US Educational Terms Glossary (Garland Green)

A national organization of parents, teachers, and other interested persons that has chapters in schools. They rely entirely on voluntary participation and offer assistance to schools in many different areas

A program that encourages designated consulting teachers to assist other teachers who need help in developing their subject matter knowledge, teaching strategies, or both. They also help teachers to meet the standards for proficient teaching.

A program that trains students to provide their peers with counseling, education, and support on issues such as prejudice, drugs, violence, child abuse, dropping out, AIDS, and peer pressure. Students are also trained to provide tutoring and conflict mediation.

One way to compare a given child, class, school, or district to a national norm. (Ed Source)

Systematic and direct observation of a student performance or examples of student performances and ranking according to preestablished performance criteria. Students are assessed on the result as well as the process engaged in a complex task or creation of a product.

A description of the characteristics to be assessed for a given task. Performance criteria may be general specific analytical trait or holistic. They may be expressed as a scoring rubric or scoring guide. (See rubrics and scoring guide.)

An assessment exercise that is goal directed. The exercise is developed to elicit students application of a wide range of skills and knowledge to solve a complex problem.

An instructional strategy used to teach reading. It helps beginning readers by teaching them letter-sound relationships and having them sound out words.

Activities focused on developing physical and motor fitness; fundamental motor skills and patterns; and skills in aquatics, dance, individual and group games, and sports (including intramural and lifetime sports). The term includes special PE, adaptive PE, movement education, and motor development.

A term commonly used to describe single-unit, relocatable buildings. A portable building can be moved from one site when it is no longer needed and used again in another location.