N.J. Admin. Code § 6A:8-1.3
The following words and terms shall have the following meanings when used in this chapter unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
"Accommodations or modifications to the Statewide assessment system" means changes in testing procedures or formats that provide students with disabilities and multilingual learners (MLs) an equitable opportunity to participate in assessment and demonstrate their knowledge and skills in the areas assessed.
"ACTFL" means the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.
"Adult education assessment test" means a test approved by the United States Department of Education that is used to award a State-issued high school diploma.
"Advanced Placement courses" means courses aligned with course descriptions provided by the College Board and intended to provide students with the opportunity to complete college-level studies during secondary school.
"All students" means every student enrolled in public elementary, secondary, and adult high school education programs within the State of New Jersey, including general education students, students with disabilities, and multilingual learners (MLs).
"Alternative State assessment for students with disabilities" means the alternative assessment used to determine cumulative student achievement of the knowledge and skills specified by the New Jersey Student Learning Standards for students with disabilities who are unable to participate in the Statewide assessment system.
"Annual measurable objectives" or "AMOs" means the performance targets set by New Jersey in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) flexibility waiver approved by the United States Department of Education.
"Approved private schools for the disabled" means incorporated entities approved by the Department according to N.J.A.C. 6A:14-7.2 or 7.3 to provide special education and related services to students with disabilities who have been placed by the district board of education or charter school responsible for providing their education.
"Assessment" means a State-developed or State-approved standardized instrument or process that measures student performance levels on the New Jersey Student Learning Standards.
"Career awareness, exploration, and preparation" means instruction and programs that assist students to clarify career goals; explore career possibilities; develop employability skills; develop foundational knowledge necessary for success in the workplace; and make the transition from school to careers, including college, training, and employment.
"Career and technical education" means as defined in N.J.A.C. 6A:19-1.2.
"Charter school" means as defined in N.J.A.C. 6A:11-1.2. "Chief school administrator" means the superintendent of schools or the administrative principal who works directly with the district board of education if there is no superintendent in the school district.
"CLEP" means College-Level Examination Program, which enables students to receive college credit by earning qualifying scores on examinations that are offered by the College Board and cover material taught in courses most students take as requirements in the first two years of college. A college usually grants the same amount of credit to students earning satisfactory scores on the CLEP examination as it grants to students successfully completing the course.
"Content equivalent" means courses or activities that include the same or equivalent knowledge and skills as found in traditionally titled courses that are required for high school graduation and are aligned with the New Jersey Student Learning Standards. The content must be taught by certified teachers, may be integrated in one or more courses, may be titled differently, or may present material in an interdisciplinary or spiral format.
"Credit" means the award for the equivalent of a class period of instruction, which meets for a minimum of 40 minutes, one time per week during the school year or as approved through N.J.A.C. 6A:8-5.1(a)2.
"Cut score" means a score on the assessment scales that demarcates the various performance levels.
"English language development standards" means as defined in N.J.A.C. 6A:15-1.2.
"Evaluation," formerly called "monitoring," means the process by which the Commissioner or his or her designee evaluates the status of each school district or charter school. "504 plan" means a written educational plan prepared by the 504 team for a 504 student.
"504 student" means a student who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life function; has been determined eligible for services, including accommodations and modifications by the school district's 504 team; and has a 504 plan.
"504 team" means a group of persons that makes program and placement decisions according to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794., and 34 CFR § 104.35(c).
"GED" means tests of General Educational Development taken in order to qualify for a State-issued high school diploma.
"Gifted and talented students" means students who possess or demonstrate high levels of ability in one or more content areas when compared to their chronological peers in the local school district and who require modifications of their educational program if they are to achieve in accordance with their capabilities.
"IEP" means individualized education program as defined in N.J.A.C. 6A:14-1.3.
"IEP team" means as defined in N.J.A.C. 6A:14-1.3.
"Indicator" means statements that further delineate the NJSLS.
"Individualized student learning opportunities" means student experiences based upon specific instructional objectives that meet or exceed the NJSLS at the high school level. Such opportunities may occur in all NJSLS and may include, but are not limited to, independent study; online learning; study-abroad programs; student exchange programs; and structured learning experiences, including, but not limited to, work-based programs, internships, apprenticeships, and service learning experiences. The opportunities shall be based on student interests and career goals.
"Instructional adaptation" means an adjustment or modification to instruction enabling students with disabilities, MLs, or students in alternative education programs or who are gifted and talented to participate in, benefit from, and/or demonstrate knowledge and application of the NJSLS.
"Interdisciplinary connections" means integrating NJSLS and skills from one or more content areas into instruction and assessment of another content area.
"Laboratory/inquiry-based science course" means a course in which students are systematically provided with ongoing opportunities to use data drawn from or to interact directly with the natural and designed/engineered world, using tools, data collection techniques, models, and scientific concepts and principles. "Magnet program" means a distinctive program designed to:
"ML" means multilingual learner, indicating a person who is in the process of acquiring English and has a first language other than English. MLs sometimes are referred to as English language learners (ELL) or limited English proficient (LEP).
"MOPI" means the ACTFL Modified Oral Proficiency Interview, which is a standardized assessment of functional speaking ability often used to test lower proficiency ranges.
"New Jersey Student Learning Standards" or "NJSLS" means standards adopted by the State Board of Education on May 1, 1996, and as thereafter revised by the State Board, and the Common Core State Standards adopted by the State Board on June 16, 2010, and as thereafter revised by the State Board, that describe the knowledge and skills all New Jersey students are expected to acquire by benchmark grades in the following areas: English language arts; mathematics; science; social studies; visual and performing arts; comprehensive health and physical education; world languages; technology; and 21st career life and careers. The standards are established for the provision of a thorough and efficient education pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:7F-46 and as a basis for the evaluation of school districts in accordance with N.J.A.C. 6A:30.
"Native language" means the language or mode of communication first learned by the student. "OPI" means the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview, which is a standardized assessment of functional speaking ability currently available in 37 world languages.
"Pacing guide" means a schedule that includes aligned concepts, topics and skills related to a particular curriculum to be addressed over a defined period of time. It is not a prescriptive, lock-step set of lesson plans that impede an educator's ability to exercise flexibility in meeting students' learning needs.
"PARCC assessment" means the set of assessments designed by the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers that was used from the 2014-2015 through 2017-2018 school years to determine student achievement of knowledge and skills specified by the NJSLS in English language arts and mathematics.
"Performance level" means one of several categories describing student proficiency with regard to the achievement of the NJSLS.
"Personalization" means enabling students to build and strengthen relationships with peers, teachers, other staff members, families, and the community at large through multiple strategies that promote engagement and high expectations based on individual interests and aptitudes, and that are conducive to successful teaching and learning experiences.
"Personalized Student Learning Plan" means a formalized plan and process that involves students setting learning goals based on personal, academic, and career interests, beginning in the middle school grades and continuing throughout high school with the close support of adult mentors, including teachers, counselors, and parents.
"Portfolio appeals process" means an alternative assessment of proficiency for graduation established by the Commissioner, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:7C-3, utilizing techniques and instruments other than PARCC English language arts (ELA) 10 or Algebra I assessments, the State graduation proficiency test, or substitute competency tests.
"Professional development" means a comprehensive, sustained, and intensive approach to improving the effectiveness of teachers, principals, and other school personnel in raising student achievement.
"Proficient" or "proficiency" means a student-achieved score at or above the cut score, which demarks a solid understanding of the content measured by an individual section of any State assessment.
"QSAC" means the Quality Single Accountability Continuum, which is used pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:30 to review and evaluate school district operations.
"Rehabilitation Act" means the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. §§ 701. et seq., as amended in 1992.
"Service learning experience" means a method that allows students or participants to learn and develop through active participation in thoughtfully organized activities that are conducted in and meet the needs of a community, and that help foster civic responsibility. Service learning experiences shall be coordinated with the community and with an elementary or secondary school, institution of higher education, or community-services program; shall be integrated into and enhance the school district's academic curriculum; and shall provide structured time for students to reflect on the service experience.
"STAMP" means Standards-based Measurement of Proficiency, which is a test that is delivered, graded, and reported online, and that assesses students' language proficiency from the "Novice-Low" to the "Intermediate-Mid" benchmark levels.
"Standards support materials" means documents published by the Department that include and elaborate on the NJSLS for preschool through grade 12 education, and that may assist in the development of local curricula.
"State Board" means the New Jersey State Board of Education.
"State-endorsed diploma" means a locally-issued document awarded to an exiting student indicating successful completion of high school graduation requirements.
"State graduation proficiency test" means a Statewide assessment that is aligned, at a minimum, to the New Jersey Student Learning Standards (NJSLS) for ELA 10, Algebra I, and Geometry, and administered pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:7C-1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 6.1. For students eligible to utilize the alternative means in accordance with N.J.A.C. 6A:8-5.1(g)1 to meet the graduation assessment requirement, the State graduation proficiency test shall also include the substitute competency test, which is an alternative set of third-party assessments approved by the Commissioner that may include, but are not limited to, the SAT, PSAT, ACT, ACT-Aspire, Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery-Armed Forces Qualifying Test (ASVAB-AFQT), or Accuplacer.
"State-issued high school diploma" means a diploma issued by the State of New Jersey. "State Seal of Biliteracy" means the designation established pursuant to P.L. 2015, c. 303, to recognize high school graduates who have attained a high level of interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational proficiency in one or more languages in addition to English.
"Structured learning experience" means as defined in N.J.A.C. 6A:19-1.2.
"Study abroad programs" means programs that enable New Jersey students to attend a high school in another country for a semester or full academic year to acquire academic and cross-cultural skills that will help them live and work in a globally interdependent world.
"Substitute competency test" means, for students in the classes of 2018 through 2022, an alternative set of third-party assessments approved by the Commissioner, including, but not limited to, the SAT, PSAT, ACT, ACT-Aspire, Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery-Armed Forces Qualifying Test (ASVAB-AFQT), or Accuplacer, that can be used to demonstrate competency in the NJSLS for students who have not demonstrated proficiency on PARCC ELA 10 or Algebra I assessments or the ELA or mathematics components of the State graduation proficiency test.
"Technological literacy" means students meeting NJSLS 8.1 Educational Technology, obtained through the integration of effective educational technology practices, strategies, and tools throughout all curricular areas.
"Transcript" means a document for all students exiting the public education system that describes a student's progress toward achievement of the NJSLS and other relevant experiences and achievements.
"Twenty-first century careers" means careers and occupations that have been impacted by technological and global forces and are in an ongoing state of reinvention due to technological advances and e-commerce.
"Twenty-first century themes and skills" means themes such as global awareness; financial, economic, business, and entrepreneurial literacy; civic literacy; health literacy; learning and innovation skills, including creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem solving, and communication and collaboration; information, media, and technology skills; and life and career skills, including flexibility and adaptability, initiative and self-direction, social and cross-cultural skills, productivity and accountability, and leadership and responsibility.
N.J. Admin. Code § 6A:8-1.3