For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms apply:

(1) "Assessment" means the gathering, organizing, and evaluation of information about student learning in order to monitor and measure the effectiveness of the instructional program.

(2) "Asynchronous" means not occurring at the same time. "Asynchronous" refers to content, instruction, and communication between participants (e.g., students and teachers) that occurs at different times, the period of which may vary by circumstance, (e.g., e-mail, threaded discussions, homework, message boards).

(3) "Benchmark" means expectations for a student's knowledge, skills, and abilities along a developmental continuum in each content area. That continuum is focused at three points: the end of grade 4, the end of grade 8, and upon graduation (grade 12).

(4) "Certification" means licensure of an educator/specialist, as issued by the state of Montana, based on completion of an approved teacher, administrator or specialist program of an accredited college/university. Certification includes grade level(s), endorsement(s) and classification.

(5) "Combined elementary-high school district" means an elementary district and a high school district which are combined for district administration purposes, including districts designated as "K-12 districts" pursuant to 20-6-701, MCA. Most town school districts in Montana would fit this category, i.e., Helena, Hamilton, Whitehall.

(6) "Content standard" means what all students should know, understand and be able to do in a specific content area, such as reading, mathematics, or social studies.

(7) "Deviation" means a citation of noncompliance with any given standard.

(8) "Distance learning" means instruction in which students and teachers are separated by time and/or location with synchronous or asynchronous content, instruction, and communication between student and teacher (e.g., correspondence courses, online learning, videoconferencing, streaming video).

(9) "Endorsement" means an official indication on a license of the subject area(s) and/or specialized program area(s) for which the holder of the license is authorized to practice in Montana accredited schools.

(10) "Independent elementary school district" means a district organized for the purpose of providing public education for all or any combination of grades kindergarten through 8.

(11) "Part-time" means not less than six hours in a school week.

(12) "Performance standard" means the specific expectations for performance in each content area at each of the three benchmarks. Performance standards define the quality of performance and describe the performance to be demonstrated.

(13) "Program area standards" means the subject matter Montana school districts are required to offer and the strategies and proven practices used to instruct. The program area standards include: communication arts, arts, health enhancement, mathematics, science, social studies, career and vocational/technical education, technology, workplace competencies, library media, world languages and school counseling.

(14) "Program delivery standards" means the conditions, practices and resources school districts are required to provide for all students to have educational opportunities to learn, develop and demonstrate learning to content and performance standards.

(15) "Online learning" means education activity in which instruction and content are delivered primarily via the internet. Online learning is a form of distance learning.

(16) "School administrator" means a person who is a part of the school's administrative or supervisory staff and who holds a class 3 license and is appropriately endorsed, or who is enrolled in a Board of Public Education approved administrator internship program under ARM 10.55.702 through 10.55.705.

(17) "Synchronous" means occurring at the same time. "Synchronous" refers to content, instruction, and communication between participants (e.g., students and teachers) that occurs at the same time even though they may be in different physical locations. For example, instruction in which students and teachers are online at the same time so that a question can be immediately answered (e.g., telephone calls, face-to-face meetings, physical classrooms, chat rooms, and videoconferencing).

(18) "Technology delivered learning" means instruction and content delivered via digital technologies (e.g., online, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or learning experiences that involve primarily the use of computers).