| Clusters |
The
content areas such as mathematics and language arts literacy
(LAL) are subdivided into smaller content areas, and these are
called clusters. See math
and LAL
clusters. |
| Content
specifications |
Within
each cluster, the content is even further subdivided. In other
words: the content is more specified - is more detailed. |
| Content
area |
The
content area is also known as the subject area. In New Jersey
there are eight content areas: Language Arts Literacy (LAL),
Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, World Languages, Comprehensive
Health and Physical Education, Visual and Performing Arts, Career
Education and Life Skills, and Technological Literacy. |
| Contiguous |
Next
to; adjacent |
| English
fluency standard |
The English fluency standard is that as meausred by the 530
on the Maculaitis
(MAC) II (N.J.A.C. 6A:8-5.1[f]). |
| IDEA
(Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) |
This
law guarantees all children with disabilities access to a free
and appropriate public education. See IDEAs
that Work from The Office of Special Education Programs
(OSEP) of the US Education Department? |
| IEP
Individualized Education Program |
The
IEP is a written plan which sets forth present levels of performance,
measurable annual goals and short term objectives or benchmarks.
The plan is an integrated, sequential program of individually
designed instructional activities and related services necessary
to achieve the stated goals and objectives for the specific
individual. The Information
for Districts and Parents section of the NJDOE Special
Education web site has more information.. |
| IEP
team |
The
group of individuals who are responsible for the development,
review, and revision of the student's individualized education
program. |
| Individual
Student Reports (ISRs) |
The
report generated by the Department of Education after the results
for the statewide assessment have been released to the DOE
Data web site. Reports are released for each student (the
ISR), and for the school, and also for the state. |
| Instructional
program |
The
SRA instructional program has classes given by teachers, preferably
those who are certified in the content area. For instance, if
a student needed instruction in math, then the student would
be assigned to a math class. |
| Item-specific
rubric |
A
rubric is a guide for scoring the answer to a question. An item-specific
rubric means that the scoring guide is designed for a specific
open-ended question on the test. |
| Just
Proficient Mean (JPM) |
When
it has been found, by professional scorers, that a particular
range of scores represents the level at which students are just
proficient, then these scores are averaged, and this is the
JPM. Since every test is almost the same, but not quite the
same, then the JPM will be set a little differently for each
test. |
| Maculaitis
(MAC) II |
This
is a test of English Language Proficiency. There are four areas
tested: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. |
| Mean |
A
mean is an average. |
| Mean
of the two contiguous scores |
A
mean, or an average, of two adjacent scores for a given test.
For instance, if the two closest scores were 12 and 13, then
the mean would be 12.5. |
| Native
language |
The
language of the person's country of origin. |
| No
Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) |
NCLB
is an education reform designed to improve student achievement
and change the culture of America's schools. |
|
Open-ended |
An
open-ended test question makes it possible for a student to
write a response. The question may require a short answer, or
it may require a paragraph or an essay. This kind of question
is often contrasted with a multiple-choice question. |
| PAT
(Performance Assessment Task) |
The
PAT is the equivalent of a question on the HSPA test. For examples,
see the Language
Arts Literacy and Mathematics HSPA Tutorials. |
| Partially
proficient |
Scores
on the statewide assessments are divided into three categories:
partially proficient, proficient, and advanced proficient. If
a student in high school scores at the partially proficient
level, then that student must receive SRA instruction, must
retake the HSPA, and (if not successful) may need to take SRA.
|
| Proficiency |
A
student who meets the proficiency level on a test (or assessment)
has passed that test. |
| Raw
score |
A
raw score is the actual score received by a student on a particular
part of a test, such as on the Language Arts Literacy reading
cluster. The raw score is later converted to a scale score,
so a student will then know whether or not he or she passed
the test. |
| SRA
(Special Review Assessment) |
New
Jersey's designated alternate assessment for the HSPA. |
| (Common)
stem |
A
'stem' is often the first part of a multiple choice question:
the part that asks the question. See Developing
Multiple Choice Tests. |
