A
A-F School Grading System: Gives all schools and school districts In the state of Oklahoma a grade of A, B, C, D or F, similar to grades given to students.
Academic Credit: The unit of measurement an institution awards when the determined course or subject requirement(s) are fulfilled. (See Credit).
Academic Centers: See Education Enhancement Center.
Academically Disadvantaged: Individuals who score at or below the 25th percentile on a standardized achievement aptitude test or whose secondary school grades are below 2.0 on a 4.0 scale (where the grade “A” equals 4.0) or who fail to obtain minimal academic competencies. This definition does not include individuals with learning disabilities. 34 CFR Part 400 et al (Education Department General Administrative Regulations).
Accommodation Plan: A plan developed in cooperation with a qualified person with a disability (as defined by the ADA or Section 504) designed to address the reasonable accommodations needed for the individual to participate in a career and technology education program.
Accreditation: Status of public recognition that an accrediting agency grants an educational institution or program that meets the agency’s established standards and requirements.
Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education: Part of the American Occupational Therapy Association.
Accreditation Review Council on Education in Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting: Provides accreditation services under the auspices of the Commission on the Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs.
Accredited Program: A Career and Technology Education program approved by the ODCTE, the State Department of Education and/or other accrediting agencies for federal financial aid eligibility, state funding and/or licensure and certification.
Accrediting Agency: An agency that establishes operating standards for educational institutions and programs and that determines the extent to which the standards are met. Its findings are publicly announced.
ACT KeyTrain®: The complete interactive learning tool for career readiness skills. At its foundation is a targeted curriculum written specifically to help people master the applied workplace skills as defined by the WorkKeys® system.
ACT WorkKeys®: A nationally recognized job skills assessment system that helps employers select, hire, train, develop and retain a high-performance workforce. WorkKeys® is locally branded as Oklahoma's Career Readiness Certificate program.
ACT WorkKeys® Job Profiling: A service that offers a concrete way for businesses to analyze the skills needed for specific jobs and to describe those needs to job applicants. By comparing job profile information with individuals' scores on the WorkKeys® assessment, businesses have a tool for making reliable decisions about hiring, training and developing programs.
ACTE Region IV: The regional division of the Association for Career and Technical Education to which the Oklahoma Association for Career and Technical Education belongs. States in the region are Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arkansas and Oklahoma.
Ad Valorem Tax: A tax levied on the value of the taxed item. Local property taxes are generally ad valorem taxes. Based on property tax values of district, disbursed through county when tax revenues are received.
Adult Basic Education: A project offering services for adults including literacy and basic skills, GED prep, English as a second language, workplace education, work readiness and distance learning. The Oklahoma State Department of Education was previously responsible for ABE, but ODCTE took responsibility for ABE on July 1, 2014.
Adult and Career Development: Training delivered to the general public in which a majority of the students are not employees of a single sponsoring business, industry, organization or entity. This training is delivered at technology centers and includes career and professional development, upgrade and skill-specific training and continuing education.
Adult and Career Development Division: A division of the ODCTE that provides leadership and resources for technology centers that offer career and professional development, upgrade and skill specific training, continuing education and personal enrichment training opportunities.
Adult Basic Learning Examination: Similar to the Test of Adult Basic Education -- but not timed.
Adult Education Family Literacy Act: Federal law that can be found in Title II of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, signed by President Barack Obama in 2014. Part of AEFLA's state purpose is to assist adults with becoming literate, obtaining the knowledge and skills necessary for employment and self-sufficiency and obtaining the skills necessary to lead to sustainable improvements in the economic opportunities of their families.
Advance CTE: The Washington, D.C.-based professional society of the state and territory agency heads responsible for career technical education. The state directors are committed to leadership and results and high quality education at the secondary, postsecondary and adult levels. Founded in 1920. Formerly known as NASDCTE, the National Association of State Directors of Career and Technical Education.
AdvancED: Parent organization for the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement and the National Study of School Evaluation.
Advanced Media: A division at the ODCTE that provides technical assistance to improve the quality of career and technology education in Oklahoma by using appropriate instructional technologies and media to enhance the delivery of instruction. The staff provides products; services; assistance in the areas of video production, video conferencing and distance learning; graphics design; streaming media; and teacher and administrator training.
Advanced Placement: Credit and/or advanced standing in certain course sequences that postsecondary institutions may offer to high school students who have taken high-level courses and passed certain examinations.
Advanced Standing: Validation of competencies through coursework that the student has successfully completed, through an assessment that the student has acquired the required competencies in the workplace or through extracurricular activities that result in the student receiving credit for course completion.
Advanced Standing Agreement: An agreement between the State Regents for Higher Education, a technology center and a college or university to grant advanced placement.
Agency: Term used to refer to the ODCTE as a state agency.
Agricultural Business Management Services: An approved Business and Entrepreneurial Service that combines classroom experience with practical application to help Oklahomans improve the skills they use in managing farm, ranch and agricultural-based businesses.
Agricultural Education Division: An occupational division of the ODCTE that administers agricultural education programs that prepare students for careers in production agriculture, agribusiness and other emerging occupations.
Agricultural Education Programs: Course offerings that are designed to prepare students in eight major areas of study within the agriculture, food and natural resources career cluster: food products and processing; plant systems; animal systems; power, structural and technology systems; natural resources systems; environmental systems; agribusiness systems; and biotechnology systems.
All Aspects of an Industry: Includes, with respect to a particular industry that a student is preparing to enter, planning, management, finances, technical and production skills, underlying principles of technology, labor and community issues, health and safety and environmental issues.
Alternative Assessment: An approved substitute for a required assessment that aligns to a specific skills standards list and measures academic or career readiness.
American College Testing Program: Provides measures of educational development and readiness to pursue college-level coursework.
American Traffic Safety Services Association: An international trade association representing companies and individuals in the traffic control and roadway safety industry.
Apprentice Programs: A combination of school and work-based learning in a specific occupational area designed to lead to a related postsecondary program, entry-level job or registered apprenticeship program.
Appropriation: An amount received from or made available to an institution through an act of a legislative body.
Approved Career Major/Program: A career major/program approved to be delivered by a technology center or skills center.
Aptitude Tests: Tests designed to predict success in learning activities, particularly in skill areas in which little or no instruction has taken place. They are generally less dependent on school experience than achievement tests and measure a broader range of capabilities.
Articulation Agreement: The linking of two or more educational systems to help students make a smooth transition from one level to another without experiencing delays, duplication of courses or loss of credit.
Assessment: The use of standardized instruments, interviews or other means to determine factors that may contribute to the success of students in career and technology programs. These factors may include interest, aptitude, academic achievement, work experience, learning style and work values. Assessment may also be administered to determine progress attained by students during training or areas of need to address through remediation. See also Career Assessment or Competency Assessment.
Associate in Applied Science degree: Typically a credential requiring two years of full-time equivalent college work (at least 60 credit hours) that emphasizes a technical or occupational specialty and is designed to lead the student directly to employment. Unlike the Associate in Arts or Associate of Science degrees, the A.A.S. is not designed to transfer all courses to a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science. The courses may transfer to a technical baccalaureate degree program, however.
Association for Career and Technical Education: The national professional association for CareerTech educators. Formerly AVA.
Average Daily Attendance: The aggregate attendance of a school during a report period divided by the number of days school is in session during the period.
