Terminology and Glossary

Terminology
For purposes of this survey, local educational agency (LEA) includes 426 Wisconsin public schools, three County Children with Disabilities Education Boards, the Department of Corrections, the Department of Health and Family Services, the Wisconsin School for the Deaf (WSD) and the Wisconsin Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired (WCBVI). Approximately 360 LEAs are designated as having a secondary education population.
 
Leaver or Exiter means the student left their high school education setting with a regular diploma, with a certificate of attendance, terminated at maximum age of eligibility (21 years old) for special education and related services, or dropped-out.
 
Drop-out is defined as a student who was enrolled in school at some time during the previous school year, was not enrolled at the reporting time of the current school year (third Friday in September), has not graduated from high school or completed a state or LEA approved educational program, and does not meet any of the following: transferred to another school LEA, private school or state or LEA approved educational program; is temporarily absent due to expulsion, suspension or school-excused illness; is deceased.
 
For portions of the reports, ethnic categories of Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaskan Native are combined and grouped "Minority". Similarly, the disability areas of hearing impairment (HI), visually impairment (VI), speech and language impairment (S/L), autism (Autism), deaf/blind (D/B), other health impairment (OHI), orthopedic impairment (OI) and traumatic brain injury (TBI), are grouped as "Low Incidence" (LI). This is done because some of the data points have fewer than five responses when analyzed by gender, ethnicity and disability.

Glossary

CESA
Cooperative Educational Service Agency

CESA Code
A unique 4-digit number assigned by the DPI that identifies the CESA.

Data Tables
Numbers and percentages compiled as a result of data entry regarding the various survey components.

Date of Birth
The student's birth date provided by the DPI on the Exiting Special Education Report

Date of Exit
The date the former student exited their high school placement recorded as 4-digits: MM/YY (month/year).

Federal Data Collection Report
Demographic and exiter data reported by LEAs and submitted to the DPI.

District Letter
A letter template the district personalizes and sends to their former students that describes the survey and explains the upcoming phone interview.

District Population
All of the students who are eligible to participate, within the parameters of the survey year, who have exited their high school setting within the past year.

DPI
Department of Public Instruction

DPI Letter
A letter sent to students by the LEA written by the State Director of Special Education that describes the study and explains to the former students why this information can be collected without their permission.

Environmental Code/Setting
Categories of time spent in a special education placement provided by the DPI on the December 1 Federal Data Collection Report; includes regular classroom (itinerant), resource room, separate class, separate public day school, separate private school, residential/hospital, and homebound

Ethnicity/Ethnic Background
Categories of ethnicity provided by the DPI on the Federal Data Collection Report; includes Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, American Indian/Native Alaskan, Hispanic, and White; consistent with Federal reporting categories.

Exit Status/Exiter
Categories of exit status under which the student left their high school setting provided by the DPI on the December 1 Federal Data Collection Report; includes regular diploma (including an Alternative School Diploma), certificate of attendance, termination at maximum age of eligibility, HSED/GED, or drop-out. It has the same meaning as the term, “leaver”.

FERPA
Federal Educational Rights Privacy Act

Gender
Categories of gender provided by the DPI Federal Data Collection Report includes male and female.

Guardian
The person who has the primary custodial responsibility for the former student, and who is not the former student's parent.

GED
General Education Degree

HSED
High School Equivalency Diploma

IEP
Individual Education Plan

Interview Questions with Script
Script that guides the telephone interview with the student, and has a section to record contact history.

LEA
Local Education Agency. This is the local school district, state school, juvenile facility, residential care center, or human services agency responsible for educational decisions.

LEA Code
A unique 4-digit number assigned by the DPI that identifies the district and buildings within the district.

LEA Building Code
A unique 4-digit number assigned by the DPI that identifies buildings within the district.

LEA Report
The report generated as a result of completing the WPHSOS.

Leaver
Categories of exit status under which the student left their high school setting provided by the DPI on the Federal Data Collection Report; includes regular diploma (including an Alternative School Diploma), certificate of attendance (including HSED), termination at maximum age of eligibility or drop-out (including GED). It has the same meaning as the term, “exiter”.

NLTS/NLTS 2
National Longitudinal Transition Study/ National Longitudinal Transition Study 2

Local Performance Plan (LPP)
LEA reports of required data elements of the SPP

OSEP
Office of Special Education Programs

Parent and Student Contact Information Form
Form that records the former student's address and phone number.

Permanent Parent or Guardian Contact Information
Usually a parent or guardian's permanent address and phone number, but may also include another relative or friend.

Primary Disability
Categories of disability provided by the DPI on the Federal Data Collection Report; includes Autism, Cognitive Disability (CD), Deaf/Blind (D/B), Emotional/Behavioral Disability (EBD), Hearing Impairment (HI), Other Health Impairment (OHI), Orthopedic Impairment (OI), Specific Learning Disability (SLD), Speech and Language (S/L), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Visual Impairment (VI).

Report Template
A sample report is provided to facilitate the reporting process. (Microsoft Word)

Special Education Plan (SEP)
A Special Education Plan (SEP) is an annual, DPI required, report which describes LEA special education programs and reviews the performance of district students with disabilities in several major areas including outcomes.

Secondary Disability
Categories of secondary disability(ies) provided by the DPI on the Federal Data Collection Report; includes the same categories as Primary Disability.

State Performance Plan (SPP)
The State Performance Plan (SPP) represents the Department of Public Instruction's (DPI) six-year plan for improving outcomes of children with disabilities in Wisconsin. The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) of 2004 requires DPI to have in place a State Performance Plan that evaluates the State's efforts to implement the requirements and purposes of IDEA and describes how the State will improve performance.
 
is an annual, DPI required, report which describes state education programs and data, and reviews the performance of district students with disabilities in several major areas including outcomes.

Statewide Population
Annual statewide demographic information provided by the DPI on the Federal Data Collection Report on all leavers; represents all the exiters in a survey year.

Statewide Demographic Data
Annual statewide demographic information provided by the DPI on the Federal Data Collection Report on all leavers.

Student Contact Information
The student's most current address and phone number, and the location at which you are most likely to contact to student after they have left high school.

Student Interview
The phone interview conducted between a school representative and the student or their proxy.

Summary Report (Sample Report)
A two to four page auto-fill summary of the participants' responses.

Survey Respondent
Survey participants (former students) on which all pieces of data have been successfully collected, including demographic data, contact information, IEP data review, and a telephone interview.

WPHSOS or PHSOS
Wisconsin Post High School Outcomes Survey