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  • National African American History Month:

    February is National African American History Month! To view websites on African American history, click here.

  • KnowledgeBases:

    MC3's KnowledgeBases are topical collections of information and resources on specific subject areas. To see available KnowledgeBases, click here.

  • Common Core State Standards: MC3 has weblinks on Common Core State Standards, including information on assessment, equity issues, funding, implementation, special populations, and state resources. Check it out here.

Glossary

All A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Other
Harassment
Harassment is words, conduct, or actions directed at a
specific person that annoys, alarms, or causes a lot of emotional distress for
no legitimate purpose.
Heritage Languages
The language a person regards as their native, home, and/or ancestral language. This covers indigenous languages (e.g. Navajo) and in-migrant languages (e.g. Spanish in the U.S.) (Baker, 2000).
High Stakes Assessments
Any assessment that is used to make a critical decision about a student, such as whether or not a student will move on to the next grade or receive a diploma. School officials using such tests must ensure that students are tested on a curriculum they have had a fair opportunity to learn, so that certain subgroups of students, such as racial and ethnic minority students or students with a disability or limited English proficiency, are not systematically excluded or disadvantaged by the test or the test-taking conditions. Furthermore, high-stakes decisions should not be made on the basis of a single test score, because a single test can only provide a "snapshot" of student achievement and may not accurately reflect an entire year's worth of student progress and achievement (AERA, 1999).
Highly Qualified
As defined in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001:[3]

The term highly qualified' —
(A) when used with respect to any public elementary school or secondary school teacher teaching in a State, means that —
(i) the teacher has obtained full State certification as a teacher (including certification obtained through alternative routes to certification) or passed the State teacher licensing examination, and holds a license to teach in such State, except that when used with respect to any teacher teaching in a public charter school, the term means that the teacher meets the requirements set forth in the State's public charter school law; and
(ii) the teacher has not had certification or licensure requirements waived on an emergency, temporary, or provisional basis;
(B) when used with respect to —
(i) an elementary school teacher who is new to the profession, means that the teacher —
(I) holds at least a bachelor's degree; and
(II) has demonstrated, by passing a rigorous State test, subject knowledge and teaching skills in reading, writing, mathematics, and other areas of the basic elementary school curriculum (which may consist of passing a State-required certification or licensing test or tests in reading, writing, mathematics, and other areas of the basic elementary school curriculum); or
(ii) a middle or secondary school teacher who is new to the profession, means that the teacher holds at least a bachelor's degree and has demonstrated a high level of competency in each of the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches by —
(I) passing a rigorous State academic subject test in each of the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches (which may consist of a passing level of performance on a State-required certification or licensing test or tests in each of the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches); or
(II) successful completion, in each of the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches, of an academic major, a graduate degree, coursework equivalent to an undergraduate academic major, or advanced certification or credentialing; and
(C) when used with respect to an elementary, middle, or secondary school teacher who is not new to the profession, means that the teacher holds at least a bachelor's degree and —
(i) has met the applicable standard in clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (B), which includes an option for a test; or
(ii) demonstrates competence in all the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches based on a high objective uniform State standard of evaluation that —
(I) is set by the State for both grade appropriate academic subject matter knowledge and teaching skills;
(II) is aligned with challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards and developed in consultation with core content specialists, teachers, principals, and school administrators;
(III) provides objective, coherent information about the teacher's attainment of core content knowledge in the academic subjects in which a teacher teaches;
(IV) is applied uniformly to all teachers in the same academic subject and the same grade level throughout the State;
(V) takes into consideration, but not be based primarily on, the time the teacher has been teaching in the academic subject;
(VI) is made available to the public upon request; and
(VII) may involve multiple, objective measures of teacher competency.
Historical research
The systematic collection and evaluation of data related to past occurrences in order to describe causes, effects, and trends of those events that may help explain present events and anticipate future events. Data is often archival-including newspaper clippings, photographs, etc.- and may include interviews.
Hypothesis
A tentative explanation for certain behaviors, events, or phenomena that have or will occur, or a prediction about the outcome of an experiment. In experimental research, the prediction would be about how the treatment/program will affect the outcomes.


The contents of this website were developed under a cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Education. The information presented on this website is intended for general reference purposes only, and information/linked content is not necessarily endorsed by the Mid-Continent Comprehensive Center or the U.S. Department of Education.