Governing States and Localities, Chapter 13

No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)

Federal law enacted in January 2002 that introduced new accountability measures for elementary and secondary schools in all states receiving federal education aid.

Common School

In a democratic society, a school in which children of all income levels attend at taxpayer expense.

State Board of Education

Top policymaking body for education in each of the fifty states, usually consisting of appointees selected by the governor.

Back to Basics

A movement against modern education "fads" advocating a return to an emphasis on traditional core subjects such as reading, writing, and arithmetic

Standards

In education, fixed criteria for learning that students are expected to reach in specific subjects by specific grade years.

High-Stakes Standardized Testing

Testing of elementary and secondary students in which poor results can mean either that students fail to be promoted or that the school loses its accreditation.

Department of Education

A state-level agency responsible for overseeing public education.

Teacher Licensure Procedures

The processes states use to qualify teacher candidates to work in school district; requirements for licensing typically include attainment of certain academic degrees, work experience, and adequate performance on adult standardized tests.

Accreditation

A certification process in which outside experts visit a school or college to evaluate whether it is meeting minimum quality standards

Local Education Agency (LEA)

A school district which may encompass a city, a county, or a subset thereof

School District

A local administrative jurisdiction that hires staff and reports to a school board on the management of area public schools

School Board

An elected or appointed body that determines major policies and budgets for a school district

Capital Outlays

A category of school funding that focuses on long-term improvements to physical assets.

Successful Schools Model

An education model that uses observed spending levels in the highest-performing schools as the basis from which to calculate necessary spending in other, lower-performing schools

Criterion-Referenced Test

A standardized test designed to gauge a student's level of mastery of a given set of materials.

Norm-Referenced Test

A standardized test designed to measure how a student's mastery of a set of materials compares with that of a specially designed sampling of students determined to be the national "norm" for that age group

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

The only regularly conducted, independent survey of what a nationally representative sample of students in grades four, eight, and twelve know and can do in various subjects; known as "the nations' report card."

Trend in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)

A regularly updated study launched by the United States in 1995 that compares the performance in science and mathematics of students in forty-six countries.

General Equivalency Diploma (GED) Program

A program offering a series of tests that an individual can take to qualify for a high school equivalency certificate or diploma.

Site-Based Management

A movement to increase freedom for building administrators such as school principals to determine how district funds are spent at individual schools

Standards Movement

An effort to create benchmarks of adequate learning in each subject for each grade level so that students and teachers can be evaluated on the mastery of this predetermined material

Goals 2000

The Educate America Act, signed into law in March 1994, which provided resources to states and communities to ensure that all students could reach their full potential.

Kentucky Education Reform Act

The 1990 law passed in response to court findings of unacceptable disparities among schools in Kentucky, considered the most comprehensive state school reform act to date

Elementary and Secondary Education Act

Federal law passed in 1965 as part of President Johnson's Great Society initiative; steered federal funds to improve local schools, particularly those attended primarily by low-income and minority students

Charter Schools

Public schools, often with unique themes, managed by teachers, principals, social workers, or nonprofit groups. The charter school movement was launched in the early 1990s

School Voucher Movement

Movement dating to the 1950s to allow taxpayer dollars to be given to families to use at whatever public, private, or parochial schools they choose.

Homeschooling

The education of children in the home; a movement to grant waivers from state truancy laws to permit parents to teach their own children

Teachers' Unions

Public-sector unions that organize employees at all educational levels to form state and local affiliates. In the United States, the two major teachers' unions are the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, both headquartered in Washington, D.C.

National PTA

Umbrella organization founded in 1897 consisting of state-based and school based parent-teacher associations of volunteers who work to improve and support schools