§ 612.2 - Definitions.

§ 612.2 Definitions.

(a) The following terms used in this part are defined in the regulations for Institutional Eligibility under the HEA, 34 CFR part 600:

Distance education

Secretary

State

Title IV, HEA program

(b) The following term used in this part is defined in subpart A of the Student Assistance General Provisions, 34 CFR part 668:

Payment period

(c) The following term used in this part is defined in 34 CFR 77.1:

Local educational agency (LEA)

(d) Other terms used in this part are defined as follows:

At-risk teacher preparation program: A teacher preparation program that is identified as at-risk of being low-performing by a State based on the State's assessment of teacher preparation program performance under § 612.4.

Candidate accepted into the teacher preparation program: An individual who has been admitted into a teacher preparation program but who has not yet enrolled in any coursework that the institution has determined to be part of that teacher preparation program.

Candidate enrolled in the teacher preparation program: An individual who has been accepted into a teacher preparation program and is in the process of completing coursework but has not yet completed the teacher preparation program.

Content and pedagogical knowledge: An understanding of the central concepts and structures of the discipline in which a teacher candidate has been trained, and how to create effective learning experiences that make the discipline accessible and meaningful for all students, including a distinct set of instructional skills to address the needs of English learners and students with disabilities, in order to assure mastery of the content by the students, as described in applicable professional, State, or institutional standards.

Effective teacher preparation program: A teacher preparation program with a level of performance higher than a low-performing teacher preparation program or an at-risk teacher preparation program.

Employer survey: A survey of employers or supervisors designed to capture their perceptions of whether the novice teachers they employ or supervise who are in their first year of teaching were effectively prepared.

High-need school: A school that, based on the most recent data available, meets one or both of the following:

(i) The school is in the highest quartile of schools in a ranking of all schools served by a local educational agency (LEA), ranked in descending order by percentage of students from low-income families enrolled in such schools, as determined by the LEA based on one of the following measures of poverty:

(A) The percentage of students aged 5 through 17 in poverty counted in the most recent Census data approved by the Secretary.

(B) The percentage of students eligible for a free or reduced price school lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act [42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.].

(C) The percentage of students in families receiving assistance under the State program funded under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).

(D) The percentage of students eligible to receive medical assistance under the Medicaid program.

(E) A composite of two or more of the measures described in paragraphs (i)(A) through (D) of this definition.

(ii) In the case of -

(A) An elementary school, the school serves students not less than 60 percent of whom are eligible for a free or reduced price school lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act; or

(B) Any school other than an elementary school, the school serves students not less than 45 percent of whom are eligible for a free or reduced price school lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act.

Low-performing teacher preparation program: A teacher preparation program that is identified as low-performing by a State based on the State's assessment of teacher preparation program performance under § 612.4.

Novice teacher: A teacher of record in the first three years of teaching who teaches elementary or secondary public school students, which may include, at a State's discretion, preschool students.

Quality clinical preparation: Training that integrates content, pedagogy, and professional coursework around a core of pre-service clinical experiences. Such training must, at a minimum -

(i) Be provided by qualified clinical instructors, including school and LEA-based personnel, who meet established qualification requirements and who use a training standard that is made publicly available;

(ii) Include multiple clinical or field experiences, or both, that serve diverse, rural, or underrepresented student populations in elementary through secondary school, including English learners and students with disabilities, and that are assessed using a performance-based protocol to demonstrate teacher candidate mastery of content and pedagogy; and

(iii) Require that teacher candidates use research-based practices, including observation and analysis of instruction, collaboration with peers, and effective use of technology for instructional purposes.

Recent graduate: An individual whom a teacher preparation program has documented as having met all the requirements of the program in any of the three title II reporting years preceding the current reporting year, as defined in the report cards prepared under §§ 612.3 and 612.4. Documentation may take the form of a degree, institutional certificate, program credential, transcript, or other written proof of having met the program's requirements. For the purposes of this definition, a program may not use either of the following criteria to determine if an individual has met all the requirements of the program:

(i) Becoming a teacher of record; or

(ii) Obtaining initial certification or licensure.

Rigorous teacher candidate exit qualifications: Qualifications of a teacher candidate established by a teacher preparation program prior to the candidate's completion of the program using an assessment of candidate performance that relies, at a minimum, on validated professional teaching standards and measures of the candidate's effectiveness in curriculum planning, instruction of students, appropriate plans and modifications for all students, and assessment of student learning.

Student growth: The change in student achievement between two or more points in time, using a student's scores on the State's assessments under section 1111(b)(2) of the ESEA or other measures of student learning and performance, such as student results on pre-tests and end-of-course tests; objective performance-based assessments; student learning objectives; student performance on English language proficiency assessments; and other measures that are rigorous, comparable across schools, and consistent with State guidelines.

Teacher evaluation measure: A teacher's performance level based on an LEA's teacher evaluation system that differentiates teachers on a regular basis using at least three performance levels and multiple valid measures in assessing teacher performance. For purposes of this definition, multiple valid measures must include data on student growth for all students (including English learners and students with disabilities) and other measures of professional practice (such as observations based on rigorous teacher performance standards, teacher portfolios, and student and parent surveys).

Teacher of record: A teacher (including a teacher in a co-teaching assignment) who has been assigned the lead responsibility for student learning in a subject or area.

Teacher placement rate:

(i) The percentage of recent graduates who have become novice teachers (regardless of retention) for the grade level, grade span, and subject area in which they were prepared.

(ii) At the State's discretion, the rate calculated under paragraph (i) of this definition may exclude one or more of the following, provided that the State uses a consistent approach to assess and report on all of the teacher preparation programs in the State:

(A) Recent graduates who have taken teaching positions in another State.

(B) Recent graduates who have taken teaching positions in private schools.

(C) Recent graduates who have enrolled in graduate school or entered military service.

(iii) For a teacher preparation program provided through distance education, a State calculates the rate under paragraph (i) of this definition using the total number of recent graduates who have obtained certification or licensure in the State during the three preceding title II reporting years as the denominator.

Teacher preparation entity: An institution of higher education or other organization that is authorized by the State to prepare teachers.

Teacher preparation program: A program, whether traditional or alternative route, offered by a teacher preparation entity that leads to initial State teacher certification or licensure in a specific field. Where some participants in the program are in a traditional route to certification or licensure in a specific field, and others are in an alternative route to certification or licensure in that same field, the traditional and alternative route components are considered to be separate teacher preparation programs. The term teacher preparation program includes a teacher preparation program provided through distance education.

Teacher preparation program provided through distance education: A teacher preparation program at which at least 50 percent of the program's required coursework is offered through distance education.

Teacher retention rate: The percentage of individuals in a given cohort of novice teachers who have been continuously employed as teachers of record in each year between their first year as a novice teacher and the current reporting year.

(i) For the purposes of this definition, a cohort of novice teachers includes all teachers who were first identified as a novice teacher by the State in the same title II reporting year.

(ii) At the State's discretion, the teacher retention rates may exclude one or more of the following, provided that the State uses a consistent approach to assess and report on all teacher preparation programs in the State:

(A) Novice teachers who have taken teaching positions in other States.

(B) Novice teachers who have taken teaching positions in private schools.

(C) Novice teachers who are not retained specifically and directly due to budget cuts.

(D) Novice teachers who have enrolled in graduate school or entered military service.

Teacher survey: A survey administered to all novice teachers who are in their first year of teaching that is designed to capture their perceptions of whether the preparation that they received from their teacher preparation program was effective.

Title II reporting year: A period of twelve consecutive months, starting September 1 and ending August 31.