Section 50.30  Definitions

As used in this Part: 

"Adaptive conditional measurement model" means a measurement model used to analyze assessment data to determine student growth that consists of at least a collection of baseline data that is used to determine student growth expectations for all students or for individual and/or groups of students and the recording of student outcomes in comparison to the growth expectations identified.

"Assessment" means any instrument that measures a student's acquisition of specific knowledge and skills.  Assessments used in the evaluation of teachers, principals, and assistant principals shall be aligned to one or more instructional areas articulated in the State Goals for Learning and Learning Standards (see 23 Ill. Adm. Code 1.Appendix D) or Illinois Early Learning and Development Standards − Children Age 3 to Kindergarten Enrollment Age (see 23 Ill. Adm. Code 235.Appendix A), as applicable.  For the purposes of this Part, assessments will be defined as the following types.

"Type I assessment" means a reliable assessment that measures a certain group or subset of students in the same manner with the same potential assessment items, is scored by a non-district entity, and is administered either statewide or beyond Illinois.  Examples include assessments available from the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), Scantron Performance Series, Star Reading Enterprise, College Board's SAT, Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate examinations, or ACT's EPAS^® (i.e., Educational Planning and Assessment System). 

"Type II assessment" means any assessment developed or adopted and approved for use by the school district and intended to be used on a districtwide basis by all teachers in a given grade, course, or subject area.  Examples include collaboratively developed common assessments, curriculum tests, and assessments designed by textbook publishers. 

"Type III assessment" means any assessment that is rigorous, that is aligned to the course's curriculum, and that the qualified evaluator and teacher determine measures student learning in that course.  Examples include teacher-created assessments, assessments designed by textbook publishers, student work samples or portfolios, assessments of student performance, and assessments designed by staff who are subject or grade-level experts that are administered commonly across a given grade or subject.  A Type I or Type II assessment may qualify as a Type III assessment if it aligns to the curriculum being taught and measures student learning in that subject area (see Section 50.110(b)(2)).

"Assistant principal" means an administrative employee of the school district who is required to hold a professional educator license issued in accordance with Article 21B of the School Code [105 ILCS 5] endorsed for either general administrative or principal, and who is assigned to assist the principal with duties in the overall administration of the school. 

"Formal observation" means a specific window of time that is scheduled with the teacher, principal, or assistant principal for the qualified evaluator, at any point during that window of time, to directly observe professional practices in the classroom or in the school.  (Also see Sections 50.120(c) and 50.320(c).)

"Growth expectation" means the outcome that students are expected to achieve by the end of the instructional period and includes consideration of a starting level of achievement already acquired and determination of an ending goal for the level of achievement to be reached.

"Informal observation" means observations of a teacher, principal, or assistant principal by a qualified evaluator that are not announced in advance of the observation and not subject to a minimum time requirement.

"Interval of instruction" means the period of time during which two or more assessment scores are analyzed for the purpose of identifying a change in a student's knowledge or skills.

"Joint committee" means a committee composed of equal representation selected by the district and its teachers or, when applicable, the exclusive bargaining representative of its teachers, which shall have the duties set forth in this Part regarding the establishment of a performance evaluation plan that incorporates data and indicators of student growth as a significant factor in rating teacher performance.  (Section 24A-4 of the School Code)

"Measurement model" means the manner in which two or more assessment scores are analyzed for the purpose of identifying a change in a student's knowledge or skills over time. 

"Performance evaluation plan" means a plan to evaluate a teacher, principal, or assistant principal that includes data and indicators on student growth as a significant factor in judging performance, measures the individual's professional practice, and meets the requirements of Article 24A of the School Code and this Part.

"Performance evaluation rating" means the final rating of a teacher's, principal's, or assistant principal's performance, using the rating levels required by Sections 24A-5(e), 34-8, and 34-85c of the School Code, that includes consideration of both data and indicators of student growth, when applicable under Section 24A-2.5 of the School Code and Section 50.20, and professional practice.

"Qualified evaluator" shall have the meaning set forth in Section 24A-2.5 or 24A-15 of the School Code and shall be an individual who has completed the prequalification process required under Section 24A-3 of the School Code or Subpart E, as applicable, and successfully passed the State-developed assessments specific to evaluation of teachers or principals and assistant principals.  Each qualified evaluator shall maintain qualification by completing the retraining required under Section 24A-3 of the School Code or Subpart E, as applicable.

"School Code" means 105 ILCS 5.

"State performance evaluation model" means those components of an evaluation plan that address data and indicators of student growth that a school district is required to use in the event that its joint committee fails to reach agreement pursuant to Section 24A-4(b) of the School Code.

"Student growth" means a demonstrable change in a student's or group of students' knowledge or skills, as evidenced by gain and/or attainment on two or more assessments, between two or more points in time.

"Student learning objective process" or "SLO process" means a process for organizing evidence of student growth over a defined period of time that addresses learning goals that are measurable and specific to the skills or content being taught and the grade level of the students being assessed, and are used to inform and differentiate instruction to ensure student success.

"Student learning objectives" or "SLO" consists of a learning goal, assessment and procedures to measure that goal, and growth expectation.

"Teacher" means full-time or part-time professional employees of the school district who are required to hold a professional educator license endorsed for a teaching field issued in accordance with Article 21B of the School Code.  For the purposes of the requirements specific to student growth outlined in Article 24A of the School Code and this Part, "teacher" shall not include any individual who holds a professional educator license endorsed for school support personnel issued under Article 21B of the School Code and is assigned to an area designated as requiring this endorsement, including but not limited to school counselor, school psychologist, nonteaching school speech and language pathologist, school nurse, school social worker, or school marriage and family counselor.

(Source:  Amended at 48 Ill. Reg. 8582, effective May 29, 2024)