Rhode Island Code of Regulations
Title 200 - Board of Education
Chapter 20 - Council on Elementary and Secondary Education
Subchapter 10 - Academic Standards, Programs and Operations
Part 1 - Basic Education Program (200-RICR-20-10-1)
Section 200-RICR-20-10-1.5 - Definitions

A. "21st century learning environment" means, in a 21st century learning environment all students are able to learn, instruction is engaging, interactive, contextual in the real world, student centered and differentiated for individual learners needs; 21st century tools and technologies are integrated into the learning process; systems (technological and otherwise) are student and learning focused; and personnel engage in continuous professional growth to maintain their skills and knowledge.

B. "Alternate assessment (RIAA)" means an assessment for the small number of students who cannot participate in large-scale assessments even with accommodations. The RIAA is based on Alternate Assessment Grade Span Expectations (AAGSEs) in reading, mathematics, science, and writing that are an extension of the NECAP Grade Level Expectations (GLEs).

C. "Annual Measurable Objectives (AMOs)" means a set of state-established benchmarks for monitoring changes in performance among and across student subgroups, schools, and districts. States established the objectives as part of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act

D. "Capital Improvement Program (CIP)" means a long-range plan, typically five years, which identifies capital needs in a district and provides a funding schedule and timeline for implementation.

E. "Comprehensive assessment system" means a system that draws on data from the state/national level, the district/school level, and the classroom level to a) improve education, b) determine success, and c) provide feedback to relevant stakeholders (e.g., students, teachers, policy makers, the community). Components of the assessment system include:

F. "Comprehensive education strategy" means the state's blueprint for comprehensive system-wide restructuring of the state's public schools. There are two central themes within CES: Improving Teaching and Learning and Creating Responsive and Supportive Systems.

G. "Curriculum mapping" provides a timeline for instruction that is typically organized into blocks of time, (e.g. monthly, quarterly). The map outlines prerequisite skills and knowledge, benchmarks, goals and alignment of standards between grades and courses in order to ensure that all students have the opportunity to learn all agreed upon standards.

H. "Differentiated instruction" means to recognize that students have varying background knowledge, readiness, learning styles, interests and abilities in the same class. The model requires teachers to be flexible in their approach to teaching by adjusting the format and presentation of information to learners so that they can access the same curriculum. It requires a blend of whole class, group, and individual instruction.

I. "Dual enrollment" means a successful acceleration mechanism that allows high school students to pursue an advanced curriculum related to their postsecondary interests.

J. "Financial Accounting Standards Board" means an organization whose mission is to establish and improve standards of financial accounting and reporting for the guidance and education of the public, including issuers, auditors, and users of financial information.

K. "Generally accepted accounting principles" means a term used to refer to the standard framework of guidelines for financial accounting used in any given jurisdiction.

L. "Governmental Accounting Standards Board" means a board with a mission establish and improve standards of state and local governmental accounting and financial reporting that will result in useful information for users of financial reports and guide and educate the public, including issuers, auditors, and users of those financial reports.

M. "Grade span and grade level expectations" means:

N. "Guaranteed and viable curricula" means a curriculum that provides both the opportunity and time for students to learn. It ensures that the curriculum is implemented consistently by all teachers to all students. It is based on a commitment from the districts and its schools that the written, taught, and learned curriculum is aligned so that all students learn agreed upon standards.

O. "Individual learning plans" means a planning and monitoring tool that helps to customize and direct students' goals and development in three domains: academic, career, and personal/social.

P. "Individualized Education Program" or "IEP" means a written statement for a child with a disability that is developed, reviewed, and revised in accordance with federal law.

Q. "Induction programs" mean the vehicles that facilitate systemic sustained enhancement to school culture and the teaching profession. These programs combine mentoring, professional development and support, and evaluation for at least the first two years of a beginning educator's professional career.

R. "Local Educational Agency (LEA)" means a public board of education or other public authority legally constituted within a State for either administrative control or direction of, or to perform a service function for public elementary or secondary schools in a city, county, township, school district, or other political subdivision of a State, or for a combination of school districts or counties that is recognized in a State as an administrative agency for its public elementary schools or secondary schools.

S. "No Child Left Behind Act" means the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) -- the main federal law affecting education from kindergarten through high school. NCLB is built on four principles: accountability for results, more choices for parents, greater local control and flexibility, and an emphasis on doing what works based on scientific research.

T. "Performance Based Graduation Requirements (PBGR)" means a set of uniform requirements that is consistent with the high school regulations, GLEs / GSEs and State Scholars Initiative.

U. "Personalization" means a learning process in which schools help students assess their own talents and aspirations, plan a pathway toward their own purposes, work cooperatively with others on challenging tasks, maintain a record of their explorations, and demonstrate learning against clear standards in a wide variety of media, all with the close support of adult mentors and guides.

V. "Personalized Learning Plan (PLP)" means a plan of action used to accelerate a student's learning in order to move toward grade level reading proficiency.

W. "Positive behavior supports" means a set of practices used to organize teaching and learning environments and experiences for students which facilitate the student's successful self-awareness, self-management, and engagement with others and with the learning process.

X. "Response to Intervention (RTI)" means seeking to prevent academic failure through early intervention, frequent progress measurement, and increasingly intensive research-based instructional interventions for children who continue to have difficulty. In middle level schools and high schools there are three levels, or "scaffolds," of support for improving all students' reading.

Y. "Scaffolded literacy" means the three levels of support for improving all students' reading:

Z. "Site-based leadership" refers to building-level leaders (e.g. principals, school improvement team members, parents, teachers) who are responsible for creating educational environments conducive to student learning and making decisions that promote student achievement.

AA. "Uniform chart of accounts" means a uniform system of numbers used to account for all of the revenues and expenditures in schools.

BB. "Universal design" means the design of products and environments to be useable by all people, to the greatest degree possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.

CC. "W-APT (WIDA Access Placement Test)" means a test designed to help schools provide ELL students with the most appropriate instruction given the student's knowledge of English.