The ABC's of Education

 



  CCSS (Common Core State Standards): Adopted by forty three states currently. Our nation's approach to standardized and unify what students are learning across America. Although it has received much flack (due more to the curriculum), Common Core is not a curriculum, by the end result. Districts, schools, and teachers have choices in their teaching approach to help their students' reach these goals.

ELL (English Language Learner): A student whose first language is not English or English is not the primary language at home. Students receive specialized services upon qualification, as based on need.

GATE (Gifted and Talented Education): A specialized teaching approach that encourages and develop students that show extraordinary ability in their learning acquisition. Teachers are required to be certified in order to teach GATE. It is an individualized approach, although students are usually clustered in classrooms.

PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers): One of two standardized test that aligns with the CCSS. A few states have opted to take this approach and allow their schools to participate in this testing (AR, CO, DC, IL, LA, MD, MA, NJ, NM, NY, OH, RH, PA).


PLC (Professional Learning Community): A strategy implemented at districts and school sites to create unity among grade levels and set aside planning time for both immediate and future needs.

RTi (Response to Intervention): The educational systems approach for rehabilitating students that are struggling in school. It allows the student to receive individualized and specialized teaching approaches that will better prepare the students for learning.

Smarter Balanced: One of two standardized tests that are used by states to assess student's learning as it relates to CCSS.

 TK (Transitional Kindergarten): A newer program to California's elementary schools. Students are now mandated to be five by the start of school. Student's whose birthday does not fall on or before that date, may be enrolled in the school site's Transitional Kindergarten program, which allows the students to receive a bridging year between preschool and Kindergarten. Districts and school sites have free reign, currently, in their approach to educating these four, almost five, year olds. It is not a remediation class and is separate from the curriculum learned in Kindergarten.

 
 What other words would you like clarified?