Education specialist degree: A post-master’s degree that focuses on the study of applied instruction, administration, counseling, and curriculum development. Some Ed.S. degrees offer specialization in areas such as early childhood education, health and physical education, educational leadership, and special education.

Educational and general expenditures: The sum of current fund expenditures for instruction, research, public service, academic support, student services, institutional support, operation and maintenance of plant, and awards from restricted and unrestricted funds. (See also Expenditures.)

Educational attainment: The highest level of schooling attended and completed.

Elementary school: An elementary/secondary school with one or more grades of K–6 that does not have any grade higher than grade 8. For example, schools with grades K–6, 1–3, or 6–8 are classified as elementary.

Elementary/secondary school: As reported in this publication, elementary/secondary schools include regular schools (i.e., schools that are part of state and local school systems and private elementary/secondary schools, both religiously affiliated and nonsectarian); alternative schools; vocational education schools; and special education schools. Schools not reported here include subcollegiate departments of postsecondary institutions, residential schools for exceptional children, federal schools for American Indians or Alaska Natives, and federal schools on military posts and other federal installations.

Employment status: The employment status of civilian, noninstitutionalized individuals in the population is indicated by whether they are in the labor force or not. If they are employed either full time or part time or unemployed but looking for work they are in the labor force; otherwise, they are not.

End-of-course examination: End-of-course examinations are taken to meet curriculum standards.

English: A group of instructional programs that describes the English language arts, including composition, creative writing, and the study of literature.

English as a Second Language (ESL) programs: Programs that provide intensive instruction in English for students with limited English proficiency.

Enrollment: The total number of students registered in a given school unit at a given time, generally in the fall of a year.

Event dropout rate: Event rates calculated using the October Current Population Survey (CPS) data for a certain year measure the proportion of students who dropped out between October of that year and October of the previous year. The event rate is determined by counting all persons in a certain age range (e.g., 15–24 years old) who were enrolled in high school in October of the previous year but had not completed high school and were not enrolled in grades 10–12 a year later. This count is then divided by the total number of persons in that age range who were enrolled the previous October to compute the rate. High school is completed when the person either earns a high school diploma or an alternative credential such as a GED.

Exit examination: A state-defined test, or series of tests, which students must pass in order to graduate from high school. The examination and all of its components are established by the state and vary greatly. End-of-course examinations are taken to meet curriculum standards; minimum competency examinations assess baseline knowledge; and standards-based examinations are aligned with state-adopted requirements at a particular grade level.

Expenditures: Charges incurred, whether paid or unpaid, that are presumed to benefit the current fiscal year. For elementary/secondary schools, these include all charges for current outlays plus capital outlays and interest on school debt. For postsecondary institutions, these include current outlays plus capital outlays. For government, these include charges net of recoveries and other correcting transactions, other than retirement of debt, investment in securities, extension of credit, or as agency transactions. Also, government expenditures include only external transactions, such as the provision of prerequisites or other payments in kind. Aggregates for groups of governments exclude intergovernmental transactions among the governments.

Expenditures per student: Charges incurred for a particular period of time divided by a student unit of measure, such as enrollment, average daily attendance, or average daily membership. (See also supplemental note 11.)

Extended response: Extended-response questions are open-ended questions that allow students to provide detailed written answers to questions. The length of a written response may vary from a short phrase or list to a multipage composition written to respond to a specific writing prompt.

Extracurricular activities: Activities in organized settings that children (or older students) may engage in on weekdays outside of school hours that are not part of a formal, before- or afterschool program. Such activities may include organized sports, debate or science clubs, music lessons, scouts, or religious activities. If the child’s parent reports that the extracurricular activity was undertaken at least in part to cover a period after school when the child needed adult supervision, then the activity is considered to be “nonparental care.” Otherwise, the extracurricular activity is undertaken only because of the personal interest or enrichment of the child.