Level 1
A national assessment of student achievement that is taken by samplings of students in each state and nationwide. Tests in reading and mathematics are administered every two years and science tests are administered every four years. NAEP provides a means of comparing the progress of states in raising student achievement.
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
A segment of free time during the standard school day in which students are given a break from instruction
Recess
Earned credit based on a standard unit of credit, plus a passing score on the corresponding end-of-course Standards of Learning test or substitute test approved by the Board of Education.
Verified unit of credit
Skills, habits, and attitudes students need to prosper both at school and in the wider world , such as persistence and creativity.
Non-academic competencies
Federal funding program authorized by Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to support instructional needs of students from low-income families to ensure that all children have a fair and equal opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach (at a minimum) proficiency on state academic achievement standards and assessments.
Title I
Any course offered over the Internet; synonymous with e-course, virtual course and cyber course.
Online course
The amount of instructional time required to earn a credit (Carnegie unit) and in online learning is indicated by amount of time engaged in coursework
Seat-time
A federal program focusing on proven methods of early reading instruction to ensure all children learn to read well by the end of third grade.
Reading First
Standardized tests designed to measure how a student's performance compares with that of other students
Norm-referenced tests
A requirement of Section 508 of the Americans with Disabilities Act, that learning materials, including interfaces, images, sounds, multimedia elements and all other forms of information, must be made available for use by anyone, regardless of disability.
Universal accessibility (online)
A framework for the design of online learning objects and environments ensuring accessibility for all users.
Universal design for l earning (UDL)
As tate-provided K-3 screening tool to help reduce the number of children with reading problems by detecting those problems early and providing research-based, small-group intervention
Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS)
A means of estimating how a whole group would perform on an assessment by testing representative members of the group or giving different portions of the test to various subgroups
Sampling
Education in which instruction and content are delivered primarily over the Internet; synonymous with e-learning, cyber learning and virtual learning
Online learning
A process to initiate a range of accountability actions to improve pupil performance and to address deficiencies in curriculum and instruction; may include, but is not limited to, restructuring a school’s governance, instructional program staff or student population.
Reconstitution
An award that honors public and private K-12 schools that are either academically superior in their states or that demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement; awarded annually by the U.S. Department of Education.
National Blue Ribbon Award
Instructional methods, practices, techniques and strategies
Pedagogy
Program providing state funds to schools and community organizations for quality preschool programs for at-risk four-year olds not served by federal programs such as Head Start or Title I.
Virginia Preschool Initiative
An organized offering of courses delivered primarily over the internet; synonymous with eLearning Program, cyber learning, and virtual learning.
Online learning program
A school with a high percentage of disadvantaged students making it eligible for participation in federal Title I programs.
Title I school
One of two commonly used tests designed to assess high school students' general educational development and required for college entrance by many institutions of higher education; published and administered by the College Board.
SAT
A publicly funded institution where students are enrolled for all or a majority of the instructional day; those students are reported in fall membership at the institution and the institution, at minimum, meets requirements adopted by the Board of Education.
School
All students in tested grade levels and courses are expected to participate in Virginia’s assessment program, unless specifically exempted by state or federal law or by Board of Education regulations. Virginia’s assessment system includes students with disabilities and English learners. Students with disabilities and English learners may take Standards of Learning tests with or without accommodations or they may be assessed through alternate or alternative assessments.
Virginia assessment program
An educational approach which varies the learning objectives, instructional methods, content and assessment methods based on the needs of the student, with the involvement of the student in selecting content and educational objectives.
Personalized learning
Title I schools with 40 percent or greater high-poverty, student population may use federal funding to meet the needs of all students at the school.
Title I school-wide assistance