Glossary

 
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Academic Planning: process by which students make decisions about the classes they take and their life after high school with the support of parents, teachers and the school counselor.

Advanced Diploma: 26 course credits earned with 9 of those credits being verified credits.

Advanced Placement (AP): challenging courses that prepare students for college. Must take and pass the test at the end of the course with a score of 4 or higher to earn college credit.

American College Testing (ACT): standardized test for college admission. The test measures English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science Reasoning. An optional Writing test is also available. Each of the four tests is scored on a scale of 1-36 and a composite score is provided as an average of the four scores.

Career Technical Education (CTE): courses that provide students technical skills in a particular area. After completion of the course, students have the opportunity to take a related assessment that will provide an industry certification which may provide an entry-level job opportunity in that certification area.

College and Career Readiness: students are prepared to enter college and the workplace without remediation in skills.

Course Selection: decision-making that will impact the kind of diploma a student will earn. Students should seek to higher level or advanced courses to ensure they are college and career ready.

Credit: awarded to a student after enrollment and successful completion of an academic course.

Degrees of Reading Power (DRP): This assessment measures a student’s comprehension and vocabulary skills.

Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA): this assessment measures a student’s reading fluency and comprehension.

Dual Enrollment: opportunity for students to take college level classes and earn college and high school credit at the same time.

End of the Course (EOC): assessment or test that must be taken and passed at the end of a course in order to receive credit in the course.

Foreign Language: courses students can take to learn a language other than English. Many colleges require students to take multiple years of a foreign language for entrance.

Formative Assessment: diagnostic testing to determine how much students are learning. These assessments help teachers determine what changes they need to make to instruction.

High Level Mathematics Courses: students should be ready to enter Algebra I by the eighth grade and should continue taking Mathematics courses throughout high school in order to earn the advanced diploma and in order to prepare for college.

High Level Science Courses: students should take challenging Science courses and should strive to take Chemistry and Physics. Algebra I is a required course for the higher level Science courses.

International Baccalaureate (IB): challenging courses that prepare students for college and focuses on providing students opportunities for developing a global, international perspective of education.

Life Centered Career Education : Life Centered Career Education A course of studies for students with severe disabilities whose educational program requires an alternate curriculum. The LCCE focuses on three curriculum areas: Daily Living Skills, Personal-Social Skills and Occupational Guidance and Preparation.

Middle school courses that earn high school credit: Algebra I, Geometry, Foreign Language I and II, World Geography

Phonological Awareness Literacy (PALs):assessment given to students in the early grades. This assessment determines a student’s readiness for acquiring literacy skills.

Post-secondary: plans after high school which may include continuing education at a 2- or 4-year college or university, trade or vocational school, military service, entering the workforce, apprenticeship, entrepreneurship, job corps, peace corps, volunteerism, gap year, internship or a combination of the above opportunities.

Preliminary-Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT): standardized test that provides practice for the SAT. The test measures critical reading, math problem-solving, and writing. Student score reports provide information to students on their weakest areas and can be used to prepare for the SAT. Students should take the PSAT during their 10^th grade year.

Program of Study (POS): course catalogue that provides the range of courses and programs offered in the elementary, middle and high schools.

Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT): standardized test used for college admissions. The test measures Mathematics, Critical Reading and Writing with a possible score of 800 on each of the three tests. Student scores can range from 600 to 2400. Students should take the SAT multiple times to earn their highest score. Students should take the SAT during their 11^th grade year.

Standard Diploma: 22 course credits earned with 6 of those credits being verified credits.

Standards of Learning (SOL): assessments given in Reading, Math, Science and Social studies at different grade levels in each school beginning at grade 3 and continuing through grade 12. Students must a score of 400 or better in order to pass the assessment.

Summative Assessment – summarizes the development of learning at a particular time. May be given at the end of a course.

Summer School: an opportunity for students to earn credit for new work courses which opens up their schedule during the school day and may assist a student to earn the advanced diploma, or to take a course of interest to them.

VAAP: Virginia Alternate Assessment Program was developed for students with severe disabilities who are unable to participate in SOL assessments. Scores are included in determining school accreditation and Adequate Yearly Progress.

Verified Credit: awarded after a student earns credit for the course and earns a passing score on the SOL test associated with the course.

Virtual/Online course: a course that a student takes electronically to fulfill their credit requirements.