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O

List of Acronyms

Out-of-Field Teaching: Practice in which teachers are assigned to teach subjects outside of their training or certification area. 

P

List of Acronyms

P-20: Refers to the continuum of education from preschool through college. Can also be referred to as P-16.

Parent Teacher Association (PTA): At the national level, a nonprofit organization of parents, teachers, students, and others that encourages parental and public involvement in the schools, advocates for children, and assists parents in developing parenting skills. Schools often organize their own PTA at the local level.

Parochial School: A private school that is associated with a church or other religious institution and not supported with public funds.

Per-Pupil Expenditures: Money spent on each student in a given school district. Because public schools are financed in part by local property taxes, there is a disparity in per-pupil expenditures across the state.

Performance-Based Assessment: An assessment that requires students to apply knowledge and skills rather than recall and results in tangible products or observable performances. Examples include writing an essay or conducting a science experiment. Also referred to as authentic assessment or performance task.

Performance Level: A range of scores that defines a specific level of performance as articulated in the Performance Level Descriptors. When assessed on a statemandated assessment, each student receives a scale score and a performance level designation (e.g., does not meet standard, meets standard, or exceeds standard).

Performance Level Descriptor: Verbal statement describing each performance level in terms of what a student has learned and can do.

Performance Pay: Any of a number of plans to pay teachers based on their demonstrated competence in teaching, rather than on their number of years in the profession. Also referred to as merit pay.

Performance Standards: Standards that provide clear expectations for assessment, instruction, and student work. Performance standards incorporate content standards, but expand upon them by providing suggested sample tasks, sample student work, and teacher commentary.

Praxis Testing Series: Academic and subject-area skills assessments that are used by some states for their teacher licensing and certification process.

Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K): A class or program preceding kindergarten for children usually from three to four years old. Also known as preschool and nursery school.

Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT): The Preliminary SAT is a standardized test issued by The College Board that provides firsthand practice for the SAT Reasoning Test. Student taking the PSAT are also given the chance to enter National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) scholarship programs.

Private School: A school that is established, conducted, and primarily supported by a nongovernmental agency.

Privatization: Transfer of the management of public schools to private or for-profit education organizations. Privatization emphasizes typical business-oriented concepts such as customer satisfaction and managerial autonomy in running schools.

Professional Development: Learning experiences and continued education that enables teachers and school personnel to enhance and refine knowledge and skills. Professional development activities may range from formal courses and seminars to teacher mentoring and collaboration.

Program for International Student Assessment (PISA): The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is administered by the Organisation for Economic Co–operation and Development (OECD), an association of nations committed to promoting sustainable economic growth. PISA was administered in 2000, 2003, and 2006, focusing on reading, mathematics, and science, respectively.

Public School: A free, tax-supported school controlled by a local governmental authority.

Q

List of Acronyms

R

List of Acronyms

Race to the Top: A competitive grant program funded with $4.35 billion from the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). This initiative supports states’efforts to drive substantial gains in student achievement with four main goals in mind: using data to drive instruction, raising standards, turning around historically low-performing schools, and improving teacher and principal quality as described in the ARRA.

Regional Education Laboratories: The Regional Educational Laboratory Program (REL) consists of a network of ten laboratories that serve the educational needs of a designated region by providing access to high quality scientifically valid education research through applied research and development projects, studies, and other related technical assistance activities. The labs are operated by the U.S. Department of Education.

Regional Occupational Programs (ROP): State funded programs for job training, jobs-related counseling, and skills upgrades for students ages 16 to 18. Students often take ROP classes in high school to start learning a trade.

Resource Specialists: Specially credentialed teachers who work with special education students by assisting them in regular classes or pulling them out of class for extra help.

Resource Teacher: A teacher who instructs children with various learning differences. Most often, these teachers use small group and individual instruction. Children are assigned to resource teachers after undergoing testing and receiving an individualized education plan (IEP).

Restructuring: The implementation of new organizational patterns or styles of leadership and management to bring about renewed, more effective schools. Under NCLB provisions, schools that fail to make Adequate Yearly Progress for two, three, or four years in a row are required to restructure and develop improvement plans, offer school choice, and provide supplemental educational services.

Retention: End-of-year policy that prevents the promotion of students with failing grades to the next grade level.

Rubric: A method used to evaluate an assessment. Rubrics designate specific descriptions of performance of a given task at several different levels of quality. Often used to evaluate student performance.

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