US Educational Terms Glossary (Garland Green)

State education agency (e.g. state department of education)

Southwest Educational Development Laboratory

An instructional approach in which classes are composed entirely of students learning English. Students are taught using methods that make academic instruction in English understandable. In some schools, students may be clustered in a mainstream classroom.

A credential required to teach middle or high school. It authorizes a teacher to teach in a single subject area such as English or a foreign language.

Students whose parents do not have a high school diploma or who participate in the federally funded free/reduced price meal program because of low family income. (Ed Source)

A norm-referenced assessment required for all Spanish-speaking students in grades two through eleven who have been enrolled in California schools for less than one year. SABE/2 is part of the STAR program and the results are part of the school's API. It covers Spanish/language arts and mathematics. (Ed Source)

Full-day classes for students with learning disabilities, speech and/or language impairments, serious emotional disturbances, cognitive delays, and a range of other impairments. Classes are taught by certified special education teachers. A student may be placed in a regular classroom as appropriate according to the student's IEP.

Special instruction provided for students with educational or physical disabilities, tailored to each student's needs and learning style.

Days set aside in the school calendar for teacher training. School is not generally held on these days.

• Assessments that are administered and scored in exactly the same way for all students. Traditional standardized tests are typically mass-produced and machine-scored they are designed to measure skills and knowledge that are thought to be taught to all students in a fairly standardized way. Performance assessments also can be standardized if they are administered and scored in the same way for all students.
  
  
• A test that is in the same format for all who take it. It often relies on multiple-choice questions and the testing conditions—including instructions, time limits, and scoring rubrics—are the same for all students, though sometimes accommodations on time limits and instructions are made for disabled students. (Ed Source)