives
- Checks accessibility (WCAG)
- Writes the fixes for you
- Applies them into a revised draft
- Runs on private AI your content never leaves
- Free to start, self-serve
Comparison reflects each tool's core positioning, 2026.
I'm Todd K. Edwards, an instructional designer with 15 years of experience. I built Pedagrade to double-check my own work, because even after 15 years, when a deadline's looming, it's easy to miss a fuzzy objective, a quiz that doesn't match what we taught, a missing transcript, or a wall of text that should've been chunked.
It turned out useful enough that I cleaned it up and made it available. If you're an ID or on an L&D team and you'd find a rigorous second set of eyes helpful, it's here for you too.
Your content stays yours. Pedagrade runs its own private AI on hardware I own and control. Your course is analyzed there to produce your audit, never sent to OpenAI, Anthropic, or any other AI company, never stored beyond your session, and never used to train anything.
Pricing
Your first audit is free, no account needed. After that, go Pro for unlimited audits. No API keys and no per-use AI fees, ever, because it runs on our own AI.
- Unlimited audits
- Apply fixes: one-click revised draft
- Saved audit history
- All seven frameworks with cited rewrites
- Export to PDF, Word, Markdown & CSV
- No API keys, no per-use AI fees
- Runs in your browser, on any device
The first 50 Pro members become founding members, and keep it for good:
- A direct line to me, the founder, your feedback shapes it
- A vote on what gets built next
- First access to the Consultation Coach when it ships
Start with a free audit, no card required. Upgrade to Pro anytime, $29 a month or $290 a year (2 months free), cancel whenever you like.
On an L&D team? See why teams use Pedagrade (a page you can hand your manager), or tell me how your team would use it.
Questions IDs ask
The practical things you'd want to know before running a confidential course through it.
Do I need an AI account or an API key?
No. Pedagrade runs its own private AI on hardware we own and operate. There's no OpenAI or Anthropic account to connect, no API key to paste, and no per-use AI fees. You just paste your course and run the audit.
Is my course content private? Is it safe for confidential, corporate material?
Yes. Your content is analyzed on our own hardware to produce your audit. It is never sent to OpenAI, Anthropic, or any other AI company, it isn't stored beyond your session, and it is never used to train anything. That's the whole reason it runs on our own AI rather than a third-party API.
What can I put in, and what formats does it accept?
Paste a storyboard, script, or transcript directly, or upload a file: Word (.docx), PowerPoint (.pptx), PDF, plain text, Markdown, JSON, or XML. For slide decks, the on-slide text and the speaker notes are both pulled in; for Word, the body text, tables, and text boxes. Building in Articulate Storyline or Rise? Export the translation file (Storyline: File, then Translation, then Export, as Word or XLIFF) and upload that. Old .doc files need to be saved as .docx first.
What's the difference between a Draft and a Rigorous audit?
Draft is a quick triage pass for a fast read on where a course stands. Rigorous is a deeper analysis for the courses that matter. Both are anchored to the same learning-science rubric. Rigorous just looks harder and explains more.
Which frameworks does it check against, and what does each one look at?
Seven open, established lenses, no proprietary black box. Every finding names the principle it draws on. Here's what each one checks:
- Bloom's Taxonomy (revised) — are your learning objectives measurable and observable (real action verbs), pitched at the right cognitive level, mapped against Anderson & Krathwohl's 2001 hierarchy?
- Mayer's Multimedia Principles — cognitive load: is content chunked, are visuals paired with the words that explain them, is redundant or distracting material trimmed?
- Gagné's Nine Events — instructional sequence: does the course gain attention, state objectives, activate prior knowledge, present content, then give practice and feedback?
- Merrill's First Principles — problem-centered design: real tasks, demonstration, application, and integration, not just information.
- Assessment Alignment — does every quiz or test question actually measure a stated objective (constructive alignment)?
- WCAG 2.1 AA (accessibility) — a deeper accessibility review of your content: alt text and descriptions for images and complex visuals, captions/transcripts, meaning not carried by color alone, descriptive links, logical heading structure and reading order, plain language, sensory-independent instructions, timing/seizure safety, and clear labels and error messages.
- Usability & learner experience — can a learner orient and act without friction? Clear starting point and navigation, each activity's purpose and connection, instructions before the task, consistency, progress/wayfinding, obvious help, and error prevention and recovery.
A note on WCAG: Pedagrade reviews accessibility at the design and content level, where most issues start, so you catch them early and cheaply. It reads the material you provide; it is not a full technical conformance scan of the finished course and does not replace automated tools (like axe or WAVE) or manual testing of the built output. Think of it as the design-stage safety net that keeps accessibility defects from reaching QA.
Can it fix the course, not just flag problems?
Yes. Every finding includes a written rewrite, and with one click Pedagrade applies the fixes you approve back into your course and returns a revised draft, with a change log of exactly what changed. You review every edit, and export the result to Word or Markdown. Applying fixes is a Pro feature.
Does it help me get better, or just fix this one course?
Both. Beyond the fixes for the course in front of you, every audit ends with a short practice plan: two to four prioritized habits to build, written designer-to-designer, so you apply the lesson to your next course instead of repeating the mistake. It teaches while it audits, which is especially useful for helping a whole team internalize good practice.
How long does an audit take?
Usually under a minute. You paste, choose Draft or Rigorous, and the scored report comes back with findings ranked by learning impact.
Can my whole team use it?
Today Pedagrade is billed per person. If you're on an L&D team and want a shared or organization plan, email me and we'll sort something out. There's also a short page built for teams you can show your manager to make the case. I'd genuinely like to hear how your team would use it.
What does it cost?
Your first audit is free, no account needed. After that, Pro is $29/month (or $290/year, 2 months free) for unlimited audits, saved history, one-click revised drafts, and export to PDF, Word, Markdown, and CSV. No API keys, no per-use AI fees, cancel anytime. See pricing →
Not ready to run one yet?
Leave your email and I'll send the occasional instructional-design note and a heads-up when Pedagrade gets meaningfully better. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
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