Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 281 - Education Department › Title II - Accredited Schools and School Districts › Chapter 12 - General Accreditation Standards › Rule 281-12.2 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
				  apply:
"Annual improvement goals"
means the desired
				  one-year rate of improvement for students. Data from multiple measures may be
				  used to determine the rate of improvement.
"Baseline data"
means information gathered
				  at a selected point in time and used thereafter as a basis from which to
				  monitor change.
"Benchmarks"
means specific knowledge and
				  skills anchored to content standards that a student needs to accomplish by a
				  specific grade or grade span.
"Board"
means the board of directors in
				  charge of a public school district or the authorities in charge of an
				  accredited nonpublic school.
"Competency-based education"
means that
				  learners advance through content or earn credit based on demonstration of
				  proficiency of competencies. Proficiency for this context is the demonstrated
				  skill or knowledge required to advance to and be successful in higher levels of
				  learning in that content area. Some students may advance through more content
				  or earn more credit than in a traditional school year while others might take
				  more than a traditional school year to advance through the same content and to
				  earn credit. A student must meet the requirements of subrule 12.5(13) to be
				  awarded credit in a competency-based system of education.
"Curriculum"
means a plan that outlines what
				  students shall be taught. Curriculum refers to all the courses offered, or all
				  the courses offered in a particular area of study.
"Department"
means the department of
				  education.
"Districtwide"
means all attendance centers
				  within a school district or accredited nonpublic school.
"Districtwide assessments"
means large-scale
				  achievement or performance measures. At least one districtwide assessment shall
				  allow for the following: the comparison of the same group of students over time
				  as they progress through the grades or the cross-sectional comparison of
				  students at the same grades over multiple years.
"Districtwide progress"
means the
				  quantifiable change in school or school district student achievement and
				  performance.
"Dropout"
means a school-age student who is
				  served by a public school district and enrolled in any of grades 7 through 12
				  and who does not attend school or withdraws from school for a reason other than
				  death or transfer to another approved school or school district or has been
				  expelled with no option to return.
"Educational program."
The educational
				  program adopted by the board is the entire offering of the school, including
				  out-of-class activities and the sequence of curriculum areas and activities.
				  The educational program will provide articulated, developmental learning
				  experiences from the date of student entrance until high school
				  graduation.
"Enrolled student"
means a person who has
				  officially registered with the school or school district and is taking part in
				  the educational program.
"Indicators"
provide information about the
				  general status, quality, or performance of an educational system.
"Library program"
means an articulated
				  sequential kindergarten through grade 12 library or media program that enhances
				  student achievement and is integral to the school district's curricula and
				  instructional program. The library program is planned and implemented by a
				  qualified teacher librarian working collaboratively with the district's
				  administration and instructional staff. The library program services provided
				  to students and staff will include the following:
1. Support of the overall school
				curricula;
2. Collaborative
				planning and teaching;
3. Promotion
				of reading and literacy;
4.
				Information literacy instruction;
5. Access to a diverse and appropriate school
				library collection; and
6. Learning
				enhancement through technologies.
"Long-range goals"
means desired targets to
				  be reached over an extended period of time.
"Multiple assessment measures,"
for
				  reporting to the local community or the state, means more than one valid and
				  reliable instrument that quantifies districtwide student learning, including
				  specific grade-level data.
"Performance levels."
The federal Elementary
				  and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) requires that at least three levels of
				  performance be established to assist in determining which students have or have
				  not achieved a satisfactory or proficient level of performance. At least two of
				  those three levels will describe what all students ought to know or be able to
				  do if their achievement or performance is deemed proficient or advanced. The
				  third level will describe students who are not yet performing at the proficient
				  level. A school or school district may establish more than three performance
				  levels that include all students for districtwide or other assessments.
"Prekindergarten program"
includes a school
				  district's implementation of the preschool program pursuant to Iowa Code
				  chapter 256C.
"Proficient,"
as it relates to content
				  standards, characterizes student performance at a level that is acceptable by
				  the school or school district.
"School"
means an accredited nonpublic
				  school.
"School counseling program"
means an
				  articulated sequential kindergarten through grade 12 program that is
				  comprehensive in scope, preventive in design, developmental in nature, driven
				  by data, and integral to the school district's curricula and instructional
				  program. The program is implemented by at least one school counselor,
				  appropriately licensed by the board of educational examiners, who works
				  collaboratively with the district's administration and instructional staff. The
				  program standards are described in subrule 12.3(11). The program's delivery
				  system components will include the following:
1. School guidance curriculum;
2. Support of the overall school
				curriculum;
3. Individual student
				planning;
4. Responsive services;
				and
5. System support.
"School district"
means a public school
				  district.
"School improvement advisory committee"
means a committee, as defined in Iowa Code section
				  280.12, that is appointed by the
				  board. Committee membership will include students, parents, teachers,
				  administrators, and representatives from the local community that may include
				  business, industry, labor, community agencies, higher education, or other
				  community constituents. To the extent possible, committee membership is to have
				  balanced representation of the following: race, gender, national origin, and
				  disability. The school improvement advisory committee as defined by Iowa Code
				  section 280.12 and the board are also
				  part of, but not inclusive of, the local community.
"Student learning goals"
means general
				  statements of expectations for all graduates.
"Students with disabilities"
means students
				  who have individualized education programs regardless of the disability.
"Subgroups"
means a subset of the student
				  population that has a common characteristic. Subgroups include, but are not
				  limited to, gender, race, students with disabilities, and socioeconomic
				  status.