Academic Standards: Academic standards provide a
common set of expectations for what students should know
and be able to do at the end of each grade and in each
subject. College and career ready standards align with the
knowledge and skill students need to succeed in college or
career. Academic standards differ from curriculum, which
is developed locally in Tennessee. Curriculum provides the
instructional programming students need to meet the goals
established in academic standards.
The Achievement School District (ASD): The ASD was
created by Tennessee’s First to the Top Act as one of four
interventions that the Commissioner of Education may
require to turn around the state’s lowest-performing schools.
An organizational unit of the Tennessee Department of
Education, the ASD provides oversight for the operation
of schools assigned to it or schools which the ASD itself
authorizes. Priority schools, those schools with academic
achievement levels that place them in the bottom 5 percent
in the state, are eligible to be placed in the ASD. Schools
remain with the ASD for a minimum of five years before
returning back to the original district. The goal of the ASD is
to move its schools from the bottom 5 percent to the top 25
percent in student achievement within five years.
ACT: The ACT is a standardized assessment for high school
students frequently required for admission into college. The
test has sections in English, mathematics, reading, science
reasoning, and an optional written essay. Scored on a
scale from 1 to 36, the test is intended to be an indicator of
college readiness. The subjects align with common college
introductory courses. All 11th-graders in Tennessee are
required to take this exam.
Average Daily Attendance (ADA): ADA is the average
number of students present at a school during the time it
is in session. ADA differs from average daily membership,
or ADM, which represents how many students are enrolled
in school. Because of factors that may result in a student
missing school, such as truancy or sick days, ADA results in
an overall lower student count than ADM.
Average Daily Membership (ADM): ADM is a measure of
student enrollment. ADM represents how many students
are enrolled in school and is commonly used for per-pupil
funding calculations. ADM is also the primary driver of funds
generated by the state’s education funding formula, the
Basic Education Program (BEP). A district’s ADM generates
funding calculated by the BEP formula for a variety of
components, including positions, supplies, equipment, and
textbooks. Each school district is responsible for reporting
ADM each month from October through June to the Office
of Local Finance within the Department of Education,
which, in turn, calculates BEP funds for each school district.
Basic Education Program (BEP): The state of Tennessee
determines how to allocate funds to its K-12 schools
with the Basic Education Program (BEP) formula. The BEP
formula calculates the cost of providing a basic education.
The BEP includes three major categories of expenditures:
instructional, classroom, and non-classroom components.
Within the BEP formula, the primary basis for funding is
student enrollment, or average daily membership (ADM).
The majority of the BEP’s 45 components are based on
a school or district’s ADM. Examples include students per
teacher, assistant principals per school, and dollars per
student for textbooks. Systems are free to raise additional
money to support their schools as well.
Blended Learning: Although there is no commonly used
definition for blended learning, in general it refers to the
combination (or “blend”) of face-to-face classroom
instruction with online delivery of content and instruction.
Students spend some amount of time during a course, for
example, learning in a traditional classroom with a teacher
and also spend some amount of time learning course
material online.
Career and Technical Education (CTE): Also known as
vocational education, career and technical education
refers to courses and programs designed to prepare
students to enter the workforce. Usually in a secondary
or postsecondary setting, CTE courses focus on academic
and vocational skills needed in the workplace and
typically include competency-based learning. CTE seeks
to prepare students for jobs in fields such as agriculture,
engineering, and health care.
Center of Regional Excellence (CORE): CORE offices,
located in each state grand division, provide differentiated
support to help districts meet student achievement goals
in each part of the state. Staff and support at each office
include a data analyst and math coordinator.
Charter School: Public charter schools are independently
run schools that are publicly funded and approved
by local school boards, the ASD, or SBE. In exchange for
increased accountability, these schools have the flexibility
to make personnel, financial, and instructional decisions at
the school, rather than the district level.
Coordinated School Health (CSH): Coordinated school
health programs support the connection among good
health practices, academic achievement, and lifetime
wellness. Coordinated school health initiatives consist of
eight core components: health education; health services;
nutrition; physical education; healthy school environment,
school counseling, psychological, and social services;
student, family, and community involvement; and school
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