Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 603 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION › Title 603 CMR 2.00 - Accountability and Assistance for School Districts And Schools › Section 2.02 - Definitions

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
Accountability Percentile
. The measure
				used to report each school's relative standing compared to other schools
				statewide. The accountability percentile shall be calculated by ranking data
				from all available accountability indicators for each school and combining them
				into a single, final percentile value, from one to 99.
Annual Performance Determination
.
				Annual district, grade level, school, or student subgroup achievement and
				improvement, as determined by the Department relative to indicators which
				include, but need not be limited to, achievement in English language arts,
				mathematics, and science, student growth in English language arts and
				mathematics, high school completion, English language proficiency, chronic
				absenteeism, and high school advanced coursework completion, in accordance with
				the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).
Benchmark Assessment
. An assessment
				that is given at regular and specified intervals throughout the school year, is
				designed to evaluate students' knowledge and skills relative to a specific set
				of academic standards, and produces results that can be aggregated
				(
e.g
., by course, grade level, school, or district) in order
				to inform teachers and administrators at the student, classroom, school, and
				district levels.
Board
. The Board of Elementary and
				Secondary Education, appointed in accordance with M.G.L. c. 15, §
				1E.
Charter School
. A public school
				operated under a charter granted by the Board pursuant to M.G.L. c. 71, §
				89 and
				603 CMR
				1.00:
Charter Schools
.
Chronically Under performing District
. The designation given to a district by the Board of Elementary and Secondary
				Education in accordance with M.G.L. c. 69, § 1K.
Chronically Under performing School
.
				The designation given to an under performing school by the commissioner in
				accordance with M.G.L. c. 69, § 1J (l).
Commissioner
. The commissioner of
				elementary and secondary education, appointed in accordance with M.G.L. c. 15,
				§ 1F, or his or her designee.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts Virtual
				School
. A public school operated under a certificate granted by
				the commissioner pursuant to M.G.L. c. 71, § 94 and
				603 CMR 52.00
Commonwealth of Massachusetts Virtual Schools
.
Core Subjects
. The subjects specified
				in M.G.L. c. 69, § 1D (science, technology, and mathematics, history and
				social science, English, foreign languages and the arts) and subjects covered
				in courses that are part of an approved vocational-technical education program
				under M.G.L. c. 74.
Criterion-referenced Measure
. The
				measure used to report a district's, school's, or subgroup's performance
				against targets, set by the Department, for each accountability indicator. At
				the district and school level, the criterion-referenced measure shall combine
				the results from all students in the district or school and the results from
				the lowest performing students in the district or school.
Department
. The Department of
				Elementary and Secondary Education acting through the commissioner or his or
				her designee.
District Analysis and Review Tool or
				DART
. An electronic interface, using graphics and showing trends,
				of a sampling of relevant data kept by the Department or submitted to the
				Department by districts over time in areas including, but not limited to,
				district and school demographics, access, performance, educator licensure and
				turnover, student support, and educational resources.
District Improvement Plan
. The
				comprehensive, three-year improvement plan each district is required to develop
				under M.G.L. c. 69, § 11.
District Indicators
. The detailed
				performance indicators associated with the district standards and developed by
				the Department.
District or School District
. A
				municipal school department or regional school district, acting through its
				school committee or superintendent of schools, or a county agricultural school,
				acting through its board of trustees or superintendent/director. For the
				purposes of
				603 CMR 2.00, it shall not
				mean a charter school or a Commonwealth of Massachusetts virtual school.
District Review
. A school district
				audit conducted by the Department under M.G.L. c. 15, § 55A, in accordance
				with a process and protocol established by the commissioner on behalf of the
				Board pursuant to M.G.L. c. 69, § 1B, and based on published district
				standards and indicators.
District Review Report
. The report of
				a district review by a district review team, as required by M.G.L. c. 15,
				§ 55A.
District Review Team
. A group of
				individuals appointed by the Department, pursuant to M.G.L. c. 15, § 55A,
				to conduct a district review.
District Standards
. The standards
				developed and published by the Department pursuant to
				603 CMR
				2.03(6)(a) and (b) that are
				the basis for district reviews.
ESEA
. The Elementary and Secondary
				Education Act,
				20 U.S.C.
				6301
et seq
., reauthorized
				in 2015 as the Every Student Succeeds Act.
Follow-up Review
. A review conducted
				following a district review to gather further information, to be used for such
				purposes as determining whether an under performing district should be
				reclassified as chronically under performing or whether a school or district
				should be removed from under performing or chronically under performing
				status.
Follow-up Review Report
. The report of
				a follow-up review.
Formative Assessment
. Assessment
				questions, tools, and processes that are embedded in instruction and are used
				by teachers and students to provide timely feedback for purposes of adjusting
				instruction to improve learning.
Framework for District Accountability and
				Assistance
. The system for district and school accountability and
				assistance developed by the Department in consultation with the Board's
				advisory council on school and district accountability and assistance, approved
				by the Board, and implemented by the Department pursuant to
				603 CMR
				2.03(1).
Lowest Performing Students
. The group
				of students who, when considering achievement on the English language arts and
				mathematics MCAS assessments, are among the lowest performing students in the
				district or school.
Mathematics Content Assessment
. A
				diagnostic assessment of mathematics content knowledge approved by the
				Department that mathematics teachers at an under performing or chronically
				under performing school may be required to take, at no cost to the district or
				the teacher for the assessment instrument or its scoring.
Mathematics Teacher
. Any educator who
				teaches mathematics in a Massachusetts public school.
MCAS
. The Massachusetts Comprehensive
				Assessment System, provided for in M.G.L. c. 69, § 1I.
Performance
. Results or outcomes
				across multiple measures, including, but not limited to, achievement and
				student growth.
Receiver
shall:
(a) for a district, mean a non-profit entity or an individual
				with a demonstrated record of success in improving low-performing schools or
				districts or the academic performance of disadvantaged students, appointed by
				the commissioner on behalf of the Board for a district designated as
				chronically under performing, pursuant to M.G.L. c. 69, § 1K(a), and
				603
				CMR 2.06(3); and
(b) for a school, mean a non-profit entity or an individual
				with a demonstrated record of success in improving low-performing schools or
				the academic performance of disadvantaged students, appointed for a school
				designated as under performing by the superintendent pursuant to M.G.L. c. 69,
				§ 1J(h) and
				603
				CMR 2.05(7)  and for a
				school designated as chronically under performing by the commissioner pursuant
				to M.G.L. c. 69, § 1J(r), (v), or (w) and
				603
				CMR 2.06(5).
School
. A single public school which
				operates under the direct administration of a principal, director, or school
				leader appointed by the school district or board of trustees responsible for
				its governance.
School Improvement Plan
. The plan for
				improved student performance each school is required to develop annually under
				M.G.L. c. 69, § 1I.
Student Growth
. A measure of how much
				a student's achievement has improved from one year to the next.
Subgroup
. One of the groups of
				students for which the Department issues annual performance determinations
				including, but not limited to, students with disabilities, English learners,
				economically disadvantaged students, and students belonging to major racial and
				ethnic groups.
Subgroup Percentile
. The measure used
				to report each subgroup's relative standing compared to like subgroups
				statewide. The subgroup percentile shall be calculated by ranking data from all
				available accountability indicators for each subgroup and combining them into a
				single, final percentile value, from one to 99.
Turnaround Plan
. The plan to improve
				student achievement in an under performing or chronically under performing
				school or a chronically under performing district that may serve as the School
				Improvement Plan or District Improvement Plan.
under performing District
. The
				designation given to a district by the Board of Elementary and Secondary
				Education in accordance with
				603
				CMR 2.05(1).
under performing District Plan
. A plan
				for improvement a district designated as under performing is required to
				develop and implement pursuant to
				603
				CMR 2.05(8)(b), (c), and
				(d).
under performing School
. The
				designation given to a school by the commissioner in accordance with M.G.L. c.
				69, § 1J.