Appendix C—Glossary

alternative education school—

A public elementary/secondary school that (1) addresses needs of students that typically cannot be met in a regular school, (2) provides nontraditional education, (3) serves as an adjunct to a regular school, or (4) falls outside the categories of regular, special education, or vocational education.

American Indian/Alaska Native—

A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment. (OMB directive, 1977, 1997)

Asian/Pacific Islander—

A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands. This area includes, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Thailand, Vietnam, Guam, the Philippine Islands, Samoa, and other Pacific Islands. (OMB directive, 1977)

averaged freshman graduation rate (AFGR)—

An estimate of the number of entering high school freshman graduating in 4 years. The rate is the number of diploma recipients divided by the average of 8th graders 5 years ago, 9th graders 4 years ago, and 10th graders 3 years ago.

Black—

A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. (OMB directive, 1977, 1997)

Bureau of Indian Education school and district—

A school or district that is directly funded by the Bureau of Indian Education (formerly Bureau of Indian Affairs), U.S. Department of the Interior.

charter school—

A school providing free public elementary and/or secondary education to eligible students under a specific charter granted by the state legislature or other appropriate authority, and designated by such authority to be a charter school.

current expenditures—

Funds spent operating local public schools and local education agencies, including such expenses as salaries for school personnel, student transportation, school books and materials, and energy costs, but excluding capital outlay, interest on school debt, payments to private schools, and payments to public charter schools.

diploma, high school—

A formal document certifying the successful completion of a secondary school program prescribed by the state education agency or other appropriate body.

dropout—

A student who was enrolled in school at some time during the previous school year; was not enrolled at the beginning of the current school year; has not graduated from high school or completed a state- or district-approved educational program; and does not meet any of the following exclusionary conditions: has transferred to another public school district, private school, or state- or district-approved educational program; is temporarily absent due to suspension or school-approved illness; or has died. Item was first collected in 1992–93.

dropout rate, grades 9–12, high school—

The grades 9–12 (high school) dropout rate is the percentage of students enrolled in any of grades 9 through 12 at the beginning of a school year who are dropouts as of the beginning of the subsequent school year. See also, "Dropout."

federal revenues—

Include direct grants-in-aid to schools or agencies, funds distributed through a state or intermediate agency, and revenues in lieu of taxes to compensate a school district for nontaxable federal institutions within a district's boundary.

free and reduced-price lunch eligible—

The number of students who are eligible for the Free and Reduced-Price Lunch Program under the National School Lunch Act, which provides cash subsidies for free and reduced-price lunches to students based on family size and income.

full-time equivalency (FTE)—

The amount of time required to perform an assignment stated as a proportion of a full-time position and computed by dividing the amount of time employed by the time normally required for a full-time position.

guidance counselors/director—

Professional staff assigned specific duties and school time for counseling students and parents, addressing learning problems, evaluating student abilities, and assisting students in career and personal development. The state applies its own standards in apportioning the aggregate of guidance counselors/directors into the elementary and secondary level components.

high school completers—

Students who completed the course of public elementary and secondary education offered by the school district and who received a high school diploma, or who met other requirements of completion as defined by state law or policy. Does not include high school equivalency recipients.

Hispanic—

A person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. (OMB directive, 1977, 1997)

Individualized Educational Program (IEP)—

A written instructional plan for students with disabilities designated as special education students under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, Part B). Each plan includes a (1) statement of the child's present levels of educational performance, (2) statement of measurable annual goals, including academic and functional goals, (3) for children with disabilities who take alternate assessments aligned to alternate achievement standards, description of benchmarks or short term objectives; (4) statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services; and (5) statement of any individual accommodations that are necessary to measure the academic achievement and functional performance of the child on state and districtwide assessment; and if the IEP Team determines that the child must take an alternate assessment instead of a particular regular State or districtwide assessment of student achievement, a statement of why the child cannot participate in the regular assessment and why the particular alternate assessment selected is appropriate for the child.

instructional aide—

Staff assigned to assist a teacher with routine activities associated with teaching (i.e., activities requiring minor decisions regarding students), such as monitoring, conducting rote exercises, operating equipment, and clerking. Include tutors if position does not require teaching credentials. Include only paid staff. Exclude volunteer aides.

instructional coordinator and supervisor—

Staff supervising instructional programs at the school district or subdistrict level. Including supervisors of educational television staff; coordinators and supervisors of audiovisual services; curriculum coordinators and in-service training staff, including teacher mentors; Title I coordinators and home economics supervisors; and supervisory staff engaged in the development of computer-assisted instruction. School-based department chairpersons are excluded. (School-based department chairpersons are reported under "school administrator.").

instructional expenditures—

Current expenditures for activities directly associated with the interaction between teachers and students, including teacher salaries and benefits, supplies (such as textbooks), and purchased instructional services. (See also, "Current Expenditures").

instructional level—

The lowest and highest grade offered by a school determines its instructional level. The four instructional levels are: primary (lowest grade of prekindergarten to 3; highest grade up to 8), middle (lowest grade 4 to 7; highest grade 4 to 9), high (lowest grade 7 to 12; highest grade 12), and other (all other configurations, including PK, K, or 1–12).

instructional support staff—

Includes instructional coordinators and supervisors and instructional aides. (See also, "instructional coordinator and supervisor" and "instructional aide").

librarian or media specialist—

A professional staff member or supervisor assigned specific duties and school time for professional library services activities. Professional library service activities include selecting, acquiring, preparing, cataloging, and circulating books and other printed materials; planning the use of the library by students, teachers, and instructional staff; and guiding individuals in the use of library books and material maintained separately or as a part of an instructional materials center.

library media staff—

Includes librarian or media specialist and library and media support staff. (See also, "librarian or media specialist" and "library and media support staff".)

library and media support staff—

Staff member who renders other professional library and media services. Includes library aides and those involved in library/media support. Duties of these staff members include selecting, preparing, caring for, and making available to instructional staff, equipment, films, filmstrips, transparencies, tapes, TV programs, and similar materials maintained separately or as part of an instructional materials center. Include activities in the audiovisual center, TV studio, related work-study areas, and services provided by audiovisual personnel.

local education agency (LEA)—

The government agency at the local level whose primary responsibility is to operate public schools or to contract for public school services.

local revenues—

Include revenues from such sources as local property and nonproperty taxes, investments, and student activities such as textbook sales, transportation and tuition fees, and food service revenues.

magnet school or program—

A special school or program designed to attract students of different racial/ethnic backgrounds for the purpose of reducing, preventing, or eliminating racial isolation (50 percent or more minority enrollment); and/or to provide an academic or social focus on a particular theme (e.g., science/math, performing arts, gifted/talented, or foreign language).

outlying areas—

Includes American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

per-pupil expenditures—

Current expenditures for public elementary and secondary education in a state divided by the student membership. The numbers reported here, based on membership, can be expected to be smaller than per-pupil expenditures based on average daily attendance because membership counts are generally larger than average daily attendance.

primary school—

A school offering a low grade of prekindergarten to 3 and a high grade of 8 or lower.

public school—

An institution that provides educational services and: (1) has one or more grade groups (prekindergarten through grade 12) or is ungraded; (2) has one or more teachers to give instruction; (3) is located in one or more buildings or sites; (4) has an assigned administrator; (5) receives public funds as primary support; and (6) is operated by an education agency.

pupil/teacher ratio—

The ratio of pupils to teachers in a school district, based on the total number of pupils (student membership) and the total full-time-equivalent (FTE) number of teachers reported in the schools associated with the school district. The pupil/teacher ratio does not represent class size, but rather is a district-level measure of pupils and teachers.

regular school—

A public elementary/secondary school providing instruction and education services that does not focus primarily on special education, vocational/technical education, or alternative education, or on any of the particular themes associated with magnet/special program emphasis schools.

regular school district—

Agency responsible for providing free public education for school-age children residing within its jurisdiction. This category excludes local supervisory unions that provide management services for a group of associated school districts; regional education service agencies that typically provide school districts with research, testing, and data processing services; state and federally operated school districts; and other agencies that do not fall into these groupings.

revenues—

Additions to assets that do not incur an obligation that must be met at some future date, do not represent exchanges of fixed assets, and are available for expenditure by the local education agencies in the state. Revenues include funds from local, intermediate, state, and federal sources.

school administrator—

Staff whose activities are concerned with directing and managing the operation of a particular school. Category includes principals, assistant principals, and other assistants; and persons who supervise school operations, assign duties to staff members, supervise and maintain the records of the school, and coordinate school instructional activities with those of the education agency, including department chairpersons.

schools having membership—

Schools at which students counts are greater than zero.

schoolwide Title I eligible school—

A school that is a Title I eligible school and its percentage of low-income students is at least 40 percent. (See also "Title I Eligible School").

special education school—

A public elementary/secondary school that focuses primarily on special education—including instruction for any of the following students with: autism, deaf-blindness, developmental delay, hearing impairment, mental retardation, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, serious emotional disturbance, specific learning disability, speech or language impairment, traumatic brain injury, visual impairment, and other health impairments—and that adapts curriculum, materials, or instruction for students served.

state revenues—

Include both direct funds from state governments and funds in lieu of taxation. Revenues in lieu of taxes are paid to compensate a school district for nontaxable state institutions or facilities within the district's boundary.

teacher—

A professional school staff member who instructs students in prekindergarten, kindergarten, grades 1–12, or ungraded classes and maintains daily student attendance records.

Title I eligible school—

A Title I eligible school is a school designated under appropriate state and federal regulations as being high poverty and eligible for participation in programs authorized by Title I of P.L. 107-110. A Title I eligible school is one in which the percentage of children from low-income families is at least as high as the percentage of children from low-income families served by the LEA as a whole or that the LEA has designated as Title I eligible because 35 percent or more of the children are from low-income families.

two or more races—

A person choosing more than one of the five race categories. (OMB directive, 1997)

vocational education school—

A public elementary/secondary school that focuses primarily on providing formal preparation for semiskilled, skilled, technical, or professional occupations for high school-age students who have opted to develop or expand their employment opportunities, often in lieu of preparing for college entry.

White—

A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East. (OMB directive, 1977, 1997)