National Program Review. The process by which NCATE, in collaboration with the specialized professional associations (SPAs), assesses the quality of teacher preparation programs offered by an institution. Institutions are required to submit their programs for review by SPAs as part of the accreditation process, unless otherwise specified by the state partnership agreement with NCATE. The following terms are used in the program review process:

a. Continued National Recognition with Probation. This decision is applied to programs that received National Recognition during the previous review cycle. The decision denotes that the program has not met SPA criteria for National Recognition or National Recognition with Conditions. The program will have two opportunities within the 12 to 14 months after the first decision to attain National Recognition or National Recognition with Conditions. If the program is unsuccessful after two attempts, the program status will be changed to Not Recognized.

b.    Further Development Required. This decision is applied to programs that are undergoing program review for the very first time. The decision denotes that the program has not met SPA criteria for National Recognition or National Recognition with Conditions. The program will have two opportunities within the 12 to 14 months after the first decision to attain National Recognition or National Recognition with Conditions. If the program is unsuccessful after two attempts, the program status will be changed to Not Recognized.

c.    Key Program Assessments. The six to eight required assessments used by a program to demonstrate candidate mastery of the professional standards.

d.    National Recognition. The decision made when a program has met professional standards. A program receiving this decision is recognized for five or seven years depending on the state's agreement with NCATE.

e.    National Recognition Report. The written findings by a specialized professional association of an institution's programs for the preparation of teachers or other school professionals.

f.    National Recognition with Conditions. The decision made when a program has substantially met the standards of a specialized professional association but there remain sufficient weaknesses or issues to prevent the program from receiving full national recognition. A program receiving this decision is considered nationally recognized for the subsequent 18 months. If the program does not submit acceptable information within the designated time- frame, the decision reverts to "Not Nationally Recognized."

g.    NCATE/SPA Standards. See Professional Standards. See listing of specialized professional associations with professional standards (pp. 47-48). Also see: www.ncate.org/institutions/process.asp.

h.    Not Nationally Recognized. The program has not met SPA criteria for National Recognition or National Recognition with Conditions within the 18 months following its first submission. If the program chooses to continue to seek national recognition, it must submit a completely new report.

i.    Program Report. The report prepared by faculty responsible for a program (e.g., math education, elementary education) responding to specialized professional association (SPA) standards.

j.  Response to Conditions Report. A program's written response to a specialized professional association's review of the teacher preparation programs when the decision from that review was that the program was "Nationally Recognized with Conditions."

k.   Revised Program Report. A program's written response to a specialized professional association's review of the program when the decision from that review was "Further Development Required" or "Recognized with Probation."

1.  Scoring Guide. A tool used by faculty to evaluate an assessment such as a rubric, evaluation form, etc. Scoring guides should differentiate varying levels of proficiency on performance criteria.

Nationally Recognized Program. A program that has met the standards of a specialized professional association that is a member organization of NCATE. An institution's state-approved program also will be considered a nation-ally recognized program if the state program standards and the state's review process have been approved by the appropriate national association. (Nationally recognized programs are listed on NCATE's website.)

NBPTS. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, an organization of teachers and other educators, which has developed both standards and a system for assessing the performance of experienced teachers seeking national certification.

NCATE Coordinator. The person(s) identified by the unit to manage preparations for the NCATE visit. The NCATE coordinator, along with the unit head, is NCATE's contact at an institution. At some institutions, the unit head is the NCATE coordinator.