Glossary of Terms
| Academic Standard | What a student should know and be able to do at
a specified grade level
|
| Area Vocational-Technical School | A public school that provides
vocational-technical education to secondary school students, out-of school
youth and adults in a geographical area comprised and operated by one or
more school districts
|
| Assessment | A valid and reliable measurement of student
performance on a set of academic standards in a subject area
|
| Benchmark | A specific description of the skills and
knowledge a student should have at a certain grade level: used to measure a
student's progress in meeting academic standards
|
| Chapter | A part of the School Code
|
| Citizen's Advisory Council | A diverse group of community representatives who
help to advise the school board on curriculum; usually appointed by the
school board
|
| Curriculum | A series of planned instruction that is designed
to result in the achievement by all students of specific knowledge and
skills in the application of this knowledge
|
| Indicator | The bulleted items on the standards that
identify the content needed to achieve the standard
|
| Individualized Education Program | A written program, revised annually, that
establishes educational goals and evaluation procedures for each student in
special education
|
| Intermediate Unit | A regional agency that provides educational
services to school districts as part of Pennsylvania's public school system
|
| Local School Board | An elected body created by the General Assembly
charged with developing, implementing and enforcing policy for a school
district or local educational agency. Each local school board is
composed of nine members elected by local residents t serve for four years
without pay
|
| Open-ended Questions | Questions that a student answers by writing,
solving problems or working on projects
|
| Parental Involvement | The participation of parents in their children's
education
|
| Performance Assessment | A form of assessment that requires students to
perform a task rather than select an answer from a ready-made list
|
| Planned Instruction | A written plan for teaching students what they
need to know to achieve the academic standards
|
| School Code | The Pennsylvania Public School Code of 1949,
Amended 1988; contains all the laws about public education passed by the
Pennsylvania Legislature
|
| School Profile | A report developed by the Secretary of Education
for each school that includes results of state and local assessments, school
performance improvement goals, class size, information about instructional
program, percentages of students who graduate or drop out and the status of
graduates one year later, student and teacher attendance and information
about fiscal support of the school and school district
|
| Standard | What a student should know and be able to do at
a certain grade level
|
| State Board of Education | A state educational agency of 21 citizens
that makes policy for public schools in Pennsylvania. Created by an
act of the General Assembly in 1965, its 17 members are appointed buy the
Governor and confirmed by the Senate to serve terms of 6 years without pay.
The other four members are the majority and minority chairs of the House of
Representatives and Senate Education Committees.
|
| Strategic Plan | A comprehensive plan for education; every school district in Pennsylvania is required to develop a strategic plan once every six years |
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