Glossary of Terms

Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP):
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires that each state measure yearly progress toward achieving state academic standards. "Adequate Yearly Progress" is the minimum level of improvement that states, school districts, and schools must achieve each year. The report is completed and published annually.

Core Curriculum:
The core curriculum is the course of study deemed critical and usually made mandatory for all students of a school or school system. Core curricula are often instituted at the elementary and secondary levels by local school boards, Departments of Education, or other administrative agencies charged with overseeing education.

Evidence-Based Intervention:
Intervention for which data from scientific, rigorous research designs have demonstrated the efficacy of the intervention. That is, the intervention is shown to improve the results for students who receive the intervention. Research-based curricula, on the other hand, may incorporate design features that have been researched generally; however, the curriculum or program as a whole has not been studied using a rigorous research design.

Fidelity:
The unfailing fulfillment of one's duties and obligations and strct adherence to vows or promises. Fidelity means to implement a program as it was intended; to insure that all services are delivered correctly (Ex. that a reading program is implemented correctly).

IDEA:
IDEA stands for Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, also referred to as IDEA 2004. It was originally passed in 1975 with the latest reauthorization in 2004. It is a federal statute related to providing a free, appropriate, public education and early intervening services to students with disabilities ages birth through 21.

Intensive Intervention:
Intensive academic and/or behavioral interventions are characterized by their increased focus for students who fail to respond to less intensive forms of instruction. Intensity can be increased through many dimensions including length, frequency, and duration of implementation. Within RTI, intensive is some times referred to as tertiary intervention.

Progress Monitoring:
Repeated measurement of performance to inform the instruction of individual students in general and special education in grades K-8. These tools must be reliable and valid for representing students' development and have demonstrated utility for helping teachers plan more effective instruction. Progress monitoring is conducted at least monthly to:
- Estimate rates of improvement
-Identify students who are not demonstrating adequate progress
-Compare the efficacy of different forms of instruction to design more effective, individualized instruction.


Universal Screening:
Brief assessments that are valid, reliable, and demonstrate diagnostic accuracy for predicting which students will learning or behavioral problems. They are conducted with all students to identify those who are at risk of academic failure and, therefore, need more intensive intervention.

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