NBPTS ECYA/ENS key terms

The IDEA eligibility requirement that a student's disability measurably interferes with learning or school functioning before special education services are provided; the team documents this with assessment data and classroom evidence.

An eligibility category for young children who lag significantly behind peers in physical, cognitive, communication, social-emotional, or adaptive skills, allowing services before a specific disability label is assigned.

A student who is both gifted and has a disability; strengths can mask the disability and the disability can mask giftedness, so evaluation must deliberately probe both areas.

The set of mental processes that manage planning, organization, working memory, impulse control, and shifting attention; weaknesses appear as lost materials, poor time management, and difficulty starting or finishing tasks.

Everyday skills needed to function independently and meet social expectations, such as self-care, communication, safety, and social judgment; measured through rating scales and interviews with caregivers and teachers.

The capacity to make choices, set goals, and act on one's own behalf; developed through choice-making, self-advocacy, and goal-setting practice and treated as central to transition planning.

A test scored by comparing a student's performance with that of a representative same-age peer group and reported as standard scores or percentile ranks; strong for documenting delay, limited for guiding daily instruction.

A measure that compares a student's performance to a defined standard or skill sequence rather than to other students, showing precisely which skills the learner has and has not mastered.

The amount of score fluctuation expected from imperfect test reliability; used to build confidence intervals around a score so teams avoid overinterpreting small differences between results.

Brief, timed, standardized probes of basic academic skills, such as words read correctly or digits computed correctly, given repeatedly to show growth and judge whether instruction is working.

Frequent, repeated measurement of a student's skill growth against a goal line, used to adjust instruction or intervention rather than to determine eligibility for services.

A school-wide framework that layers increasingly intensive academic and behavioral supports, uses screening and progress data to move students among tiers, and can inform a special education referral.

Accommodations change how a student accesses a test, such as extra time or read-aloud, without changing what is measured; modifications change content or expectations and may affect the standard or credential earned.

The IEP section describing a student's current strengths, needs, and baseline data, which anchors annual goals, services, and accommodations; it must be specific and measurable rather than general.

Teacher-directed instruction that states the objective, models the skill, guides practice with feedback, and moves toward independent application; a strong evidence base exists for students with disabilities.

Breaking a complex skill into smaller ordered steps that are taught, modeled, and reinforced one at a time, with data collected on each step to track mastery.

Temporary supports such as prompts, models, and cues that let a student succeed at a task just beyond current ability, then are gradually faded as competence grows.

A planning framework that builds multiple means of engagement, representation, and action or expression into lessons from the start, so varied learners gain access without after-the-fact retrofitting.

Any device, software, or service that increases, maintains, or improves a student's functional performance; the IEP team must consider it for every student and provide it when needed.

Systems other than speech used to express messages, from picture boards and switches to speech-generating devices and apps; success depends on communication partners modeling and responding consistently.

A general and a special educator sharing a classroom, planning, and instructional responsibility for all students; it works when both plan together and vary arrangements rather than one acting as an aide.

The IEP process, beginning by the age required by law, that builds measurable postsecondary goals for education, employment, and independent living and identifies the services and experiences needed to reach them.

A proactive, multi-tiered approach to behavior that teaches and reinforces expected behaviors, uses data to identify problems, and reserves consequences for the smallest tier of students.

A structured process of observing, interviewing, and analyzing antecedents, behaviors, and consequences to identify the function a behavior serves, which then drives the intervention plan.

A written plan based on functional assessment data that specifies prevention strategies, replacement skills to teach, and responses to problem behavior; it becomes part of the IEP when behavior impedes learning.

The IDEA requirement that students with disabilities learn alongside peers without disabilities to the maximum appropriate extent, with removal only when supplementary aids and services cannot support success.

Planned teaching of specific social behaviors such as turn taking, requesting help, and reading social cues, using modeling, rehearsal, feedback, and practice in real settings.

Approaches that recognize how exposure to adverse experiences affects learning, behavior, and relationships, emphasizing safety, predictability, choice, and connection rather than punishment or escalation.

Working with families as full partners, respecting their priorities, culture, and expertise about their child, and shaping services around family routines rather than only school convenience.

An ongoing process in which educators examine their own cultural assumptions, learn the family's perspective, and negotiate shared goals so that services honor the family's values and expectations.

A voluntary problem-solving partnership in which a specialist and a general educator jointly design and evaluate interventions while the classroom teacher keeps primary responsibility for instruction.

A required written statement to parents explaining any proposed or refused change in identification, evaluation, placement, or services, the reasons for it, and the information relied upon.

A facilitated planning process that places the student's own preferences, strengths, and goals at the center and builds a support team and concrete action steps around that vision.

The IDEA guarantee of special education and related services designed to meet a student's individual needs, provided at public expense, at no cost to the family, and consistent with the IEP.

The school system's duty to identify, locate, and evaluate every child in the district who may need special education, including children who are homeless, highly mobile, or enrolled privately.

A required team review, triggered by certain disciplinary removals, that asks whether the misconduct was caused by or directly related to the student's disability or to a failure to implement the IEP.

Formal procedural protections that give parents and schools a way to resolve disagreements about identification, evaluation, placement, or services, including complaint, mediation, and impartial hearing options.

Instructional or behavioral strategies supported by high-quality research showing meaningful effects for a defined population; educators are expected to select such practices and implement them with fidelity.

The habit of systematically examining one's own teaching decisions and student outcomes, using data, observation, and feedback to revise instruction and pursue continuous professional growth.

The ethical and legal duty to protect student records and share information only with those who have a legitimate educational interest or with documented parent consent.