US Term

What it means

K-12

Kindergarten (ages 4-5) to Grade 12 (ages 17- 18).  An umbrella term to mean all of the years of compulsory education.

Elementary School

Primary school serving children between the ages of 3 and 11 (can vary). Note that in many US schools certain subjects such as Art, Music, Drama, Languages, PE, Library and sometimes Science and Maths are taught by subject specialist teachers.

Middle School

Post primary school for children between the ages of 11 and 14 (can vary).  Also known as Intermediate School or Junior High School.

High School

The final 4 years of compulsory education for children between the ages of 15 and 18.  The first year students are referred to as “Freshmen”, the second year “Sophmores” the third year “Juniors” ,and the final year students are referred to as “Seniors”

Kindergarten (KG)

First year of school usually between the ages of 3 and 5. Often part of an Elementary school, but can also be used to refer to a stand-alone pre-school.  Sometimes the younger ages (2-3 or 3-4) are referred to as Pre-Kindergarten or Pre-K, or Nursery Schools

Advanced Placement (AP)

A program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board offering University-level curriculum and examinations to high school students. American colleges often grant course credit to students who obtain high scores above a certain number on the externally moderated examinations.

College

Higher education. Often used interchangeably with the term University  

Language Arts

English Language and Literature

Pedagogy

An approach to or philosophy of teaching. How to teaching something.

Rubrics

Guides for grading tests or student work. Rubrics describe what work must look like to be considered excellent, satisfactory, or less so. Rubrics can be given to students when they begin the work so it is clear exactly how the assignment will be graded

Assessments

Ways to find out what students know so teachers, parents and students can support and improve learning.  A standard is also known as  a benchmark

Alternative Assessments

Methods other than multiple-choice, true/false, or short-answer standardized tests, to assess learners. Students may answer questions, write reports, create projects, create a portfolio or perform demonstrations to show evidence of their learning.

Performance Assessment

Tests that ask students to demonstrate  knowledge or skills. For example, in math a student might be asked to explain in words a mathematical solution. A reading test might require students to write about the meaning of a story or illustration.

Standards-based Assessment

An assessment based on what students in particular grades/levels should know and be able to do.  

Standards-based teaching

When teachers use activities and lessons to ensure and illustrate that students master a predetermined set of requirements or standards.

Summative Assessment

Evaluation of the end product of a student’s learning activity. End of class examination papers are an example of summative assessment.

Formative Assessment

Ongoing evaluation of a student’s progress during a learning activity. Teacher observations, graded homework  and quizzes are a few examples of formative assessments. Similar to Continuous Assessment.

Homeroom

The classroom a student attends in the morning (and/or at the end of the day). Attendance is noted, announcements are made, and forms are collected/completed in this room. 

Manipulatives

Physical materials such as cubes, blocks, or balls that model mathematical concepts.

Multiple Intelligences

A theory that postulates that human beings have eight separate intelligences  that determine how they learn.

Electives

Courses that are chosen by a student

School District

Regional educational authority responsible for setting curriculum, standards and usually, employment and deployment of teachers within the district