programs , and strategies that may be considered fair , but not necessarily equal . Educational inequities occur when policies , programs , practices , or environments contribute to a lack of equality in academic and behavioral outcomes .
EVERY STUDENT SUCCEEDS ACT ( ESSA ): The Every Student Succeeds Act ( ESSA ), signed into law December 2015 , is the most recent version of the national Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 . ESSA replaces the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 ( NCLB ), the previous version of the 1965 education law , and takes effect for the 2017-18 school year . Under ESSA , states are still required to test students in reading and math each year in grades 3-8 and once in high school . States must also continue reporting performance for students as a whole and for specific subgroups of students ( e . g ., economically disadvantaged children and English language learners , among others ). In addition , states must maintain or revise their academic standards and systems to measure academic progress . One important change , however , is that while states must continue to identify their lowest-performing schools , they are given more freedom to determine evidence-based practices for turning those schools around .
EXPULSION : Tennessee state law and State Board of Education rule define expulsion as , “ removal from attendance for more than ten ( 10 ) consecutive days or more than fifteen ( 15 ) days in a month of school attendance . Multiple suspensions that occur consecutively shall constitute expulsion . The school district shall not be eligible to receive funding for an expelled student .”
GROWTH : Growth refers to academic progress made over a period of time , as measured from the beginning to the end of the defined period . Academic growth can be tracked and determined for individual students , schools , states , or countries , and a wide variety of variables and methodologies may be used to determine whether “ growth ” is being achieved . In Tennessee , measures of growth are most often associated with student data from the Tennessee Value- Added Assessment System ( TVAAS ) and portfolio models of student growth .
INSTRUCTIONAL PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVE ( IPI ): IPI is a school-level teacher improvement strategy that uses data collected through the Tennessee Educator Acceleration Model ( the state ’ s teacher observation rubric ) to inform teacher partnerships focused on professional learning . The Tennessee Department of Education provides school leaders with suggested teacher partnerships based on specific observation indicators , which serve as a focus for collaboration . Once paired , teachers collaboratively engage in personalized professional learning , such as peer observations and feedback , to improve their craft . A
2014-15 pilot study of the IPI program found that students in IPI-participating schools scored significantly higher on Tennessee ’ s state assessment than students in non-IPI participating schools . Additionally , teachers improved their TVAAS scores , felt more supported by school leadership , and were more likely to perceive the evaluation process as fair and focused on improving their practice . As of the 2016-17 school year , over 1,550 teachers in 114 schools in 48 districts were participating in IPI .
IZONE : Tennessee ’ s Innovation Zones , or iZones , were created by the First to the Top Act of 2010 as a means to turn around chronically failing schools . iZones schools remain part of local districts , but are provided extra autonomy to hire and fire staff , overhaul curriculum , give teachers bonuses , and add time to the school day .
LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCY ( LEA ): A local education agency ( LEA ), or school district , is the administrative agency for county or city school systems in Tennessee . An LEA has several distinct responsibilities such as curriculum selection , the offering of district-level professional learning opportunities for teachers and school leaders , and the administration of teacher and principal evaluations .
NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS ( NAEP ): Also known as “ the Nation ’ s Report Card ,” NAEP is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics in mathematics , reading , science , writing , the arts , civics , economics , geography , and US history . Exams are administered every two years to representative samples of students in grades 4 , 8 , and 12 , and results provide common metrics to indicate levels of student proficiency across states and selected urban districts .
PRINCIPAL PIPELINE : The principal pipeline refers to the recruitment , training , inducting , supervising , developing , and evaluating of school leaders .
PROFICIENCY : Proficiency levels indicate the degree to which students have mastered course material and are often used in the context of student academic achievement , separate and distinct from growth . In Tennessee , student proficiency levels are Below , Approaching , On-Track , and Mastered . Proficiency levels are set by determining cut scores ( i . e . selected points on the score scale of a test ).
REMEDIATION : Remediation , also known as developmental education or learning support , generally refers to academic requirements for students assessed as underprepared for postsecondary education . Remediation is designed to address students ’ weak reading , writing , and / or math skills so that students are more successful in entry-level college courses .
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