Glossary

South Carolina utilizes the expanded Assisting, Developing, and Evaluating Professional Teaching (ADEPT) formal evaluation system that includes multiple sources of evidence that reflect a teacher’s performance relative to each of the South Carolina Teaching Standards (SCTS) Indicators. At a minimum, the evidence incorporates lesson plans, classroom observations, reflections on instruction and student learning, a professional review, and the Student Learning Objective (SLO) and professional growth and development plan.

Administrative Support

A resource which refers to the degree that teachers believe their work is supported and valued by the administrative team at their school.

Amount of Paperwork and Routine Duties

A demand which refers to the degree that teachers believe they have adequate time to complete the day-to-day tasks of their work.

Analysis of Variance

ANOVA is used when examining the difference between multiple categories on a variable of interest. Before conducting ANOVAs, SC TEACHER examines the assumptions required for the analysis, including normality and homogeneity of variances.

Analysis of Variance

Autonomy in Classroom

A resource which refers to the degree that teachers believe they can use their judgement when making instructional and classroom management decisions in their own classroom.

Availability of Resources

A resource which refers to the degree that teachers perceive they have access to the learning materials and opportunities for professional development to support their teaching.

City-Large

City-Large is a territory inside an urbanized area and inside a Principal City with a population of 250,000 or more.

City-Midsize

City-Midsize is a territory inside an urbanized area and inside a Principal City with a population of less than 250,000 and greater than or equal to 100,000.

City-Small

City-Small is a territory inside an urbanized area and inside a Principal City with a population of less than 100,000.

Classroom Teacher

SC TEACHER defines a classroom teacher as SC Educator positions held by teachers that include special education (itinerant, self-contained, and resource), pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, classroom, and retired teachers.

Communication with Principal

A resource which refers to the degree of respect and appreciation teachers perceive from the principal at their school.

Cooperation and Recognition Among Staff

A resource which refers to the degree of respect, support, and appreciation teachers perceive from their colleagues at their school.

Correlation

Correlation values range from a low of 0 to a high of 1, with the sign of the coefficient (positive or negative) indicating the direction of the relationship. Since SC TEACHER often utilizes large sample size, we focus on values of .30 or higher (irrespective of the direction of the relationship), demonstrating an important relationship between the given factors in South Carolina.

Demands

Aspects of the job that require sustained effort. In the teaching context, demands encountered by teachers may be low levels of student engagement, student misbehavior, or limited timed for planning.

Effect Size

Effect size quantifies the magnitude of the significant difference observed by the statistical test. For ANOVAs, Partial η2 is calculated to measure the magnitude of the overall differences. Cohen (1988) defined effect sizes as small (η2 = .01), medium effect (η2 = .06), and large (η2 = .14).

High Poverty Schools

Teachers at schools in the upper 25% of South Carolina schools in terms of PIP (approximately 83 to 100) are categorized as teaching in high-poverty schools by SC TEACHER.

Influence over School Policy and Decision Making

A resource which refers to the degree that teachers perceive their input is heard and included in decisions made about policies at their school.

Job Demands-Resources Model

The Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model is an established framework used to understand how work demands and resources impact employee well-being and job performance. Under the JD-R framework, two overarching areas affect working conditions: 1) Demands placed upon employees due to the job and 2) Resources that employees may access through their job.

Job Satisfaction

The degree to which teachers believe they are making a difference in the lives of students they teach, enjoy their present teaching job, intend to remain in the profession for the foreseeable future, and would choose teaching again as their career.

Low Poverty Schools

Teachers at schools in the lower 25% of South Carolina schools in terms of PIP (approximately 8 to 55) are categorized as teaching in low-poverty schools by SC TEACHER.

Mentor Proximity

A resource which refers to the proximity of the assigned mentor and the teacher that can include the same building, content area, and/or grade level.

Mentor Support for Teaching

A resource which refers to the degree that teachers perceive the actions of their assigned mentor helped the teacher improve their instructional practices.

Mentor Support Outside of Teaching

A resource which refers to the degree that teachers perceive the actions of their assigned mentor helped them understand and adjust to the teaching profession.

Moderate Poverty Schools

Teachers at schools in the middle (25% - 75% of PIP rankings, approximately 55 to 83) are categorized as teaching at moderate-poverty schools by SC TEACHER.

Parent Support

A resource which refers to the degree of respect and support teachers perceive from the parents of the students in their classroom.

Pupils-in-Poverty

The South Carolina Department of Education classifies a child as living in poverty if the student is enrolled in Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and/or enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or in the foster system. The percentage of pupils-in-poverty (PIP) at the school level is identified by the South Carolina Department of Education.

Resources

Aspects of the job that assist in achieving work goals, reduce job demands, and/or promote personal development. For teachers, resources may include autonomy in choosing content and activities to teach, access to a=professional development opportunities, and administrative support.

Rural

Rural encompasses all population, housing, and territory not included within an urban area.

Rural-Distant

Rural-Distant is a Census-defined rural territory that is more than 5 miles but less than 25 miles from an urbanized area, as well as a rural territory that is more than 2.5 miles but less than 10 miles from an urban cluster.

Rural-Fringe

Rural-Fringe is a Census-defined rural territory that is less than or equal to 5 miles from an urbanized area, as well as a rural territory that is less than or equal to 2.5 miles from an urban cluster.

Rural-Remote

Rural-Remote is a Census-defined rural territory that is more than 25 miles from an urbanized area and is also more than 10 miles from an urban cluster.

School Organizational Level

South Carolina’s public schools are organized into levels, largely according to the grade level(s) taught in the schools. The organizational level of the school was determined according to the guidelines used in the South Carolina annual School Accountability Manual. Examples include elementary, middle school, high school, preschool/child development center, virtual school, charter school, and career and technology schools, and schools of combined levels.

SCTS 4.0 Rubric

The SCTS 4.0 rubric is based on the performance standards designed and validated by the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET). The SCTS 4.0 includes four domains: instruction, planning, environment, and professionalism. There are 12 indicators of instruction, three indicators of planning, four indicators of environment, and four indicators of professionalism. Each indicator is rated using a 4-point scale (1 - Unsatisfactory; 2 - Needs Improvement; 3 - Proficient; 4 - Exemplary).

Self-Efficacy

Teachers' beliefs that they can effectively perform the various duties inherent in teaching.

Student Behavior

A demand which refers to the degree that teachers believe that some student behaviors interfere with the teacher's ability to do their job well

Student Engagement

A demand which refers to the degree that teachers believe their students value and actively participate in their education.

Student Health and Safety

A demand which refers to the degree that teachers feel prepared to recognize the physical and mental health issues facing their students.

Suburban-Large

Suburban-Large is a territory inside an urbanized area and outside a Principal City with a population of 250,000 or more.

Suburban-Midsize

Suburban- Midsize is a territory inside an urbanized area and outside a Principal City with a population of less than 250,000 and greater than or equal to 100,000.

Suburban-Small

Suburban-Small is a territory inside an urbanized area and outside a Principal City with a population of less than 100,000.

Teacher Retention

Teacher retention can be defined as the classroom teacher remaining in the same position at the school, in the district, in the state, or within the profession.

Teacher School Climate Survey

The School Climate Survey for teachers is administered annually and includes 72 items measuring many aspects of the school environment. Three “summative” items summarizing the three main survey sections are included on the School Report Card. Recently, the Education Oversight Committee amended the school accountability formula to include information from the teacher (and student) climate surveys as part of a school’s yearly accountability score. The School Climate Survey asks teachers to infer perceptions about a larger group (e.g., "Students at my school are motivated and interested in learning").

Teacher Working Conditions Survey

A survey developed and administered by SC TEACHER that is designed to provide stakeholders across South Carolina with a clearer, more nuanced understanding of the working conditions for SC classroom teachers. The TWCS focuses on teachers' individual perceptions of their existing working conditions (mostly in their classrooms) and personal experiences with aspects of the school environment. The survey is administered in odd years (beginning with 2023), and the even (second) year is focused entirely on addressing the previous year’s results with district- and school- specific toolboxes.

ALL TERMS

NEWSLETTER SIGN-UP

NEWSLETTER SIGN-UP