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Absence
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Any day in which a student has not attended a majority of hours or periods in a school day i.e., a half day or more. Can be either excused or unexcused.
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Academic Assessments
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Tests given to students to determine if their performance meets the standards expected of their grade level. See State Testing.
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Accountability Plan
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State goals used to determine how well all students are performing academically and what state resources are needed to ensure schools and districts are being supported. See the Washington State Improvement Framework (WSIF).
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Actual Adjusted 4-year (on time) Cohort Graduation Rate
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OSPI uses the "adjusted cohort rate" methodology as required by the U.S. Department of Education.
A student's cohort is based on the year they enter Washington public high school for the first time and join a cohort.
Students are removed from the cohort if they transfer out of public school in Washington. The adjusted cohort method tracks individual students over time and it
generally matches what most people think of as a graduation rate: Among a group of students who stay in high school together, what percent graduated in four
(or five, or six, or seven) years?
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Alternate Assessment
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The annual test (see Academic Assessment) that students with significant cognitive disabilities may take in place of the general test. Like the general test, the alternate assessment uses grade level academic standards. See WA-AIM.
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Annual Tests
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Comprehensive tests at the end of the school year that show if a student has demonstrated the expected skill(s) for that grade level. Same as Academic Assessments.
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Cohort
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The group of students who, in 9th grade, are expected to graduate together in 4 years: "the class of 20xx." For example, students that began 9th grade together in 2017 are the class of 2021.
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Comprehensive School
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A school in which all student subgroups are performing below threshold, or the school has a graduation rate of 67% or less. This is a support tier for schools that need additional support.
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Enrolled
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Someone who is officially registered as a student at a specific school. The school takes primary responsibility for assessments, accountability and reporting for the student. Students must qualify to be enrolled. This means they cannot have graduated from another institution or qualify to have graduated. The decision to enroll a student is ultimately up to the district.
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Enrollment
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Number of students enrolled in publicly funded K-12 education at a particular point or period of time. Enrollment can be calculated at the school, district, or state level.
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Excused Absence
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Absence due to illness, family emergency, religious observance, judicial proceeding, post-secondary educational visit or interview, and state-recognized search and rescue activity. Also includes absence directly related to the student's homeless or foster care status, deployment activities of an active duty military parent, or migrant status; absence due to safety concerns including threats or bullying; absence due to an approved activity that is mutually agreed upon by the principal and a parent. This is not an exhaustive list. The final decision is up to the principal.
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Finance category - Administration
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This category consists of those activities related to the general direction, regulation, and control of the affairs of the school district that are organization-wide.
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Finance category - Food Services
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The category is used to record operating expenses for nutrition services (the preparation and serving of regular and incidental meals for pupils and teachers as provided by RCW 28A.235.120) provided in connection with regular school activities
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Finance category - Instruction
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This category consists of activities dealing directly with or aiding in the teaching of students or improving the quality of teaching, such as professional development. These are the activities of teachers, principals, consultants, supervisors of instruction, attendance services, guidance and counseling, psychological and speech services, health services, and social services.
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Finance category - Instructional Support
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The category is used to record expenditures that are incurred in support of the district's educational programs.
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Finance category - Maintenance and Operation
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This category consists of activities concerned with keeping the physical plant open, comfortable, and safe for use, and keeping the grounds, buildings, and equipment in an efficient working condition.
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Finance category - Other Services
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This category includes those services of information systems, printing, warehousing and distribution, and motor pool.
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Finance category - Public Activities
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This category consists of community-wide activities provided by the school district. They are not confined to one program, school, or narrow phase of school activity.
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Finance category - Transportation
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This category is charged with expenditures related to the conveyance of pupils.
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Low Income
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Free and Reduced Price Meal (FRPM) eligibility is used as a proxy for low-income. The source of this data is the information submitted by school districts through the Comprehensive Education Data and Research System (CEDARS).
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Homeless
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Individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.
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Intern Substitute Teacher Certificate
|
Intern substitute teacher certificates are for individuals enrolled in student teaching/internship programs to which the individual is assigned as a student teacher/intern substitute teacher. More information is available in WAC181-79A-231 or the OSPI Certification Office at Office.
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Migrant
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Migrant students are those whose families have moved within the last three years to work in agriculture or fishing and who qualify to receive Title 1, Part C academic and/or health services.
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Military
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A student with a parent who is a member of the Armed Forces on active duty.
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October student count
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This is the unduplicated head count of students. It occurs on October 1st or the first business day of October each year. The source of this count is the information submitted by school districts through CEDARS.
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Other Student Groups
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A method of dividing students into sub-groups. Other Student Groups includes English language learners, non-English language learners, foster care, non-foster care, homeless, non-homeless, low income, non-low income, migrant, non-migrant, military parent, non-military parent, section 504, non-section 504, students with disabilities, students without disabilities.
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Primary School
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A student's primary school is the main school the student is enrolled in and the school that their statistical and demographic data is attached. A student can be assigned to only one primary school even if they are taking classes at several other schools or institutions.
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Program
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An educator is assigned to a program(s) to provide instruction, support, and other services. Programs include General Education, Special Education, Transitional Bilingual Instructional Program (TBIP), Career and Technical Education (CTE), and Alternative Learning Experience (ALE).
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Tested
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Student attempted at least two items or prompts of an assessment and met the completion criteria.
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Tested out of grade
|
Student took the wrong test, for example a third grader took the fourth grade test.
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50% School
|
A school in which 50% or more of the students live outside the district boundaries. A student is from outside district boundaries when the student resident code doesn't match the school's serving district code.
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504 Plan
|
Students with disabilities who qualify for accommodations, aids, or services under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Accommodations, aids, and services are typically included in a Section 504 plan.
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Students of color
|
Students of color includes all student racial/ethnic subgroups with the exception of white. Students of color includes these five(5) major racial/ethnic groups: American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino of any race(s), Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, and also includes Two or More Races and Not Provided. See Race/Ethnicity for more information.
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Mobile
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Students with less than 150 total calendar days (including weekends and holidays) of enrollment during the school year.
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Student Growth Percentile (SGP)
|
A student growth percentile (SGP) describes a student's growth compared to other students with similar prior test scores (Their academic peers). To learn more about SGPs please see our Student Growth Percentiles page for more information.
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Low, Medium, and High Growth
|
Students are considered to have made low, medium, or high growth based on how they performed relative to their peers that earned similar prior test scores. Students that made low growth scored in the bottom 1/3 of their peers having an SGP in the range of 0-33.3%. Medium growth scored in the middle 1/3 of their peers having an SGP in the range of 33.4%-66.6%. High growth scored in the top 1/3 of their peers having an SGP in the range of 66.7%-100%.
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Unaccompanied Youth
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A homeless child or youth not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian.
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Highly Capable
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Students who perform or show potential for performing at significantly advanced academic levels. Determination of student's participation in the Highly Capable program is determined by districts and reported to OSPI.
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Years of experience
|
For teachers this is the arithmetic mean number of years of certificated experience of accumulated full-time and part-time professional and part-time professional education employment prior to the current reported school year. This includes employment in the state of Washington, out-of-state, and in a foreign country. For principals and ESAs this is the arithmetic mean number of years of experience in that particular educator role. For principals and ESAs, only experience gained from 2002-03 onwards in Washington State public education is available and counted.
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Career and Technical Education (CTE)
|
Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs support local middle and high school that provide 21st-century academic and technical skills for all students. More information is available on OSPI's CTE webpage: https://ospi.k12.wa.us/student-success/career-technical-education-cte
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Comprehensive Education Data and Research System (CEDARS)
|
The Comprehensive Education Data and Research System (CEDARS) is a longitudinal data system managed by OSPI to collect, store and report data related to students, courses, and teachers in order to meet state and federal reporting requirements and to help educators and policy makers to make data driven decisions. Many of the measures on the Report Card use data from CEDARS.
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Certified Teacher
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A teacher who holds a valid Washington State teaching certificate.
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Class Size
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The number of students in a course.
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Classroom Teacher
|
A certified teacher who instructs a class or course in a public school classroom where daily attendance is kept. It also includes a teacher who instructs students in an alternate learning environment i.e. ungraded classes, special education, gifted, disadvantaged, early childhood, home/hospital, and adult education programs. A teacher can be assigned to multiple schools, districts, or ESDs. Therefore summing the number of teachers at schools within a district may not match the total number of teachers reported for that district. For the purpose of the Report Card, Classroom Teacher data includes individuals serving in a teaching role reported in CEDARS and the apportionment system (S-275) as assigned to a duty code root of 31, 32, 33, 34, 41, or 63. This does not include duty code root 52 or Short Term Substitute Teachers. More information on duty codes is found in the Personnel Reporting Manual.
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Conditional Teacher Certificate
|
A type of limited certificate. A conditional certificate can be requested by a school district for an individual when a fully certified teacher cannot be found. Information on the qualifications necessary are available in WAC181-79A-231 or on the OSPI Certification Office webpage: https://ospi.k12.wa.us/certification/teacher-certificate/already-washington-certified-educators/conditional-teacher-certification
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Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC)
|
An office of the federal Department of Education that collects data on, among other things, school discipline, restraint and seclusion by student subgroups of race, ethnicity, gender and disability. In Washington state, school districts send this information directly to the Federal Office of Civil Rights. The process and data is not managed by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI).
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Comma-Separated Values (CSV)
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The CSV button below each graphic allows the user to download raw data into the software application of their choice. This allows the user to perform further analytics as they choose.
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English Language Learner (ELL)
|
These are students who qualify for extra help in mastering English as their second language. Assessments are done with the ELPA 21 test.
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English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA) 21
|
English Language Proficiency Assessment for the 21st Century. This is the 4-part test (speaking, listening, reading and writing) given to students receiving English Language Development services to measure their progress towards English proficiency.
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|
Emergency Substitute Teacher Certificate
|
A type of limited certificate. An emergency substitute teacher certificate can be requested by a school district for an individual when a fully certified teacher cannot be found. Information on the qualifications necessary are available in WAC181-79A-231 or on the OSPI Certification Office webpage: https://ospi.k12.wa.us/certification/teacher-certificate/state-program-completer-applicants/emergency-substitute-certification-state-applicants. This is not the same certificate as the emergency teacher certificate or the substitute teacher certificate.
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Emergency Teacher Certificate
|
A type of limited certificate. Prior to 2019, a school district could request this certificate for an individual when a fully certified teacher could not be found. In 2020 this certificate's qualifications were modified and it now must be recommended by the individual's Teacher Preparation Program. Information on the qualifications necessary are available in WAC 181-79A-228 or from the OSPI Certification Office. This is not the same certificate as the emergency substitute teacher certificate.
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Education Research and Data Center (ERDC)
|
The Education Research and Data Center is at the Office of Financial Management.
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Educational Service District (ESD)
|
There are 9 ESDs in Washington State and they administer a number of school districts/Local Education Agencies (LEAs) each.
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Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
|
Federal education laws that provide equal opportunity for all students.
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Family Education Right to Privacy Act (FERPA)
|
A federal law that protects the privacy of student education records.
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Full Certificates
|
Full certificates, unlike limited certificates, require completion of an education preparation program. More information is available in WAC181-79A-206 or on the OSPI Certification Office webpage: https://ospi.k12.wa.us/certification.
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Gender
|
One of the reporting categories required by Washington law is gender, reported as Male, Female, and Gender X. (WAC 246-490-075 defines "X" as "a gender that is not exclusively male or female, including, but not limited to, intersex, agender, amalgagender, androgynous, bigender, demigender, female-to-male, genderfluid, genderqueer, male-to-female, neutrois, nonbinary, pangender, third sex, transgender, transsexual, Two Spirit, and unspecified.") For student gender, data is submitted by students and parents to school districts, and from school districts to the state through CEDARS. For educator gender, data is submitted to the state through the SAFS S-275 report or by the individual educator.
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Individualized Education Program (IEP)
|
These plans are for students who need any level of special education services. More information is available on OSPI's webpage: https://ospi.k12.wa.us/student-success/special-education/family-engagement-and-guidance/individualized-education-program-iep.
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Inexperienced
|
An educator who has less than five (5.0) years of experience.
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|
Residency Teacher Certificate
|
A type of full teacher certificate. More information is available in WAC181-79A-206 or on the OSPI Certification Office webpage: https://ospi.k12.wa.us/certification.
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Limited Certificate
|
Limited Certificates are issued under specific circumstances and for limited service. They include the Conditional Certificate, Nonimmigrant Exchange Teacher Certificate, Substitute Certificate, Transitional Certificate, Emergency Substitute Certificate, and Emergency Certificate. An individual may concurrently hold multiple types of limited certificates or a full certificate. More information is available in WAC181-79A-231 or from the OSPI Certification Office.
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Limited Certificated Teacher
|
A limited certificated teacher is a teacher who uses their limited certificate to teach.
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Local Education Agency (LEA)
|
A school district is a type of LEA. An LEA administers one or more schools within its boundaries.
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|
Median Student Growth Percentile (MSGP)
|
This is the median of the student growth percentile (SGP_ scores for all students in a school by grade and subject.
|
|
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
|
National Assessment of Educational Progress allows for comparison of achievement across states. The federal requirement is to test grades 4 and 8 every two years if the district is receiving funds.
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|
Office of System and School Improvement (OSSI)
|
Office of System and School Improvement within the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction
|
|
Out-of-Field Teacher (OTF)
|
An Out-of-Field teacher provides instruction outside of their endorsed subject area or outside of the grade level that the endorsement is for.
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Race/ Ethnicity
|
One of the federally required reporting categories which consists of six (6) major racial/ethnic groups: American Indian/ Alaskan Native, Asian, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino of any race(s), White, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander. Two other groups, Two or More Races and Not Provided are also counted. Student Race/ Ethnicity data is submitted by school districts to the state through CEDARS. Educator Race/ Ethnicity is provided by the educator or submitted to the state via the S275.
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Smarter Balance Assessments (SBA)/ Washington Comprehensive Assessment System (WCAS)
|
Smarter Balance Assessments/ Washington Comprehensive Assessment System
|
|
Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium (SBAC)
|
All the states that use Smarter Balance Assessments to assess their students.
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State Education Agency (SEA)
|
State Educational Agency (as opposed to local education agency). The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is the State Education Agency in Washington.
|
|
State Student ID (SSID)
|
A unique number assigned by the district for each student.
|
|
Substitute Teacher Certificate
|
A type of limited certificate. The substitute teacher certificate requires the teacher has the same level of preparation as a fully certified teacher. More information is available in WAC181-79A-231 or on the OSPI Certification Office's webpage: https://ospi.k12.wa.us/certification/teacher-certificate/out-state-applicants-teachers/substitute-teacher. This certificate is not the same as the emergency substitute teacher certificate.
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Transitional Bilingual Instruction Program (TBIP)
|
The Transitional Bilingual Instructional Program (TBIP) is an English language development program. More information is available on the TBIP webpage: https://ospi.k12.wa.us/student-success/access-opportunity-education/migrant-and-multilingual-education/multilingual-education-program/transitional-bilingual-instruction-program-guidance.
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Teacher Certificate
|
A Teacher Certificate is required in order to provide instruction as a teacher in Washington State public schools. The teacher certificate may be a full teacher certificate or a limited teacher certificate.
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|
Washington Access to Instruction and Measurement (WA-AIM)
|
This is an alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards aligned to the Common Core Standards for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities, roughly 1% of the entire student population) and a subset of the special education student group. The remainder of the special education group takes the regular, Smarter Balanced assessments. This test replaced the previous Washington Alternate Assessment System (WAAS).
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Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (WaKIDS)
|
Applies only to state funded, full day kindergartens. The program brings families, teachers, and early learning providers together to support each child's learning and transition into public schools.
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Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS)
|
General exam for grades 5, 8, 11.
|
|
Washington English Language Proficiency Assessment (WELPA)
|
The Washington English Language Proficiency Assessment screener. This measures eligibility for the Transitional Bilingual Instructional Program (TBIP).
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|
Washington School Improvement Framework (WSIF)
|
Washington School Improvement Framework. This framework measures multiple aspects of a school's performance and growth.
|
|
Title I, Part A
|
A federal funding program to aid educationally disadvantaged students in high poverty areas. More information is available on OSPI's Title I, Part A webpage: https://ospi.k12.wa.us/policy-funding/grants-grant-management/closing-educational-achievement-gaps-title-i-part.
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Administrator
|
See Principals and Other School Leaders
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Class
|
See Course
|
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Content Area
|
Each course has one content area. The content areas are: Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources; Architecture and Construction; Business and Marketing; Civics and Government; Communications and Audio/Visual Technology; Computer and Information Sciences; Dance; Economics; Elementary Curriculum; Engineering and Technology; English Language Arts; Foreign Languages; Geography; Health Care; Sciences; History; Hospitality and Tourism; Human Services; Manufacturing; Math; Media Arts; Military Science; Miscellaneous; More than one core content area (block class); Music; Non-Instructional time; Physical, Health and Safety Education; Public, Protective, and Government Service; Reading; Religious Education and Theology; Science; Theatre; Transportation, Distribution and Logistics; Visual Arts.
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Course
|
A course is a unique occurence of a class/location/staff. It is a unique class/period of students that occurs.
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|
Course section
|
See Course
|
|
Demographic
|
The demographic categories reported in the Washington State Report Card include Gender and Race/ Ethnicity.
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|
Dual Language
|
Dual Language education is literacy and core instruction taught in two languages. More information is available on OSPI's webpage: https://ospi.k12.wa.us/student-success/access-opportunity-education/migrant-and-multilingual-education/multilingual-education-program/dual-language-education-and-resources/dual-language-education-what-families-should-know.
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|
Educational Staff Associate (ESA)
|
Education Staff Associates (ESAs) provide education and health services to students in Washington State. It is a certificated educator role. They can be identified by their duty root code in the S275. There are nine (9) ESA roles: school behavior analyst (duty root code 49); school counselor (42); school nurse (47); school occupational therapist (43); school orientation and mobility specialist (39); school physical therapist (48); school psychologist (46); school social worker (44); and school speech language pathologist (SLP) and audiologist (45). ESAs may also be contractors (64).
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Educator of color
|
Educators of color includes all Race/ Ethnicity subgroups with the exception of White and Not Provided. Educators of color include these five (5) major racial/ ethnic groups: American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino of any race(s), Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, Two or More Races. See Race/ Ethnicity for more information.
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Educator Preparation Program (EPP)
|
A post-secondary program that a candidate attends in order to be recommended for a Washington State educator certificate. These include teacher preparation programs, ESA preparation programs, and administrator preparation programs. They are typically, but not always, offered by colleges or universities.
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Effective Teacher
|
See Teacher Qualifications
|
|
Endorsement
|
A teacher certificate may have one or more endorsements on it. Endorsements indicate proficiency and content knowledge in a certain area. Some examples of endorsements include Mathematics, Special Education, Elementary Education, and Bilingual Education.
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ESA of color
|
See Educator of color
|
|
First Peoples' Language, Culture, and Oral Traditional Certificate
|
A type of full teacher certificate. More information is available in WAC181-79A-206 or on the OSPI Certification Office webpage: https://ospi.k12.wa.us/certification.
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|
High School Dual Credit
|
A program that allows students to earn college or technical school credit while still in high school.
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|
Induction
|
Induction is the process of onboarding and orienting a new employee with the intent of improving performance, easing the transition, and increasing employee retention.
|
|
Ineffective Teacher
|
See Teacher Qualifications
|
|
Instructional Paraeducator
|
An Instructional Paraeducator is an educator role. It is a classified (un-certificated) staff position that provides instruction to students in a classroom in conjunction with the teacher. Instructional Paraeducators are identified as educators in the S275 in duty code root 91 (aide) and either activity code 22 (Learning Resources) or 27 (Teaching), or they may be identified as educators in CEDARS with the TeacherIndicator type G. If the paraeducator does not provide instructional support as a part of their role, they are not included in this category.
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National Board Certificate (NBCT)
|
National Board Certification is a voluntary, advanced teaching credential. It adds to but does not replace, Washington State's teacher license. More information is available on OSPI's NBCT webpage: https://ospi.k12.wa.us/certification/national-board-certified-teachers.
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Organization
|
A broad term that encompasses schools, LEAs, school districts, ESDs, and SEAs.
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|
Paraeducator
|
See Instructional Paraeducator
|
|
Paraprofessional
|
See Instructional Paraeducator
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Period
|
See Course
|
|
Poverty Quartile
|
Poverty quartiles sort schools into one of four categories: High-povery, Upper-mid poverty, Lower-mid poverty, or Low-poverty. Each quartile has 25% of Washington State's schools. The percent of students who qualify for Free-Reduced-Price-Lunch is used to sort the schools.
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Principal of color
|
See Educator of color
|
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Principals and Other School Leaders (POSL)
|
Principals and Other School Leaders are a certificated educator role. Principals includes both principals and assistant/deputy principals. Other school leaders include superintendents, assistant/deputy superintendents, school administrators, and district administrators. They can be identifed in the S275 by their duty root code (11, 12, 13, 21, 22, 23, 24, or 25).
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Retention
|
Retention is the opposite of turnover. It is an educator who continues the following year.
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School District
|
See Local Education Agency (LEA)
|
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School Year
|
The school year for Washington State Report Card's reporting purposes is July 1 through June 30.
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Section
|
See Course
|
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Special Education (SPED)
|
Special Education is the education of students with an Individualized Education Program (IEP).
|
|
Students with Disabilities (SWD)
|
See Special Education
|
|
Subject Area
|
vSee Content Area
|
|
Teacher License
|
See Teacher Certificate
|
|
Teacher of color
|
See Educator of color
|
|
Teacher Preparation Program (TPP)
|
See Educator Preparation Program
|
|
Transitional Certificate
|
A type of limited certificate. The transitional certificate is available to allow an educator to teach for up to two years while working to reinstate their full certificate. More information is available in WAC181-79A-231 or the OSPI Certification Office's webpage: https://ospi.k12.wa.us/certification/teacher-certificate/already-washington-certified-educators/transitional-teaching-certificate.
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Teacher Qualifications
|
The three teacher qualification indicators are Inexperienced, Out-of-Field, and Limited Certificate usage.
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