The following words and terms when used in this chapter shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

1. (1) Academic year--September 1 through August 31.
2. (2) Acceptable--A minimum criterion set by the Board.
3. (3) Beginning teacher--A person employed in a public school district within two academic years of completion of educator preparation program requirements in an initial teaching field, and who was assigned in his or her field of preparation.
4. (4) Certification field or area--Professional development (elementary and secondary) and delivery system fields, academic or career and technology content fields, special education fields, specializations, or professional fields in which an entity is approved to offer certification.
5. (5) Completer cohort--A cohort of candidates who complete an educator preparation program during an academic year. "Completing a program" means the individual satisfied, within that academic year, the entity requirements for certification in that field. A candidate is designated a "program completer" in a field regardless of whether the individual has taken or passed the certification tests required for that field or the person was recommended by the entity for certification in that field.
6. (6) Educator preparation program--An entity approved by the Board to recommend candidates in one or more certification fields. For the purposes of this chapter, "program" and "entity" are used interchangeably.
7. (7) Final pass rate--The percent of tests passed by a completer cohort through the second December 31 following the academic year of completion. The pass rate is based solely on tests required to obtain certification in the field(s) in which the person completed a program during that academic year. The rate reflects a candidate's success on the last attempt made on the test by the second December 31 following the year of completion. Formula: The number of successful (i.e., passing) last attempts made by the cohort divided by the total number of last attempts made by the cohort.
8. (8) Initial pass rate--The percent of tests passed by a completer cohort through December 31 following the academic year of completion. The pass rate is based solely on tests required to obtain certification in the field(s) in which the person completed a program during that academic year. The rate reflects a candidate's success on the last attempt made on the test by December 31 following the year of completion. Formula: The number of successful (i.e., passing) last attempts made by the cohort divided by the total number of last attempts made by the cohort.
9. (9) Program data--Data elements reported to meet requirements under TEC §21.045(b) (relating to Annual Performance Reports by Educator Preparation Programs).

Source Note:The provisions of this §229.2 adopted to be effective February 3, 2002, 27 TexReg 603.