Accountability: refers to an individual or group of individuals taking responsibility for the performance of students on achievement measures or other types of educational outcomes (e.g. dropout rates.) (NCEO, 2000).

Alternate Assessment: an assessment that is different from the one administered to most students. It is best viewed as the "process" for collecting information about what a student knows and can do. The majority of students participate in statewide assessments, some by using accommodations. Some students, however, are unable to take the test even with accommodation. For these students, a state must design an alternate way of determining their learning progress. For these students, the state must design an alternate way of determining learning. (Massanari, Carol B.,1999)

Accommodation: an adjustment, change, or adaptation made to an assessment or the process of administering an assessment to students with special needs. This term generally refers to changes that do not significantly alter what the test measures. It results from a student need and it is not intended to give the student an unfair advantage. All accommodations must be identified in the student’s IEP (CEC and the Learning Network 2000-2001).

Benchmarks: are statements of what all students should know and be able to do in a content area by the end of grade levels 4,8, and 12 (NMSDE).

Content Standards: are broad descriptions of knowledge and skills students should acquire in a particular subject area (NMSDE).

Criterion-Referenced Test: a test that is designed to provide information on the specific knowledge or skills possessed by a student. Such tests are designed to measure the objectives of instruction, skill levels, or areas of knowledge. Their scores have meaning in terms of what the student knows and can do, rather than in their relation to the scores made by some comparison to a norm group (Tuckman, B, 1986).

Functional Tasks: skills used in everyday life or that prepare students for life after graduation. These skills include those required for personal maintenance and development, homemaking, and community life, work and career, recreational activities and travel within the community (Smith, D.D., 1998).

High Stakes Assessment: state and or district-wide tests that have important consequences for students, staff, or schools (CEC and the Learning Network 2000-2001).

Large Scale Assessments: these assessments show how students are performing against state standards or national norms, and to hold school districts accountable for student performance (CEC and the Learning Network 2000-2001).

Norm-referenced Test: a test designed to provide information on the performance of test takers relative to one another. It measures basic concepts and skills commonly taught in schools throughout the country. These tests are not designed as precise measures of any given curriculum or single instructional program. The results provide information that compares a student’s achievement with that of a representative national sample (Tuckman, B. 1986).

Performance-based Assessment: a task that enables a student to demonstrate abilities to meet objectives or standards (Campbell, Melenyzer, Nettles, and Wyman, 2000).

Rubric: a set of criteria and a scoring scale that is used to assess and evaluate students' work (Campbell, Melenyzer, Nettles, and Wyman, 2000).

Standardized Test: a type of test that is always administered and scored in the same way. These tests have norms reflecting a larger population (usually these ate age or grade based norms reflecting the performance of children throughout the country on the same tests.