A
Academic specialist: School staff person whose job is to develop and implement academic interventions, teach students with academic difficulties, and to consult with teachers who work with these students.
Accelerated growth:Weekly or monthly rate of improvement (ROI) that is greater than what is expected for students of a similar age or grade.
Accuracy: The percentage of a student’s attempts during an assessment that were correct. For example, the percentage of words read correctly (WRC) in one minute. In all cases, accuracy should be taught before automaticity.
Adoption: The formal decision by a school board or district to purchase and use a specific instructional program or curriculum product.
Aggregate weekly growth: A national normative estimate of typical student score improvements over time. Calculated by computing all students’ score differences and dividing the differences by the number of weeks or months between the scores. These growth estimates are displayed in the FastBridge norms for every fifth percentile ranking.
Aimline: A line on a student progress graph that shows the goal level that a student is working to meet.
aMath: Computer-adaptive test of broad mathematics skills for grades K through 12.
aReading: Computer-adaptive test of broad reading skills for grades K through 12.
Automaticity: Effortless execution of a specific skill. For example, reading words or recognizing numbers immediately and without sustained cognitive effort. Automaticity is important in reading and math because automatic word and number recognition allow the brain to use most resources for comprehension and problem solving.
AUTOreading: AUTOreading is a computer-based assessment of phonics, fluency, and vocabulary for grades K through 12. There are a total of 8 AUTOreading sub-tests. When used for screening, students complete 2 to 4 sub-tests. When used for progress monitoring, students complete one sub-test per session.
AYP - Adequate Yearly Progress: A requirement of the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The USDOE requires every state that receives ESEA funds to determine what level of performance on a state-approved assessment is adequate for each grade level. ESEA funds are also known as Title I funds. Those schools which have data indicating too few students met the AYP goal are then provided with additional ESEA resources through the state to improve student outcomes. USDOE rules require that "Adequate yearly progress must be defined [by each state] in a manner that results in continuous and substantial, yearly improvement of each Title I school and LEA sufficient to achieve the goal of all children served under Title I, particularly economically disadvantaged and limited-English proficient children, meeting the State's proficient and advanced levels of performance"
B
devMilestones (FastBridge Research Lab): 47-item behaviorally-anchored rating system (BARS) for rating preschool and kindergarten students’ skills in six domains.
Behavior specialist: School staff person whose job is to develop and implement behavior interventions, teach students with behavior difficulties, and to consult with teachers who work with these students.
Benchmark: A specific measureable student performance goal that is based on nationally normed data indicating the likelihood of a student meeting a later standard on a local or national assessment.
BICS: Basic interpersonal communication skills. These are the first new language skills to develop when a student is learning a new language, including English. BICS typically developed within 2 years of immersion in a new language.
Broad skills: The combination of all subskills necessary to execute major learning tasks such as reading text or solving math problems.
Buy-in: The extent to which the staff members of a school or district agree that developing an MTSS is a good idea and are willing to help make it happen.
C
CALP: Cognitive academic language proficiency. These are advanced language skills needed to learn and be fully proficient in a new language. CALP typically require 5–7 years of focused instruction to develop.
CAT - Computer Adaptive Test: An assessment that provides a personalized experience and an individualized measure of growth by adapting to student responses.
CBM: Curriculum-based measurement. Brief timed assessments of math, reading, spelling, and writing that show a student’s relative progress toward specific learning goals.
CBMcomp: Optional additional questions related to a student’s understanding of a reading passage. In order to use CBMcomp, CBMreading must be administered first. Available for grades 1 through 8.
CBMmath-Automaticity: Timed, computer-based assessment of math facts for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Available for grades 1 through 3.
CBMmath-Concepts and Applications (CAP): Timed, computer-based assessment of applied mathematics problem solving skills. Available for grades K through 8.
CBMmath-Process: Timed, paper and pencil assessment of the steps necessary to solve multi-digit computation problems using whole numbers and decimals. Available for grades 2 through 6.
CBMreading: Timed individually-administered assessment of oral reading skills for grades 1 through 8.
CCSS: Common Core State Standards. The instructional goals developed by the National Governors Association for use in and by public schools in U.S. states and territories, pending adoption by each state or territory.
Classroom: A FastBridge Grouping. A Classroom consists of all students in the same grade assigned to the same teacher. Students may be members of multiple classrooms, if assigned to multiple teachers.
Classroom User/Teacher: A FastBridge user account type. Classroom Users are (typically) teachers who have students specifically assigned assigned to them. Classroom users only have access to their own students. For more information, see User Roles (Account Types).
Coach: A school staff person whose job is to work with classroom teachers for the purpose of improving instruction and student learning outcomes.
COMPefficiency (FastBridge Research Lab): Assessment of a student’s understanding of text through responses from questions asked during and after reading a passage.
Composite score: The weighted sum of two or more specific sub-tests from selected Fast assessments administered for universal screening.
Computer Adaptive Test (CAT): An assessment that students complete on a computer which adjusts the difficulty of questions in relation to the student’s prior answers. The FastBridge assessments aReading and aMath are CATs.
Consultant: A school staff person or contracted professional who works with teachers, administrators, and other school staff to implement and/or improve specific instructional practices.
Content-area team: All of the teachers in a building who teach the same curriculum content (e.g., English, math, science, social studies).
Core instruction: The materials and methods in one or more learning areas adopted by a school or district to be used in all Tier 1 general education classrooms.
Criterion-referenced: A fixed external standard such as the score needed to pass a state assessment. FastBridge assessment scores can be compared to external criteria. FastBridge reports include exclamation marks as criterion-referenced indicators of student risk of not meeting a later learning goal.
Curriculum: An adopted set of courses or learning activities leading to a specific goal.
D
devMilestones (FastBridge Research Lab): 47-item behaviorally-anchored rating system (BARS) for rating preschool and kindergarten students’ skills in six domains.
DIBELS - Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills: A reading comprehension program that assesses K-6 literacy skills.
Differentiation: Practice of adjusting classroom instruction to meet the needs of individual students and small groups of students.
Direct Behavior Rating (FastBridge Research Lab): Computer-based recordings of the frequency and intensity of selected student behaviors as observed by a teacher during instruction.
District Manager: A FastBridge user account type. District Managers serve as system administrators of FastBridge, by uploading rosters, maintaining district level defaults, and managing user accounts. District Managers have access to all district, school, grade and student data. For more information, see User Roles (Account Types).
E
earlyMath: A suite of 17 subtests that measure important early numeracy skills. When used for screening, 3 subtests are administered at a time. Available for grades K and 1.
earlyReading: A suite of 14 sub-tests that measure important early literacy skills. When used for screening, 4 sub-tests are administered at a time. Available for grades K and 1 in English and Spanish.
Effect size: A research statistic that shows how much better or worse the experimental group’s performance was compared with the control group. The effect size number is given in SD units and shows how many more (or less) SD units the experimental group’s performance was compared with the control group.
Evidence based: A term meaning that a standardized instructional program has been found to work effectively with students from diverse backgrounds in two or more experimental research studies.
Exploration: The first stage of the change model proposed by Fixsen, Naoom, Blase, Friedman, and Wallace (2005). This stage includes activities that allow staff members to consider whether changes in current practices are needed.
Externalizing behaviors: Behaviors such as acting out, physical and verbal aggression, and excessive physical activity that are symptoms of student distress. In some cases, specific externalizing behaviors are linked with certain diagnostic criteria for a mental disorder.
F
Facilitator: (1) A school staff person or hired contractor whose job is to help the staff develop, implement, and evaluate school and/or districtwide instructional programs. (2) People, events, or systems that promote and support the implementation of an MTSS.
FastBridge School Support: FastBridge’s technical and customer support group. They can be reached at help@fastbridge.org.
Formative assessment: Assessment that is conducted at multiple points in time (e.g., weekly to monthly) during instruction. Formative assessments are generally tied to the instruction and show whether a student learning what is being taught.
Free and reduced-cost lunch: A U.S. Department of Education program that provides daily breakfast and/or lunch meals for students whose parents meet low-income criteria.
G
GMADE - Group Mathematics Achievement and Diagnostic Evaluation: A criterion measure used to validate benchmarks.
GOM - General Outcome Measure: A screening assessment that includes all of the subskills for the grade. Used for general screening and as a diagnostic to determine which subskills need additional support.
Note: Subskill assessments have individual screeners to determine the start score for progress monitoring in the individual skill.
Grade-level team: All of the teachers in a building who teach the same grade(s) students. Grade-level teams can include teachers who teach multiple grades.
Group Proctor: A FastBridge user account type. Group Proctors accounts are used to administer assessments to individuals or groups in a lab setting. Group Proctors can log in to FastBridge on multiple devices simultaneously, using the same login credentials. Group Proctors can not see scores or access reports. For more information, see User Roles (Account Types).
Growth norms: Numerical values that reflect the amount of growth typical students make over time in weekly or monthly units. FastBridge provides three types of growth norms: (a) seasonal score differences by percentile, (b) aggregate weekly growth, and (c) student growth percentiles.
H
High Risk: Students who need intensive, individualized instruction to increase their rate of progress towards grade level learning targets. Approximately 5% of students. Indicated in FastBridge reports with two exclamation marks.
I
Implementation: The process of putting an MTSS system into place, including consideration of schedules, areas covered, meetings, communication, and progress review.
Implementation driver: A step that an organization takes so that any given innovation is effective.
Implementation science: The study of how people working in a given setting (e.g., schools) develop, implement, and evaluate changes in their daily routines and practices.
Innovation: A change that improves on existing materials and practices.
Installation: Behind the scenes steps to prepare for implementation of an MTSS.
Internalizing behaviors: Behaviors such as being excessively quiet and withdrawn, overly anxious, and having limited social interaction that are symptoms of student distress. In some cases, specific internalizing behaviors are linked with certain diagnostic criteria for a mental disorder.
Intervention: Any efforts made to improve a student’s performance in a specific learning area (e.g., behavior, math, reading) that are above and beyond the instruction provided as part of the general education core instruction.
IRT - Item Response Theory: A psychometric paradigm used in the design, analysis, and scoring of tests. Unlike simpler alternatives, where all items are considered parallel, item response theory treats the difficulty of each item as information to be incorporated in the scaling of items.
L
LEA - Learning Education Agency: The parent organization, usually a school district, of the school or group of schools making up a "District" in FastBridge.
Lexile: Framework for Reading: A scientifically valid reading framework used to match students with reading materials. A Lexile reading measure is the numeric representation of a student’s reading comprehension ability. A Lexile text measure is the numeric representation of the difficulty of the reading material.
Local Norms: Rank ordered listings of all the scores for students in a particular group such as a class, grade, school, or district. The scores are matched to percentile rankings which indicate the distribution of scores for each group. FastBridge reports can include local norms for the class or grade, school, and district as long as at least 70% of the students in the group have completed the assessment.
Low Risk: Students whose instructional needs are met by Tier 1 service level according to reliable and valid assessments. The goal is a minimum of 80% of students to be low risk.
M
MAP - Measures of Academic Progress: A Computer Adaptive Test (CAT) created and administrated by the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA).
Mastery measure: An assessment that measures a student’s relative expertise (e.g., mastery) of a specific skill. Such measures are narrow in focus and help teachers know when a student is ready to move on to new instruction.
MCA - Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments: A set of tests for measuring academic achievement in reading (grades 3-8 & 10), math (grades 3-8 & 11), and science (grades 3-8 & HS). Test results are used to inform curriculum decisions at the district level, instructional decisions at the classroom level, and, in reading and math, indicate student academic progress from year to year.
Metacognition: The skill of reflecting on one’s own learning.
MTAS - Minnesota Test of Academic Skills: An alternative to the MCA tests in reading and math, MTAS tests can be administered to eligible students with significant cognitive disabilities in reading (grades 3-8 & 10), math (grades 3-8 & 11), and science (grades 5, 8 & HS). Test are performance based and administered in a one-on-one setting.
MTSS - Multi-Tier System of Supports: An integrated system for providing instruction, assessment, and intervention to all learners, by utilizing data to determine optimal resource allocation across multiple tiers of performance. Unlike RTI which addresses reading and mathematical skill, an MTSS system also incorporates behavior.
Tier 1 (students above the 30th percentile)
Interventions and assessments that apply to all students. Sometimes referred to as "core instruction". Tier 1 instruction is expected to successfully help about 80% of students meet grade-level expectations.
Tier 2 (students in the 20th to 30th percentile)
Usually implemented in small groups, Tier 2 interventions are targeted to meet individual needs and intended to supplement Tier 1 core instruction. These interventions are expected to help struggling students catch up to their peers.
Tier 2+ (students below the 20th percentile)
Usually implemented in small groups or individually. Tier 2+ interventions are targeted to meet individual needs and intended to supplement Tier 1 core instruction. These interventions are expected to help struggling students catch up to their peers.
Tier 3 (used after other interventions have failed)
Very intensive interventions, usually provided to one student at a time. Special Education may be included in this tier.
Note: FastBridge does not address Tier 3.
mySAEBRS: 20-item computer-based self-report rating scale that includes items related to social, academic, and emotional behaviors. Available for students in grades 2 through 12.
N
National Norms: National Norms compare student scores to assign the student a percentile ranking. Ranking is based on aggregated data, relevant to the measure, from all FastBridge users up through the previous school year. National Norms are updated yearly.
National Banded Norm: A National Norm that ranks change (ROI) for groups with similar start points. Sometimes referred to as "Normed by Initial Level" or "Normed by Start Score".
NCLB: No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. This was the additional name given to the 2001 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. It added many more requirements for state education agencies to implement in order to be eligible for federal education funding.
Norm-referenced: A relative standard for comparing student scores. Norm-referenced comparisons indicate each student’s ranking as compared to students in the same group. A student’s score can vary from low to high, depending on the scores of other students in the comparison group (e.g., local or national norms).
O
ODR: Office discipline referral. ODR refers to each and every time a student is sent from a classroom to the principal’s office because he or she was displaying inappropriate behavior in the classroom.
P
PBIS: Positive behavioral interventions and supports. A school and/or districtwide method of preteaching desired social behaviors and praising students for engaging in those behaviors. As needed, PBIS also includes targeted (Tier 2) and intensive (Tier 3) interventions for students who need them.
Percentile: A measure indicating the value below which a given percentage of observations fall. For example, the 20th percentile is the value (or score) below which 20% of the observations are found. “At the 86th percentile” means the value below which 86% of the observations may be found, as opposed to “in the 86th percentile”, which means the score is at or below the value of which 86% of the observations may be found. Every score is in the 100th percentile.
Percentile Rank: Used in reports to provide additional information on where a student's score falls in relation to the other members of a selected group. In FastBridge, this means other students in the same grade at the national, district, school, or class level. Percentile ranks are also used to determine benchmark (cut-off) scores.
Period: The time between the start date of one screening period, and the start date of the next screening period.
Phonemic awareness: The ability to identify the smallest units of sound in words.
Phonics: The correspondence of specific sounds to certain letters and letter groups in alphabetic languages (e.g., English, Spanish)
Plan Development: Specific documentation that answers the questions “What is the goal?”, “What is the intervention plan?” and “How will progress towards the goal/plan be monitored?” For the latter two questions, documentation must include who, when, where, and how often.
Plan Implementation: Six documented activities that answer the question “Is the plan being implemented with fidelity?”
Plan Evaluation: Specific, documented activities using student progress monitoring data that answer the following questions:
- Is the magnitude of the problem reduced or eliminated?
- Is the plan being implemented with fidelity?
- Is the plan being implemented with adequate dosage?
- Were the costs/resources worth the improvement?
- Would we implement the same plan again?
- If yes, how would we improve it in the future?
PLC: Professional learning community. A specific model for school-based teams that focuses on developing teachers’ knowledge and skills for the purpose of improving student outcomes.
Poverty: Having less than a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions. Students in poverty often face additional challenges because they lack the time or money needed to invest in education.
Prevention model: A three-stage progression of activities that seek to prevent behavior, health, and learning problems as early as possible.
Primary prevention: Stage 1 of the prevention model. This stage includes steps taken to educate and treat all persons in a population before a problem develops.
Problem Analysis: A procedure using RIOT (Record Review, Interview, Observation, test) data across SCIL (Setting, Instruction, Curriculum, Learner) to answer the questions "why do we have this problem?" and "How do we fix it?"
Problem Identification: Specific, documented, data-based activities using multiple sources of data, that answer the question “Is there a problem?” and “Is it important to address?”
Problem-Solving: Decision-making to eliminate the difference between what is expected and what is occurring with respect to student learning using five sequential steps: Problem Identification, Problem Analysis, Plan Development, Plan Implementation, and Plan Evaluation.
Problem solving intervention: A type of school intervention that is individualized for a specific student based on his or her response to prior instruction.
Problem Solving Model: Five sequential steps, questions, and practices to foster data-based decision-making for designing and evaluating instruction that is well-matched to student learning needs. The five steps are Problem Identification, Problem Analysis, Plan Development, Plan Implementation, and Plan Evaluation.
Problem solving team: A school-wide team of teachers, specialists, and administrators that reviews individual and group student data to develop, implement, and evaluate improvements in student outcomes.
Program: Published materials developed for the purpose of teaching students specific knowledge and/or skills.
Progress Monitoring: The frequent assessment, usually weekly or bi-weekly, of students who are receiving additional instruction, in order to determine whether the additional instructional support is helping the student achieve a specific learning goal.
Prosody: The tone of voice, pacing, phrasing, and inflection of words while reading.
Psychometric: Relating to the theory and technique of applying objective measurement to psychological variables.
R
Rate of improvement (ROI): The numerical value of a student’s FastBridge score gain over time when calculated in weekly or monthly units.
Reading comprehension: Understanding the meaning of words, sentences, paragraphs and longer units of text while reading.
Reading fluency: The combination of accuracy, automaticity and prosody when reading connected text.
Reciprocal teaching: A specific type of peer tutoring for reading comprehension skills that involves having students work in pairs to practice and improve reading skills.
Replacement core: An instructional program used at the Tier 3 level that replaces the general education Tier 1 core program.
Risk: An indication of the likelihood a student will not pass state assessments at their grade level. Also appears in off-grade testing in relation to the grade being tested.
Risk factors: Specific events or situations that are associated with negative behavior, education, and health outcomes.
Risk: High Risk (!!): Appearing as two exclamation points after a student's score, High Risk indicates the student is at high risk of not passing state assessments at their grade level. In FastBridge, High Risk is usually considered the 15th percentile.
Risk: Low Risk: The absence of exclamation points (or the presence of a star, the symbol for College Pathways) indicates the student's score is above any indication of risk that the student will not pass state assessments.
Risk: Some Risk (!): Appearing as a single exclamation point after a student's score, Some Risk indicates the student is at some risk of of not passing state assessments at their grade level. In FastBridge, Some Risk is usually considered the 40th percentile.
ROI-Rate Of Improvement: A measure of student progress over a particular interval, usually weekly or monthly. ROI can be derived by dividing the change in score (ending test score minus starting test score) by the change in time (ending test date minus starting test date), and dividing the result by 7 (to determine weekly gain) or 30 (to determine monthly gain).
Roster: The list of all students currently enrolled in the district, and their assigned teachers and classrooms. May also refer to the Excel spreadsheet or .csv file used to import the roster.
Roster Upload: The manner in which batches of students are manually imported into FastBridge. Roster uploads must be done by a District Manager.
RTI: Response to intervention. RTI refers to the changes in a student’s academic skills in response to a specific intervention.
S
SAEBRS: 19-item computer-based teacher rating scale that includes items related to social, academic, and emotional behaviors. Available for grades K through 12.
Scaled Score: Used as the scoring metric for aReading and aMath, where scores are scaled to an average of 500 with a standard deviation of 50 across the range of K-12. Scaled scores are also used for creating composite scores in assessments, such as earlyReading and earlyMath, where multiple skills need to be weighted individually to create a valid composite. Scaled scores should be interpreted with reference to the Benchmarks and Norms.
School Manager: A FastBridge user account type. School Managers serve as system administrators by maintaining rosters and school level defaults, and managing user accounts for their school. School Managers have access to all school, grade and student data. For more information, see User Roles (Account Types).
Scientifically based: Materials and methods based on practices found to be effective in prior research but which have themselves not been validated in two or more experimental studies.
Screening: The administration of a reading, math or behavioral assessment for the purpose of identifying students who may benefit from additional instructional support, and to provide information for determining the optimal allocation of resources within the district or educational agency.
Screening Score: The score received on an assessment when used for screening.
Screening Period: A period of time, determined and set by a District or School Manager, during which screening scores are included in the calculation of local norms.
SD: Standard deviation. The average amount of variation in a given set of scores.
Seasonal score differences by percentile: Rates of typical improvement based on national norms and calculated from the difference between mean scores by percentile ranking. For example, the difference between the scores corresponding to the 50th percentile in the fall and winter is calculated and divided by the number of weeks or months between the scores.
Secondary prevention: Prevention efforts initiated at the first sign of a problem so that the problem is eliminated altogether.
Some risk: Students who do not respond to Tier 1 instruction according to reliable and valid assessments, and need targeted intervention to increase their rate of progress towards grade level learning targets. Approximately 15% of students. Indicated in FastBridge reports with one exclamation mark.
Specialist: A FastBridge user account type. Specialists can administer assessments to, and view data and reports on, any student in their assigned school(s). For more information, see User Roles (Account Types).
Special education: Instruction provided for a student who has been identified as having difficulty in school, having a disability, and requiring specialized instruction. In the United States, such services are provided according to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) 2004 and related state laws and regulations.
Stakeholder: Everyone who has something to gain or has some level of involvement in an MTSS. Stakeholders include students, parents, teachers, administrators, and other school staff.
Standards: Officially adopted learning goals for all students in a given school, district, or state.
Standards-based: Refers to assessments and instructional materials that are designed to incorporate the learning expectations included in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).
Standard protocol: A type of instruction or intervention that is provided to all students with the same type of need.
Standardized: (as in "standardized test") A test given the same way each time to each student.
STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics: A curriculum based on the idea of using an interdisciplinary approach to educating students in four specific disciplines: science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Strand: A subject matter context for teaching content goals.
Student: (as in "student login") A FastBridge user account type used as an alternative to Group Proctor access, which allows students to login and take assessments directly. Students cannot see scores or reports. For more information, see Managing Student Access.
Student growth percentiles: Estimates of the amount of typical weekly or monthly growth over time according to different starting scores. For example, the averaged difference between scores from fall to winter for all students who started with a score of 50.
Substrand: A skill-based context for teaching content goals.
Summative assessment: An assessment of learning administered at the end of a specified period of instruction (e.g., learning unit or grade level).
Sustainability: The extent to which an implemented initiative such as an MTSS can be continued into the future with success.
SWIS: School-Wide Information System. An Internet-based system for recording and tracking data related to PBIS.
T
TABE - Test of Adult Basic Education: A reading comprehension program that assesses literacy in adults.
Teacher/Classroom User: See "Classroom User".
Tertiary prevention: Prevention efforts applied well after the onset of problems or symptoms for the purpose to reducing the effects of the condition or problem over the lifespan.
Text-to-text: A measure of a reader’s understanding of individual words in relation to other words in a sentence or paragraph.
Text-to-passage: A reader’s understanding of individual words and sentences in relation to the main ideas in an entire reading passage.
Text-to-knowledge: A reader’s understanding of individual words, sentences, and paragraphs in relation to prior knowledge about the topics included in the reading passage.
Tier 1: (as in MTSS/Multi-Tier System of Supports"). See "MTSS - Multi-Tier System of Supports"
Tier 2: (as in MTSS/Multi-Tier System of Supports"). See "MTSS - Multi-Tier System of Supports"
Tier 2+: (as in MTSS/Multi-Tier System of Supports"). See "MTSS - Multi-Tier System of Supports"
Tier 3: (as in MTSS/Multi-Tier System of Supports"). See "MTSS - Multi-Tier System of Supports"
TIES - Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM: A data warehousing product, used in education, which accepts data from FastBridge by importing mapped fields.
TIPS: Team Initiated Problem Solving. This is a model for how to run problem-solving meetings that involves using a specific agenda format and information gathering process.
TJCC: A reference to Dr. Theodore J. Christ and Colleagues, the research team that developed FastBridge.
Treatment fidelity: The extent to which any given instruction or intervention is implemented faithfully, according to the program’s research-based directions. Treatment integrity is the preferred term.
Treatment integrity: The extent to which any given instruction or intervention is implemented completely and accurately, according to the program’s research-based directions.
Trend: The general direction of data points collected and graphed to show student performance during Tier 2 and Tier 2 interventions. In order to calculate a trend there must be at least 3 data points, but usually more are required to have a reliable trend.
Trendline: A line drawn through data points on a graph to show the general direction of performance. There are formulas for calculating trendlines (e.g., split-half) and computer programs can calculate them automatically.
Triage: A method for prioritizing treatment in relation to the level of individual need. This term is often used in medical settings but can be used in schools to determine which students need support at Tiers 1, 2, and 3.
U
Universal screening: A process of gathering academic and behavior data about all the students in a class, grade, school, or district in order to identify which students need additional assistance to meet learning goals.
Universal team: A school-based representative group that includes teachers, specialists, administrators, and sometimes parents that meets on a regular basis to develop, implement, and evaluate an MTSS, and to review schoolwide student data to improve practices and outcomes.
V
Vocabulary: The meaning attached to individual words.