SLPS Competitive Exam key terms

The practice of a school leader focusing directly on teaching quality by setting learning goals, observing instruction, giving feedback, and aligning resources and professional learning to improve classroom practice.

A leadership approach that motivates staff through a shared vision, individual support, intellectual stimulation, and high expectations, aiming to raise commitment beyond simple compliance with rules.

Deliberately spreading leadership responsibilities across teachers, teams, and administrators so that expertise, not only formal title, drives decisions about instruction and school improvement.

A future picture of student success that staff, families, and students have helped shape and can state in common, giving coherence to goals, decisions, and daily priorities.

A short statement of the school's central purpose plus the few guiding beliefs that shape behavior, used to test whether programs, policies, and resource choices fit the school's identity.

The learned pattern of norms, rituals, symbols, and expectations that shapes how staff and students treat one another and what the school community treats as normal and important.

A climate in which staff and students can ask questions, admit mistakes, and raise concerns without fear of embarrassment or punishment, which supports learning and honest data conversations.

Ensuring that written standards, taught lessons, classroom assessments, and district or state tests address the same knowledge and skills at the same level of cognitive demand.

A documented, ongoing record of what is actually taught, when, and for how long in each grade or course, used to find gaps, overlaps, and sequencing problems across the school.

Planning and teaching that begins with clearly stated academic standards, makes the learning target visible to students, and judges progress against those standards rather than against peer ranking.

A student-friendly statement of what learners should know or be able to do by the end of a lesson, written so students can monitor their own progress toward it.

Adjusting content, process, product, or environment based on readiness, interest, and learning profile so that each student works at an appropriate level of challenge within the same essential standard.

A proactive planning framework that builds multiple means of engagement, representation, and action or expression into lessons so varied learners can access the same curriculum without separate retrofits.

Temporary supports, such as models, prompts, or partially worked examples, that let a learner succeed on a task just beyond current ability and are gradually removed as competence grows.

The range between what a learner can do alone and what the learner can do with guidance from a more capable peer or adult, marking where instruction is most productive.

Ongoing checks during learning, such as questioning, exit tickets, or drafts, whose purpose is to adjust teaching and give feedback rather than to assign a final grade.

An evaluation at the end of a unit, term, or course that measures how much learning has occurred against standards, typically used for reporting, placement, or accountability decisions.

The degree to which an assessment measures what it claims to measure and supports the specific inferences and decisions the school intends to make from the scores.

The consistency of assessment results across raters, occasions, and equivalent forms, meaning that similar performance would produce similar scores rather than fluctuating by chance.

The extent to which two or more scorers assign the same score to the same student work, usually improved by shared rubrics, anchor papers, and calibration sessions.

A scoring guide that lists criteria and describes levels of quality, making expectations transparent to students and helping teachers score complex work consistently.

A cycle in which educators gather relevant student data, analyze patterns, form a hypothesis, choose an instructional response, and then check whether the response worked.

A small group of teachers who meet on a regular schedule to examine common assessment results, identify which students need what, and commit to specific instructional changes before the next cycle.

A recurring sequence in which information about performance returns to the learner or teacher in time to change the next attempt, closing the gap between current and desired performance.

An approach in which students must demonstrate a defined level of competence before moving on, with additional time and support provided for those who have not yet met the standard.

A layered framework that provides universal instruction for all students, targeted interventions for some, and intensive individualized support for a few, with progress monitored at each tier.

A prevention model that uses screening, research-based interventions of increasing intensity, and frequent progress monitoring to identify and support struggling learners early.

Frequent, brief measurement of a specific skill to show whether an intervention is working and to inform decisions about continuing, changing, or ending support.

A written, multi-year plan that identifies priority needs from data, sets measurable goals, names strategies and owners, and specifies how progress will be monitored and reported.

The process of distributing staff time, money, materials, and space in line with instructional priorities, including the trade-offs a leader must explain when needs exceed available resources.

The recurring sequence of planning, drafting, approving, monitoring, and reporting on a school's budget, with controls that ensure spending stays within authorized categories and totals.

Procedures such as separation of duties, approvals, reconciliations, and documentation that safeguard funds and property and reduce the risk of error or misuse.

A team of educators who meet regularly to examine evidence of student learning, share practice, and hold themselves collectively accountable for results rather than working in isolation.

A brief, focused classroom visit using a common look-for protocol to gather patterns of practice across many classrooms, usually for feedback and school-wide improvement rather than evaluation.

A cycle of pre-conference, classroom observation, and post-conference feedback used to improve a teacher's practice, distinct from formal personnel evaluation and discipline.

Confidential, non-evaluative support in which a coach and teacher set a goal, try strategies in the classroom, and reflect on evidence together over time.

Principles describing how adults learn best, including relevance to immediate problems, respect for experience, self-direction, and opportunities to apply and reflect on new practice.

Building respectful, two-way relationships with caregivers and community partners so that families contribute to decisions and support learning at home and in the neighborhood.

Contact between school and home that invites response and input, using multiple languages and channels, rather than one-way announcements that only transmit information outward.

Recognizing and using students' cultural backgrounds, languages, and experiences as assets in curriculum, communication, and relationships, while examining one's own biases.

A systematic review of policies, programs, and outcome data to find where groups of students receive unequal access, treatment, or results, followed by targeted corrective action.

Differences in access to qualified teachers, rigorous courses, materials, and enrichment that help explain disparities in achievement among student groups.

A persistent difference in average academic outcomes between groups of students, often reported by income, race, language, or disability status, and used to target improvement efforts.

Unintended associations that influence quick judgments about students or families, which can shape discipline, referral, and placement decisions unless staff examine them deliberately.

The over- or under-representation of a student group in categories such as special education, gifted programs, suspensions, or advanced courses relative to its share of enrollment.

A reasoned process for resolving dilemmas by identifying stakeholders, relevant duties and rules, likely consequences, and the option that best respects honesty, fairness, and student welfare.

A situation in which a staff member's personal, financial, or family interest could improperly influence a school decision, requiring disclosure, recusal, or another safeguard.

The procedural protections owed before a school takes action affecting a person's rights or liberty, such as notice, a chance to respond, and an impartial decision maker.

The legally required rights and steps that protect students with disabilities and their families during identification, placement, discipline, and dispute resolution under special education law.

A written plan for a student eligible for special education that states present levels, measurable goals, services, accommodations, and placement, reviewed at least annually by a team.

The legal requirement that a student with a disability be educated with peers without disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate, with removal only when supports cannot make inclusion successful.

A change in how a student accesses instruction or assessment, such as extra time or a reader, that removes a barrier without altering the content or standard being measured.

Approaches that repair harm through dialogue, accountability, and community building instead of relying mainly on punishment, often using circles and structured conferences.

Removal of a student from the classroom or school through suspension or expulsion, which research links to lost instruction and higher dropout risk when overused.

A graduated response to misconduct that starts with the least severe appropriate consequence, escalates for repeated or serious behavior, and documents each step fairly.

A written set of protocols assigning roles, communication channels, evacuation or lockdown actions, and recovery steps for emergencies, practiced through regular drills and after-action reviews.

The comprehensive school document covering prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery for hazards, coordinated with district and local emergency agencies.

A discussion-based drill in which a team talks through a simulated emergency scenario to test decisions, roles, and communication before a real incident occurs.

Recognizing the prevalence of trauma and responding with safety, predictability, choice, and supportive relationships, while avoiding practices that re-traumatize students.

A multidisciplinary group that reviews reported concerning behavior, distinguishes genuine risk from other needs, and arranges supports or interventions before violence occurs.