Glossary of Terms

Glossary of Terms

This glossary will help you understand the terms and language used to describe education in the U.S.A.

Academic counseling/advising: Academic counselors or advisors help students plan their academic calendars and ensure that they are taking the classes they need to graduate.

Advanced placement (AP): Some universities/colleges give credit for class work done in high school or to students who prove via examination that they have achieved university level proficiency in a certain subject.

Coeducational: Used to describe an educational environment that includes students of both sexes.

College/University prep: Courses or programs required or recommended as preparation for college or a university.

Day School: A term used for boarding schools that accept non-residential students, or day students.

Dormitory: Also called “dorms,” dormitories are living facilities designed to house students.

Elementary school: A school including usually the first four to the first eight grades and often a kindergarten (see “Grades”).

ESL: English as a second language.

Faculty: The professors, teachers and lecturers of a school. Grade: 1) Refers to degrees of accomplishment in school, usually denoted by the use of the letters A, B, C, D, and F, where A indicates the highest level and F indicates failing. 2) used to indicate a particular year or level in primary and secondary schools. Grades range from 1st grade to 12th grade (approximately ages 6 to 18)

GPA (Grade Point Average): A numerical measure of academic achievement based upon a computation figured from the number of credits and grade points earned per course

Graduate: As a noun, is used to refer to a holder of an academic degree or diploma; as a verb, it means to receive an academic degree or diploma.

High school: A school usually including grades 9-12.

Homestay: Staying with an American family.

Independent school: A school that receives little or no funding from government sources. Also called private school.

Internship/intern: An arrangement by which a student works in a company for a limited period of time.

Post-graduate: A thirteenth year of school offered by some boarding schools. The post-graduate year helps to better prepare students for university-level studies.

Private school: A school that receives little or no funding from government sources. Also called independent school.

Public school: A school that receives most of its funding from government sources.

Room and board: Living facilities and food.

Secondary school: A school between elementary/primary school and college/university, usually offering general, technical, vocational, or college-preparatory courses.

SLEP test: The Secondary Level English Proficiency (SLEP) test is a measure of English language ability for non-native speakers in two areas: listening comprehension and reading comprehension.

SSAT: The Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT) is the preferred admission standard for boarding schools. The exam measures verbal, math and reading comprehension.

SAT: The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is a standard test required for admission into most colleges, universities and higher-level institutions.

TOEFL: The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required by most two- and four-year colleges and universities. The exam is used as a measure of a non-native speaker’s command of the English language.

Transcript: An official copy of your academic record at a particular school.

Tuition: The cost of the academic portion of attending a school. Tuition varies from school to school.

University/College prep: Courses or programs required or recommended as preparation for a university or college.

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