BIA/OIEP: The Office of Indian Education Programs (OIEP) is a service organization that is a part of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), an agency within the Department of the Interior. OIEP is devoted to providing quality education opportunities for American Indian people. OIEP's mission is to serve children and their families from birth through life, working in partnership with Indian tribes, families, communities and American Indian education organizations. The OIEP fulfills its mission through its organization located in Washington, D.C. as well as in 25 offices throughout the United States. The 185 elementary and secondary schools funded by the federal government provide an education program to 50,000 students from birth through grade 12. The Office of Indian Education Programs also operates two colleges and funds 25 colleges operated by tribes and tribal organizations.

Criterion-referenced tests (also CRTs): An assessment, often standardized, in which every item is directly aligned to an educational standard or objective. The assessment is designed to determine which objectives the student has mastered.

CRTs    see Criterion-referenced tests

Formative evaluation: An evaluation which measures student learning in order to identify how well they are learning or how much of the subject matter they have mastered in order to help them learn more or to help the teacher to improve ongoing instruction is formative. Formative evaluations occur as an activity or program is being implemented. The outcome data provided by formative evaluations suggest whether progress is being made and allow for adjustments and improvements to be made along the way.

Grade equivalent score: A score on a scale developed to indicate the school grade consistent with an average chronological age, mental age, or test score of other students. Grade equivalent scores are not on a scale of equal intervals and cannot be added, subtracted, or averaged across test levels. A grade equivalent score of 8.6 represents a score that is average for a group in the sixth month of grade eight.

NCE    see Normal curve equivalent

No Child Left Behind Act: The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 was signed into effect in January 2002. The Act aims to help close the achievement gap between disadvantaged and minority students and their peers. It is based on four basic principles: stronger accountability for results, increased flexibility and local control, expanded options for parents, and an emphasis on teaching methods that have been proven to work.

Norm-referenced tests (also NRTs): A standardized assessment in which all students perform under the same conditions. This type of assessment compares a student or group of students with a specified reference, or "norm" group. Usually, the norm group consists of other students of the same grade level and age.

Normal curve equivalent (also NCE): NCE scores are specifically intended for program evaluation. NCEs are represented on a scale of 1 - 99. This scale coincides with a percentile rank scale at 1, 50, and 99. Unlike percentile rank scores, the interval between scores is equal. This means that you can average NCE scores to compare groups of students or schools. Normal curve equivalents are also useful for comparisons between different tests.

NRTs    see Norm-referenced tests

Percentile: One of 99 scores that effectively divide a ranked distribution into groups, each of which contains 1/100 of the scores.

Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) cycle: A four-step process for quality improvement that often represents the continuous improvement process. In the first step (plan), a plan to effect improvement is developed. In the second step (do), the plan is carried out. In the third step (study), the effects of the plan are observed. In the last step (act), the results are studied to determine what was learned and to make decisions about moving forward.

Scaled score: Scores on a single scale with intervals of equal size. The scale can be applied to all groups taking an assessment, making it possible to compare scores from different groups of test-takers. Scaled scores can be added, subtracted, and averaged across test levels. Scaled scores allow for comparisons among test-takers, comparisons of individual scores to group scores, or comparisons of pre- and post-test results.

Summative evaluation: An evaluation which tests students' performance to determine students' final overall assimilation of course material and/or overall instructional method effectiveness is summative. Summative evaluations are performed as an activity or program is completed, such as the academic school year. The outcome data they provide help decision-makers consider the program's overall merit based on what was accomplished, the positive or negative consequences, and the final results.