Secondary Education

To casual observers, "College Prep" describes coursework aimed at university entry, but insiders use "Academic Track" to represent the formal curricular pathway designed for tertiary education readiness.

Outsiders call them "After-School Activities," while educators globally use "Extracurricular Activities" to describe optional programs outside the formal curriculum.

Non-members might say "Homeroom" for the daily student gathering, while educators globally refer to it as "Form Class," reflecting a formal group administrative grouping.

Outside the community, this is called "Repeating a Grade," but insiders use "Grade Retention" to describe the policy of having students spend an additional year in the same grade for improvement.

While outsiders may use "School Counselor," education professionals often use "Guidance Counselor" to emphasize the advisory role in academic and career planning.

Laypeople use "Report Card" to mean academic results documents, while educators use "Progress Report" to emphasize ongoing assessment throughout terms.

Outside observers often refer to secondary education as "High School," but educators worldwide use the term "Secondary School" to encompass the full range of adolescent education stages from around ages 11 to 18.

Non-members may casually say "Students with Special Needs," but insiders use the formal term "Special Educational Needs (SEN) Students" to define learners requiring specialized support.

Casual observers say "Final Exams" to indicate the end-of-course testing, but educators use "Summative Assessments" to cover all evaluations that measure student learning at the end of instructional units.

Casual speech uses "Dropout" for students who leave school early, but educators prefer "Early School Leaver" to use a more formal, less stigmatizing term.