American educational system in alphabet

A - The SAT - is a standardized test designed to measure basic critical reading, math and writing skills. Most colleges and universities request ACT or SAT score results from applicants. Students may usually take their test of choice, but it is best to check with schools of interest before selecting (unless the student plans to take both exams). Standardized tests are an important factor in the admissions process, and students should do their best to show schools that they know their stuff. The SAT is composed of three main sections, each with its own subsections. The three major sections will be graded on a scale of 200-800. The final score will be the sum of all sections, a number between 600 and 2400  

B – bachelor's degree - an  academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts four years, but can range anywhere from three to six years depending on the region of the world. In some exceptional cases, it may also be the name of a postgraduate degree, such as a bachelor of civil law, the bachelor of music, the bachelor of philosophy, or the bachelor of sacred theology degree. 
 

C – Charter Schools - are independent public schools allowed freedom to be more innovative, while being held accountable for improved student achievement. They foster a partnership between parents, teachers and students to create an environment in which parents can be more involved, teachers are given the freedom to innovate and students are provided the structure they need to learn, with all three held accountable for improved student achievement.   
 

D - School Districts - are independent special-purpose governments, or dependent school systems, which are under the control of state and local government. A school district is a legally separate body corporate and politic. School districts are local governments with powers similar to that of a town or a county including taxation andeminent domain, except in Virginia, whose school divisions have no taxing authority and must depend on another local government (county, city, or town) for funding. Its governing body, which is typically elected by direct popular vote but may be appointed by other governmental officials, is called a school board, board of trustees, board of education, school committee, or the like. This body appoints a superintendent, usually an experienced public school administrator, to function as the district's chief executive for carrying out day-to-day decisions and policy implementations. The school board may also exercise a quasi-judicial function in serious employee or student discipline matters. 
 

E – DEAR – Drop everything and read - Day is a special reading celebration to remind and encourage families to make reading together on a daily basis a family priority.  

F -  FAPE – A free and appropriate public education - is an educational right of children with disabilities in the United States that is guaranteed by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Under Section 504, FAPE is defined as “the provision of regular or special education and related aids and services that are designed to meet individual needs of handicapped persons as well as the needs of non-handicapped persons are met and based on adherence to procedural safeguards outlined in the law.” Under the IDEA, FAPE is defined as an educational program that is individualized to a specific child, designed to meet that child's unique needs, provides access to the general curriculum, meets the grade-level standards established by the state, and from which the child receives educational benefit. The United States Department of Education issues regulations that define and govern the provision of FAPE. 

G – GPA – a Grade Point Average -  is a measure of how well you are doing in your academic studies.  At TRU, the academic grading scale goes from “A+” to “F”, with corresponding grade points ranging from the highest “4.33” to the lowest “0.00”.  A student’s Grade Point Average, or GPA, is a mathematical calculation that indicates where an average of the grades falls on the scale. 
 

H – Homeschooling - is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school. Although prior to the introduction of compulsory school attendance laws, most childhood education occurred within the family or community, homeschooling in the modern sense is an alternative in developed countries to attending public or private schools. Homeschooling is a legal option for parents in many countries, allowing them to provide their children with a learning environment as an alternative to public or private schools outside the home. Parents cite numerous reasons as motivations to homeschool their children. The three reasons that are selected by the majority of homeschooling parents in the United States are concern about the traditional school environment, to provide religious or moral instruction, and dissatisfaction with academic instruction at traditional public and private schools. Homeschooling may also be a factor in the choice of parenting style. Homeschooling can be an option for families living in isolated rural locations, living temporarily abroad, and to allow for more traveling; also many young athletes and actors are taught at home. Homeschooling can be about mentorship and apprenticeship, where a tutor or teacher is with the child for many years and then knows the child very well. 
 

I – IPC – The International Preschool Curriculum - was founded to strengthen and harmonize early childhood education standards. As a professional association that directly serves schools, learners, parents and governments, the IPC offers a unique set of products and services that promote active learning and effective practices in teaching. Headquartered in the United States, the IPC ‘s objective and research based curriculum meets the standards set by state departments and accreditation organizations. A  The IPC enjoys global recognition and works closely with governments to amend curricula materials if required to ensure local standard compliance. With the assistance of an advisory committee which consists of peers, consultants and academics, the IPC ensures the rigor and high quality of all published materials.

The IPC also offers an extensive Teacher Training Program which culminates in the IPC Teaching Certificate.  As a 6 month course, the program reinforces essential teaching skills and establishes a minimum standard for teaching practices in IPC schools. There are also a growing number of continuing education units (CEU) and professional development courses available upon completion of the IPC Teacher Training Program. 
 

J – A Junior College - is a two-year post-secondary school whose main purpose is to provide academic, vocational and professional education. The highest certificate offered by such schools is usually an associate's degree, although junior college students may continue their education at a university or college, transferring some or all of the credit earned at the junior college toward the degree requirements of the four-year school. 

K – K-12 - is a designation for the sum of primary and secondary education. 

L – Land-Grand university - are institutions of higher education in the United States designated by each state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890. 

M - Magnet Schools - are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities (usually school boards) as school zones that feed into certain schools. There are magnet schools at the elementary school, middle school, and high school levels. In the United States, where education is decentralized, some magnet schools are established by school districts and draw only from the district, while others (such as the Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science, Las Vegas Academy, Clark High School Academy of Finance, Academy for Mathematics, Science, and Applied Technology, Maine School of Science and Mathematics, and Commonwealth Governor's Schools in Virginia) are set up by state governments and may draw from multiple districts. Other magnet programs are within comprehensive schools, as is the case with several "schools within a school." In large urban areas, several magnet schools with different specializations may be combined into a single "center," such as Skyline High School in Dallas. 

N-  NCLB - The No Child Left Behind Act - is a United States Act of Congress that came about as wide public concern about thestate of education. First proposed by the administration of George W. Bush immediately after he took office, the bill passed in the U.S. Congress with limited bipartisan support. NCLB is a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which included Title I, the government's flagship aid program for disadvantaged students. NCLB supports standards-based education reform based on the premise that setting high standards and establishing measurable goals can improve individual outcomes in education. The Act requires states to develop assessments in basic skills. States must give these assessments to all students at select grade levels in order to receive federal school funding. The Act does not assert a national achievement standard; standards are set by each individual state. NCLB expanded the federal role in public education through annual testing, annual academic progress, report cards, teacher qualifications, and funding changes 
 

O – Online College -  is part of the Sheffield College. It runs a number of courses that are delivered online ranging from basic English and numeracy skills to Foundation Degrees leading to BA Hons Degrees in partnership with Sheffield Hallam University. 
 

P – Private Schools - are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory taxation through public (government) funding, at some private schools students may be able to get a scholarship, which makes the cost cheaper depending on a talent the student may have e.g. sport scholarship, art scholarship, academic scholarship etc. 

Q - Quiz bowl (or quizbowl)- is a family of games of questions and answers on all topics of human knowledge that is commonly played by students enrolled in high school or college, although some participants begin in middle or evenelementary school. Participants may benefit from studying a broad range of academic subjects, increasing memorization and study skills, learning to work in teams and expanding capacity for responsibility.

The game is typically played with a lockout buzzer system between some number of teams, most commonly two teams of four or five players each. A moderator reads questions to the teams, whose players endeavor to buzz in first with the correct answer, scoring points for their team. 

R – LRE – Least Restrictive Environment - is identified as one of the six principles that govern the education of students with disabilities and other special needs. By law, schools are required to provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment that is appropriate to the individual student's needs."Least restrictive environment" (LRE) means that a student who has a disability should have the opportunity to be educated with non-disabled peers, to the greatest extent appropriate. They should have access to the general education curriculum, or any other program that non-disabled peers would be able to access. The student should be provided with supplementary aids and services necessary to achieve educational goals if placed in a setting with non-disabled peers. Academically, a resource room may be available within the school for specialized instruction, with typically no more than two hours per day of services for a student with learning disabilities. Should the nature or severity of his or her disability prevent the student from achieving these goals in a regular education setting, then the student would be placed in a more restrictive environment, such as a special school, classroom within the current school, or a hospital program. Generally, the less opportunity a student has to interact and learn with non-disabled peers, the more the placement is considered to be restricted. 
 

S - Senior high school - is a school attended after junior high school. High school is often used instead of senior high school and distinguished from junior high school. High school usually runs either from 9th through 12th, or 10th through 12th grade. The students in these grades are commonly referred to as freshmen (grade 9), sophomores (grade 10), juniors (grade 11) and seniors (grade 12). 
 

T – ACT - American College Testing - is a standardized test for high school achievementand college admissions in the United States produced by ACT, Inc. It was first administered in November 1959 by Everett Franklin Lindquist as a competitor to the College Board's Scholastic Aptitude Test, now the SAT Reasoning Test. The ACT has historically consisted of four tests: English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science Reasoning. In February 2005, an optional Writing test was added to the ACT, mirroring changes to the SAT that took place later in March of the same year. All four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. accept the ACT, but different institutions place different emphases on standardized tests such as the ACT, compared to other factors of evaluation such as class rank, G.P.A., and extracurricular activities. The main four tests are scored individually on a scale of 1–36, and a Composite score is provided which is the whole number average of the four scores. In 2005 the company established ACT International. This organization is composed of ACT Education Solutions, Limited, and ACT Business Solutions, B.V. ACT Education Solutions is directed toward helping non-native speakers learn English in preparation for studying at an English-speaking educational institution. ACT Business Solutions attempts to help employers assess their employees' level of English proficiency through use of the WorkKeysassessment 

U – Undergraduate School - is an education level taken in order to gain one's first tertiary degree (except for an associate's degree). Hence, in many subjects in many educational systems, undergraduate education is post-secondary education up to the level of a bachelor's degree, such as in the United States, where a university entry level is known as undergraduate  
 

V – Volunteer work - is generally considered an altruistic activity, intended to promote good or improve human quality of life. It is considered as serving the society through own interest, personal skills or learning, which in return produces a feeling of self-worth and respect, instead of money. Volunteering is also famous for the skill development, to socialize and to have fun. It is also intended to make contacts for possible employment or for a variety of other reasons. Volunteering takes many forms, and can be performed by anyone with own set of skills. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work in, such as medicine, education, or emergency. Other volunteers serve on an as-needed basis, such as in response to a natural disaster or for a beach-cleanup. 
 

W – Flat World Knowledge - is a publisher of college-level open textbooks and educational supplements founded in 2007 by Eric Frank and Jeff Shelstad. Company headquarters are in Irvington, New York. As of December 2010, the publisher has over 74 textbooks in development or published. Flat World Knowledge utilizes traditional author acquisition, peer-review, and creative processes. The company then offers every textbook published for free using online delivery under the open content paradigm. Educator teaching supplements and materials consistent with industry norms are available, also at no charge.