Glossary

Academic benchmarks refer to assessments that measure students against institution standards and learning goals. Benchmarking allows educators to identify students' strengths and weaknesses, which can then inform their future instruction.

BESE was established by the 1974 Louisiana Constitution. The Board is composed of 11 members: eight elected by the citizens of Louisiana’s eight BESE districts, and three appointed by the governor of Louisiana to represent the state at-large. Together, these members adopt and enact policies governing the elementary and secondary schools of Louisiana.

Learning that focuses on equipping students for skill-based careers that are in high-demand, such as engineering, manufacturing, or health science. Career and technical education is characterized by hands-on learning and real work experience so that students can more readily complete certifications and confidently enter the workforce.

A term used in career and technical education referring to a grouping of careers that share a significant number of knowledge and skills requirements. Students take courses common to these careers prior to reaching the end of their desired program.

An independent public school that provides a program of elementary and/or secondary education established pursuant to and in accordance with the provisions of the Louisiana Charter School Law to provide a learning environment that will improve pupil achievement.

Approach which allows students to advance based on their ability to master a skill or competency at their own pace regardless of environment. This method is tailored to meet different learning abilities and can lead to more efficient student outcomes.

Refers to students being enrolled concurrently in two distinct academic programs or educational institutions. The term is most prevalently used in reference to high school students taking college courses while they are still enrolled in a secondary school or to the programs that allow high school students to take college-level courses

ESAs allow parents to withdraw their children from public district or charter schools and receive a deposit of public funds into government-authorized savings accounts with restricted, but multiple, uses. Those funds—often distributed to families via debit card—can cover private school tuition and fees, online learning programs, private tutoring, community college costs, higher education expenses and other approved customized learning services and materials.

The foremost federal education law that describes federal requirements for the nation’s public schools, most of which receive some form of aid under the statute. First enacted in 1965 under President Lyndon B. Johnson, ESEA is revised every five to seven years. The original Act authorized Title I, Safe and Drug Free Schools, and Title VII programs. The latest revision, passed by Congress in 2001 and signed into law by the Bush administration in 2002, is known as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

Sometimes referred to as open enrollment, inter- and intra-district choice laws allow families to choose traditional public schools other than the ones the government assigned based on their ZIP Codes. Intra-district choice allows families to choose from among more than one public school within their assigned district. Inter-district choice allows families to send their children to any traditional public school in their resident state or a defined region. Typically, these open enrollment options still allow public schools to give enrollment preference to students within their assigned district lines.

Small groups of children taught a tailored curriculum at home by parents, tutors or hired teachers. For some, learning pods can be used to supplement their public school education.

A-F grades to describe school performance for public school options used to measure school quality and student success.

A public school offering special instruction and programs not available elsewhere, designed to attract a more diverse student body from throughout a school district.

Micro-schooling is the reimagining of the one-room schoolhouse, where class sizes are usually fewer than 15 students of varying ages, and the schedule and curriculum is tailored to fit the needs of each class. This model of schooling can operate in either public, private or charter schools or separately on its own.

The Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) is a formula established to determine the cost of a minimum program of education in all public elementary and secondary schools — essentially, what it costs to provide each Louisiana student with the minimum educational foundation necessary for future success. The resulting calculation is then used to help distribute funds among parish, city, and other local school systems. BESE is charged with developing and submitting the MFP to the Louisiana Legislature for consideration each year.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) provides important information about student achievement and learning experiences in various subjects. Also known as The Nation’s Report Card, NAEP has provided meaningful results to improve education policy and practice since 1969.

The National Science Foundation is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health.

Recovery School District is a special statewide school district administered by the Louisiana Department of Education. Created by legislation passed in 2003, the RSD is designed to take underperforming schools and transform and make them effective in educating children.

Allows public education funds to follow students to the schools or services that best fit their needs—whether that is to a public school, private school, charter school, home school or any other learning environment families choose.

Specific criteria for what students are expected to learn and be able to do at each grade level.

Job protection and security for teachers originally intended to ensure that teachers were not fired for political or personal reasons.

Vouchers give parents the freedom to choose a private school for their children, using all or part of the public funding set aside for their children’s education. Under such a program, funds typically expended by a school district would be allocated to a participating family in the form of a voucher to pay partial or full tuition for their child’s private school, including both religious and non-religious options.

Education opportunities that reinforce core curriculum subjects through internships, apprenticeships, or other programs that place the student in a real-life work environment.