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.
Mona Wineburg, AASCU’s former director of teacher education, and a
project director says, “This project will assist universities in the
University of Wisconsin System build scientific rigor into teacher
performance assessments so that program improvement and accountability
efforts will stand on a strong foundation of evidence.”
Wineburg notes that “This project follows the work AASCU began with the
Christa McAuliffe Excellence in Teacher Education Awards in 2002, the
survey project, Credible and Persuasive Evidence: Creating a
Dialogue and Design for Evidence in Teacher Education Programs, and
the Wingspread Conference, Preparing, Retaining and Supporting a High
Quality Teacher Workforce. It will result in a set of tool and
processes that can be implemented across all Wisconsin teacher
preparation programs with the potential for national replication.”
The grant was awarded through the U.S. Department of Education’s Fund
for Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE).