Pennsylvania Code › Title 22 - EDUCATION › Part I - State Board of Education › Subpart A - Miscellaneous Provisions › Chapter 4 - ACADEMIC STANDARDS AND ASSESSMENT › GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 4.3 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter,
						have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
						otherwise:
ACTS-Area career and technical school
-A
						public school that provides career and technical education to secondary school
						students, out-of-school youth and adults in a geographical area comprised and
						operated by one or more school districts and established under sections
						1840-1853 of the School Code (24 P.S. §§
												18-1840-18-1853).
Academic standard
-What a student should
						know and be able to do at a specified grade level.
Apprenticeship program
-A
						competency-based program that coordinates and integrates classroom instruction
						with a structured work-based employment experience designed for
						students.
Assessment
-A valid and reliable
						measurement of student performance on a set of academic standards in a subject
						area that captures student understanding of the set as a whole and the central
						concepts, knowledge and skills of each content area.
Board
-The State Board of Education
						established under sections 2601-B-2606-B of the School Code (24 P.S. §§
												26-2601-B-26-2606-B).
Career and technical education
-Programs
						under public supervision and control which provide an organized process of
						learning experiences designed to develop integrated academic and occupational
						skills, knowledge, attitudes, work habits and leadership ability for entry into
						and advancement within various levels of employment in occupational areas of
						agriculture, business, marketing and distribution, health, home economics and
						trade and industry and for participation in postsecondary education and
						training.
Chief school administrator
-The
						superintendent of a school district, the superintendent of an ACTS or the chief
						executive officer of a charter school.
Cooperative career and technical
						education
-A planned method of instruction developed through a signed
						cooperative arrangement among school representatives, students, parents and
						employers in the community to provide students with an opportunity to alternate
						in-school academic and career and technical instruction in entry-level paid
						employment in an occupational field, in which the student's total occupational
						work experience is planned, coordinated and supervised by the school in close
						cooperation with the employer.
Curriculum
-A series of planned
						instruction aligned with the academic standards in each subject that is
						coordinated and articulated and implemented in a manner designed to result in
						the achievement at the proficient level by all students.
Department
-The Department of Education
						of the Commonwealth.
ESOL
-English to speakers of other
						languages.
Employment area
-A geographic area where
						career and technical education program completers are most likely to be
						employed.
Individuals with Disabilities Education
						Act
- 20 U.S.C.A. §§
												1400-
						1482.
Intermediate unit
-A regional educational
						service agency established under sections 951-974 of the School Code
						(24
						P. S. §§
												9-951-9-974), which provides
						educational services to participating school districts as part of the public
						school system of this Commonwealth.
Keystone Exams
-State-developed
						end-of-course exams. Designated exams will be used to determine, in part, a
						student's eligibility for high school graduation.
Local Assessment Validation Advisory
						Committee
-An advisory committee established by the Department composed
						of up to two representatives each from the Department and Board, four
						representatives from the Pennsylvania School Boards Association and up to four
						additional members who are jointly selected by the Committee. The purpose of
						the Committee is to develop the criteria for the local validation process and
						criteria for selection of approved validation entities.
NOCTI
-National Occupational Competency
						Testing Institute.
PSSA
-Pennsylvania System of School
						Assessment.
Parent
or
guardian
-A
						person legally responsible for a student's care.
Pennsylvania Core Standards
-Academic
						standards for English language arts and mathematics based upon a Nationwide,
						state-led process coordinated by the National Governors Association and the
						Council of Chief State School Officers and in collaboration with teachers,
						content experts and other education stakeholders. The standards define the
						knowledge and skills students should have within their K-12 education careers
						so that they will graduate high school able to succeed in entry-level,
						credit-bearing academic college courses and in work-force training
						programs.
Performance Level Advisory Committee
-An
						advisory committee established by the Department to assist the Department in
						developing Keystone Exam performance level descriptors and performance level
						cut scores. The Committee includes teachers, principals, school administrators,
						school board members, higher education officials, representatives of the United
						States Armed Forces, employers and others with at least 1/2 of its members
						selected from nominations made by Statewide teachers' unions and other
						education stakeholder organizations.
Planned instruction
-Instruction offered
						by a school entity based upon a written plan to enable students to achieve the
						academic standards under 4.12 (relating to academic standards) and any
						additional academic standards as determined by the school entity.
Prekindergarten
-A program operated by a
						school district or by a community agency under contract from a school district
						that is open to children who are at least 3 years of age and completed prior to
						the school district's entry age for kindergarten.
School Code
-The Public School Code of
						1949 (24 P. S. §§
												1-101-27-2702).
School entity-
A local public education
						provider (for example, public school district, charter school, cyber charter
						school, ACTS or intermediate unit).
School organization
-The organization of
						a school district's programs into kindergarten, primary, intermediate level,
						middle level and high school programs, including programs operated at
						ACTS.
Secretary
-The Secretary of Education of
						the Commonwealth.
State assessment
-A valid and reliable
						measurement of student performance on a set of academic standards as measured
						by the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment or the Keystone Exams.
State Assessment Validation Advisory
						Committee
-An advisory committee established by the Department to
						advise it on its plans to conduct a validity study of the Keystone Exams and
						review and provide feedback on study findings. The Committee is composed of up
						to two representatives each from the Department, Board, Pennsylvania State
						Education Association, American Federation of Teachers-Pennsylvania and up to
						four additional members who are jointly selected by the Committee.
Tech-prep program
-A combined secondary
						and postsecondary program which leads to an associate degree or certificate and
						employment by providing technical preparation in engineering technology,
						applied science, mechanical, industrial or practical art or trade, agriculture,
						health or business, including development of competence in mathematics, science
						and communications through a sequential course of study.
The provisions of this §
													4.3 amended under the Public
						  School Code of 1949 (24 P.S. §§
														1-101-27-2702).
This section cited in 22 Pa. Code §
													4.23 (relating to high school
						  education); 22 Pa. Code §
													4.28 (relating to special
						  education); 22 Pa. Code §
													338.2 (relating to definitions);
						  and 22 Pa. Code §
													339.1a (relating to
						  definitions).