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American Democracy Project

The American Democracy Project (ADP) is a multi-campus initiative focused on higher education’s role in preparing the next generation of informed, engaged citizens for our democracy.  The project began in 2003 as an initiative of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), in partnership with The New York Times.

Voluntary System of Accountability

Six of the seven task forces working on the VSA project have met to date. The seventh, the System Design and Information Task Force, will not meet until the work of other task forces is nearing completion. Below are updates on the progress of each VSA groups.

Presidential Advisory Committee The committee has met by phone to organize its work and to provide guidance to the task forces and work groups. As the committees finalize their recommendations the advisory committee will provide more specific feedback and instruction to the groups.

Time Schedule The VSA development process is on schedule. The task forces and work groups will complete their work in mid to late July. The system design and information task force will begin to meet during this period to consider broad system design, implementation, and maintenance issues. Staff will assemble the recommendations for consideration by the presidential advisory committee in early August. After modifications requested by the presidential advisory committee are addressed, feedback on the specific elements proposed to constitute VSA will be sought from AASCU and NASULGC members.

Teacher Education

Grant funds project to improve preparation of mathematics and science teachers
AASCU, in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin System, has received a $591,825 grant over the next three years to create common accountability measures in preparing future mathematics and science teachers.

Wisconsin’s Grassroots Teacher Quality Assessment (TQA) Model project is designed to create reliable performance assessment tools used during student teaching. The assessments will document how well prospective teachers attain relevant math and science knowledge and skills, and information gathered will serve as a guide for ongoing changes in teacher preparation and professional development.