EDUCATION DEFINITIONS AND TERMS YOU SHOULD KNOW Terms Used in Individual Standardized Tests If your child was assessed individually by a specialist, you’ve probably received a written or oral report (or both) of the test results. Are you still confused about what the tests actually measured? Do you wonder what the results mean for your child? Common Terminology Because different professionals and school districts use various tests, some tests are revised regularly, and new tests often become available, it’s impossible to mention every term you might find in a report. Here are some of the more frequently used terms in assessment reports. They are listed according to the specialist who most likely tested your child. Terms Used by Speech and Language Pathologists Articulation: the ability to produce speech sounds clearly. Kids with an articulation disorder have difficulty communicating effectively because they distort speech sounds. However, substitution of letter sounds in words is common at certain ages, such as /w/ for /r/ in “rabbit” to get “wabbit.” Morphology: changes in words, such as adding prefixes or suffixes, or changing the inflection of words when speaking Oral Language: ability to understand and express spoken language Receptive language is listening, remembering, and understanding what someone else says. Expressive language is the ability to organize thoughts and express them verbally to convey meaning to others. Phonology: speech sounds of the language Pragmatics: social language skills Semantics: word meanings and the relationships between words Syntax: rules for putting words into meaningful sentences Terms Used by General or Special Education Teachers Mathematics: number skills Phonemic Awareness: ability to discriminate the distinct, individual sounds (phonemes) that make words Phonics: method of teaching the connection between letters and sounds by associating the symbols with sounds Reading Comprehension: understanding the meaning of what is read in connected text Reading Recognition/Decoding: ability to decipher words by using knowledge about letters, sounds, and how to pronounce similar, familiar words Written Language: skills used to communicate with others through writing Grammar and word usage skills require applying rules of grammar, punctuation, and capitalization and being able to spell words correctly. Proper names and the beginning words of sentences begin with capitals, and sentences end with punctuation marks. Terms Used by School or Educational Psychologists Attention: selective focus on what is important while screening out distractions Auditory Processing: given normal hearing, the ability to understand spoken language in a meaningful way Cognition: ability to think, reason, and solve problems Impulsivity: behaving without thinking about possible consequences Visual Processing: given normal vision, the ability to recognize and interpret information taken in through the eyes The Specialist Knows Whenever you have a question about your child’s test results or need a specific term explained, contact the specialist who gave the test. This is the best person to explain the term and what it means about your child’s unique needs. Together, you can identify strategies to help your child succeed. About the Author
Here's a sentence somebody might say these days in a school near you: "Now that we have to disaggregate scores on a CRT, I don't see how Title I kids are going to make AYP." If you understood that, face it: You're a hopeless education nerd. But parents and other people interested in schools need to recognize some of the jargon common in a discussion about the No Child Left Behind education law. Here's a translation guide: NCLB - That's shorthand for No Child Left Behind, the federal law that requires 100% of students to be proficient in reading and math by 2013-14. Add a few vowels and you can hear why the real insiders call it "nickel-be." AYP - Adequate yearly progress. NCLB requires schools to reach a series of test-score benchmarks along the nine-year path to 100% proficiency. Miss the mark and the school doesn't make AYP. Proficient - Every state must set a standard for the reading and math performance of its students. Students who meet or exceed that standard are considered proficient, which helps the school meet AYP. Disaggregate - Schools can no longer report a single average test score for the entire school. Under NCLB, the scores must be disaggregated, or separated, for eight subgroups to show whether each made AYP. Title I - The biggest chunk of NCLB is Title I, the section concerning students from low-income families. Other titles in the law deal with immigrant students, parental choice, technology and highly qualified teachers. Highly qualified - Under NCLB, teachers must meet new requirements to teach in a public school after 2005-06. If they do, they're considered highly qualified. There's a companion set of expectations for teacher aides. NRT - Norm-referenced test. Under its old plan, Tennessee used an NRT to show how well the state's students performed when compared with their peers across the country. CRT - Criterion-referenced test. NCLB requires a CRT to show whether an individual student is considered proficient when measured against the state's academic standards in each subject. Accommodation - States are allowed to give some students extra help on the CRT. Such accommodations include more time to take the test or a simplified-language version for special education students or students who are learning English. Safe harbor - Schools that don't reach some of the NCLB benchmarks can still make AYP if they make enough progress in improving test scores. EE - Exemplary Educators are Tennessee's front-line offense for schools struggling under the rules of NCLB. The veteran teachers are trained and assigned to schools that need help.
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