Glossaries of Education Terms

Ever need a quick definition of an education term -- like Carnegie unit, cognates, continuing education, credit hour, or curriculum frameworks ?

Then you'll want to bookmark these five online education glossaries -- from ASCD, NCELA, World Education Services, The Common Data Set Initiative, and EdSource Online. Check out the sample definitions below and then click to their Web sites for more.

Carnegie unit -- A measurement used in most high schools to determine how much coursework a student has completed. Students usually need at least 20 Carnegie units to graduate; one unit is equal to a conventional 50-minute class taken five times per week throughout the school year. A one-semester course is worth one-half of a Carnegie unit.

The units were established and promoted 100 years ago by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Today, many educators involved in school reform oppose the use of Carnegie units, arguing that "seat time" is not necessarily a measure of learning.

The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), an international, nonprofit, nonpartisan association of professional educators whose jobs cross all grade levels and subject areas.

Cognates -- Words in different languages related to the same root, e.g., education (English), educación (Spanish).

The National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition and Language Instruction Educational Programs (NCELA), funded by the U.S. Department of Education to collect, analyze, and disseminate information relating to the effective education of linguistically and culturally diverse learners in the United States.

Continuing education -- Educational programs offered by colleges and universities to adults in the community during the evening and on weekends. It usually refers to non-credit course work.

World Education Services promotes and facilitates the understanding of educational qualifications through the collection, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of information about educational systems throughout the world.

Credit hour -- A unit of measure representing an hour (50 minutes) of instruction over a 15-week period in a semester or trimester system or a 10-week period in a quarter system. It is applied toward the total number of hours needed for completing the requirements of a degree, diploma, certificate, or other formal award.

Common Data Set of U.S. Higher Education Terminology  is a glossary of higher education terms from The Common Data Set Initiative, a collaborative effort between publishers and the educational community.

Curriculum frameworks -- The blueprint for schools to use to implement the state-adopted content standards. In California, State Curriculum Frameworks are developed by the Curriculum Development and Supplemental Materials Commission, an advisory group, and adopted by the State Board of Education.

EdSource Online, an independent, impartial, not-for-profit organization, whose mission is to clarify complex education issues and to promote thoughtful decisions about public school improvement.