Suggested criteria draw on standards documents, best practice guidelines, and research literature relevant to the broad challenge of educating for democracy.

Educating for democracy prepares students who:

• Are informed and thoughtful about public and community issues, reflecting a grasp and appreciation of history and the fundamental processes of American democracy
  
• Participate in their communities through various civic, religious, cultural, and social associations and venues
  
• Act politically, seeking to solve problems on behalf of the public good through accessing a variety of skills, venues, and modes for public participation
  
• Understand the opportunities and challenges of democratic self-government
• Possess an array of moral and civic virtues

High quality educational programming for democracy:

• Helps students acquire civic knowledge, skills, and/or dispositions (see associated civic competency grid)
  
• Fosters students’ commitment to be civically informed, aware, and connected
  
• Promotes students’ active engagement in civic life
  
• Is mindful of students’ developmental abilities
  
• Helps students make connections between acquired civic learning and their personal actions, values, and responsibilities
  
• Infuses civic learning throughout the school curriculum and school culture
  
• Links civic practice with education standards and policy on the school, district, state, and/or federal level, when appropriate and feasible
  
• Identifies, promotes understanding of, and potentially seeks to redress social and civic problems on the local, state, national, and/or global level
  
• Articulates clear civic learning outcomes and aligns program “inputs” with these outcomes

High quality civic education pedagogy:

• Utilizes active learning methods and experiences
  
• Moves beyond rote memorization and recitation of facts as the sole teaching method
  
• Encourages verbal and written reflection to reinforce learning
  
• Develops student voice, initiative, and leadership
  
• Seeks collaboration with students, parents, teachers, administrators, and a broad array of community partners in order to build school-community connections
  
• Includes assessment of student outcomes

High quality civic education supports include:

• Teachers knowledgeable about civic education subject matter and active learning strategies
  
• Democratic school and classroom management, culture, and governance
  
• Continuous civic learning experiences across the curriculum
  
• School, district, and state-level policies and standards that support civic learning