Glossary of terms used on this site

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