Glossary of terms used on this site

Extension stands for batch file

Attendance/Child Accounting Professional Association 

Facilitates the distribution of critical information, related to the field of child accounting, by working closely with the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), the PA Auditor General’s Office and other related agencies.

Adult Affidavit Programs:

Particular, Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE)-approved, Career and Technical Education Information System (CATS)-registered programs including Registered Apprenticeship, Emergency Service and Other Occupational programs.  Student data is reported to PIMS to meet state and federal (Perkins IV) reporting requirements

Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State to State (state assessment of ELLs)

A large-scale language proficiency test for K-12 students that monitors student progress in English language proficiency on a yearly basis and marks when English language learners have attained full language proficiency.

Average Daily Attendance:

The total number of days of student attendance divided by the total number of days in the regular school year.

Average Daily Membership:

The total numbers of days enrolled (days present plus days absent) divided by the actual total number of student days in the regular school year

Alternative Education for Disruptive Youth:

A Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE)-approved program that provides a combination of intense, individual academic instruction and behavior modification counseling in an alternative setting to assist students in returning successfully to their regular classroom

Auditor General:

The chief fiscal officer.

As required by ESSA, PDE will use the Teacher Information Management System (TIMS) in conjunction with data collected in PIMS templates (Staff, Student, Course, Course Instructor, Student Course Enrollment) to determine if students are served by effective, experienced, and in-field educators.  Teacher certification data from TIMS will be used specifically to identify if the teacher is appropriately certified to teach the courses that are reported in the Course Instructor template.

Certification and Staffing Policy Guidelines (CSPG) can be found on the PDE website at https://www.education.pa.gov/Educators/Certification/Staffing%20Guidelines/Pages/default.aspx.  They provide guidance and clarification to educators regarding the issuance of professional certificates, the grade level and content scope of certificate subject areas, and the appropriate certificate for staffing professional positions in public schools.

Approved Private Schools

Private schools, licensed by the State Board of Private Academic Schools, that provide a free appropriate special education for students with severe disabilities and are eligible to receive funds from the school districts and/or the Commonwealth for the education of these students.

American Standard Code for Information Interchange

Administrative Unit Number (AUN)

A 9-digit number assigned by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) to uniquely identify entities such as school districts, intermediate units, career and technical centers, charter schools, non-public and private schools, higher education institutions, state juvenile correctional institutions, dioceses, private residential rehabilitation institutions, private driver training schools, and libraries

Area Vocational-Technical School:

A public school which provides vocational education to secondary school students, out-of-school youth and adults in a geographical area comprised and operated by one or more school districts and established under Article XVIII (Subdivision C) of the Public School Code of 1949

Adequate Yearly Progress

The area where PIMS data batches are processed and viewed.  As a batch is processed, each template is checked one at a time by dependencies for validity while it is being loaded into the PIMS warehouse. The DQE process happens before the batch processes.

Basic Education Circular:

A document that provides guidance from the Pennsylvania Department of Education relating to the Pennsylvania Public School Code of 1949, State Board of Education Regulations and Standards, and federal law and regulations.

Bring Your Own Device

Bring Your Own Technology

Career and Technical Education Information System

The two-part system used by Career and Technical Education for the purpose of satisfying Federal requirements.  The system accepts updates from school districts, area vocational technical schools, and charter schools for career/technical education programs.  It also collects data on individual students enrolled in approved career/technical education programs.

Classroom Diagnostic Tools

A set of online assessments, divided by content area, designed to provide diagnostic information in order to guide instruction and remediation.

An independent public school designed by local citizens, established and operated under a charter from the local board of school directors.

An individual who is employed as a school district superintendent, an executive director of an intermediate unit or a chief school administrator of an area vocational-technical school or career technology centers

The collection of attendance and membership data used in the calculation of state subsidies, including Basic Education Funding, Special Education Funding, Secondary Career and Technical Education Subsidy, and Tuition for Orphan's subsidy. Data from this realm is also used in the calculation of each Local Education Agency’s (LEA) tuition rate.

A PIMS application utilized by local education agency staff in order to produce reports based on uploaded PIMS data. These reports vary relating to areas such as validation, summary, and error. COGNOS is where accuracy certification statement (ACS) reports are generated

Elementary/Secondary collection calendar including Collection Windows, Snapshot Dates, Correction Windows, and ACS Due Date

Comma-separated values: comma-delimited file

Career and Technology Center

A public school which provides vocational education to secondary school students, out-of-school youth and adults in a geographical area comprised and operated by one or more school districts and established under Article XVIII (Subdivision C) of the Public School Code of 1949

Career and Technical Education

A program of study that involves a multiyear sequence of courses that integrates core academic knowledge with technical and occupational knowledge to provide students with a pathway to postsecondary education and careers.

A quality control discipline that encompasses the people, processes and information technology to create consistent and proper handling of data.