Accountability Terminology
Academic review: A process for helping schools and school divisions identify and analyze instructional and organizational factors affecting student achievement.
Academic review team: A team that conducts an academic review.
Accredited: Schools with all school quality indicators at either Level One or Level Two. In addition, schools that are in a triennial accreditation period are also Accredited.
Accredited with Conditions: Schools with one or more school quality indicators at Level Three.
Accreditation Denied: A school is rated Accreditation Denied if it fails to adopt or fully implement required corrective actions to address Level Three school-quality indicators
Accountability System: Includes state accreditation ratings, federal accountability data and identification, and reporting of results on the School Quality Profiles.
Additional Targeted and Support School: A Title I school whose student group performance was below the highest achieving Comprehensive support and Improvement School (CSI). (Identified through the process as outlined in the state’s Consolidated State Plan.)
Achievement gap: Difference in academic performance between student groups.
Alignment: The correlation between Virginia’s Standards of Learning (SOL), what is taught in the classroom and what appears on the SOL assessments. Curriculum alignment ensures that students are taught the material subject to testing.
Assessment: A test or other method for measuring achievement. A “state assessment” is a Standards of Learning test or a Virginia Alternate Assessment Program (VAAP) test.
Board-recognized diplomas: The Board of Education establishes minimum requirements for the Standard diploma, Advanced Studies diploma, and Applied Studies diploma. International Baccalaureate diplomas are regarded as Advanced Studies Diplomas.
Carry over students: A student who remains in high school after completing four or more years. A carry-over student is not a special education or English Learner student who may have more than four years to graduate per their specialized plan.
Combined pass rate: In calculating accreditation ratings, the combined pass rate includes students who pass a state assessment, students who fail the state assessment but demonstrate growth, English Learners who fail the state assessment and do not show growth, but do show progress in English Language proficiency (reading only). The combined rate also includes allowances for students who pass the state assessment after failing the previous year’s state assessment and also receiving remedial instruction (“recovery students”).
Comprehensive Support and Improvement: Title I schools performing in the lowest 5% of schools in the state. (Identification process as outlined in the state’s Consolidated State Plan.)
Consolidated State Plan: Virginia’s accountability plan used to identify schools for federal support. It follows the requirements outlined by ESSA.
Corrective action plan: A plan outlining methods to improve teaching, administration or curriculum that a school or school division undertakes to improve student achievement.
Disaggregated data: Data sorted by groups of students. Groups include students who are economically disadvantaged, racial and ethnic groups, have special education needs, or have limited English proficiency.
ESEA: Elementary and Secondary Education Act is the primary federal law affecting K-12 education. The most recent reauthorization of the law is also known as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
Expedited retake: An SOL test taken during the same academic year, and before the next scheduled test administration, by a student who, on his first attempt, scored within 25 points of passing or has exceptional or mitigating circumstances.
Flexibility Waiver: Exemptions from certain provisions of the federal ESSA granted to Virginia by the United States Department of Education (USED).
Graduation and Completion Index (see Graduation rate)
Graduation rate: Virginia calculates three graduation “rates” for accountability purposes:
- The Virginia On-Time Graduation Rate is the percentage of students who graduate with a Board of Education-approved diploma within four years of entering high school.
- The Federal Graduation Indicator is the percentage of students who graduate with a Standard or Advanced Studies Diploma. It is used in calculating federal accountability status for high schools.
- The Graduation and Completion Index (GCI) is a measure for a graduating cohort based on weighted student outcomes. Outcomes include students who earn a diploma, a GED, Certificate of Completion, or remain active in school membership on the last day of school. The GCI is used in the determination of state accreditation.
Targeted School Improvement: A school whose student group performance is below the state’s measures of interim progress (“targets”) for two consecutive years, and meets additional criteria, as outlined in the state’s Consolidated State Plan.
LEA: Local Education Agency is the term used in federal education law to describe a local school division.
Lead turnaround partner: A state-approved vendor with expertise and experience in the development and implementation of successful school reform and improvement strategies.
LEP or EL: Limited-English Proficient students or English Learners refers to students for whom English is a second language and who are not reading or writing English at their grade level.
Parental involvement: The participation of parents in regular, two way, meaningful communication involving student learning and school activities. Parental involvement is a component of ESSA.
SEA: State Education Agency refers to the Virginia Board of Education, which is responsible for the general supervision of a state’s public elementary and secondary schools.
School improvement plan: Strategies and steps that a school will utilize to raise student achievement. A plan may involve new programs, more assistance for students, new curricula and/or teacher training.
School Quality Profiles: “Report cards” that provide information about student achievement, college and career readiness, program completion, school safety, teacher quality and other topics of interest to parents and the general public. Report cards are available for schools, school divisions and for the commonwealth.
Scientifically based research: Research that involves the application of rigorous, systemic and objective procedures to obtain reliable and valid knowledge regarding the effectiveness of educational activities and programs.
Slider: A special education or English Learner who has more than four years to graduate per their specialized plan, and therefore “slides” from one cohort to the next.
SOL: Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools describe the commonwealth’s expectations for student learning and achievement in grades K-12 in English, mathematics, science, history/social science, technology, the fine arts, foreign language, health and physical education and driver education.
Substitute tests: Virginia allows high school students to use nationally recognized assessments such as Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) and SAT II subject tests as substitutes for the related SOL tests. All Board of Education-approved substitute tests measure content that incorporates or exceeds the related SOL content.
Title I: Federal program designed to help children who are behind academically or at risk of falling behind. Title I funding is based on the number of low-income children in a school, generally those eligible for free lunch or reduced-fee lunch programs.
USED: Abbreviation used by VDOE for the United States Department of Education.
Virginia Alternate Assessment Program (VAAP): A state assessment for students with significant cognitive disabilities that assesses content standards that have been reduced in depth, breadth, and complexity as compared to the Standards of Learning, called the Virginia Essentialized Standards of Learning (VESOL).