Head Start programs: Head Start is a federally sponsored preschool program primarily for children from low-income families.

Hearing impairment: An impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance, in the most severe case because the child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing.

High school: A secondary school offering the final years of high school study necessary for graduation, usually including grades 10, 11, 12 (in a 6-3-3 plan) or grades 9, 10, 11, and 12 (in a 6-2-4 plan).

High school completion: An individual has completed high school if he or she has been awarded a high school diploma or an equivalent credential, including a General Educational Development (GED) credential.

High school diploma: A formal document regulated by the state certifying the successful completion of a prescribed secondary school program of studies. In some states or communities, high school diplomas are differentiated by type, such as an academic diploma, a general diploma, or a vocational diploma.

High school equivalency certificate: A formal document certifying that an individual has met the state requirements for high school graduation equivalency by obtaining satisfactory scores on an approved examination and meeting other performance requirements (if any) set by a state education agency or other appropriate body. One particular version of this certificate is the GED. The GED (General Educational Development) test is a comprehensive test used primarily to appraise the educational development of students who have not completed their formal high school education and who may earn a high school equivalency certificate through achieving satisfactory scores. GEDs are awarded by the states or other agencies, and the test is developed and distributed by the GED Testing Service of the American Council on Education.

High school grades teachers: Teachers who teach only students in grade 9 and those who teach students in any of the grades 10–12.

Hispanic ethnicity: Ethnicity is based on the following categorization: A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture of origin, regardless of race.

Home literacy environment: Children’s home literacy environments are measured by an index that counts whether children are read to (1 point), sang to (1 point), and told stories to (1 point) three or more times a week; whether they have the average number of books or more (1 point); and whether they have the average number of children’s records/audiotapes/CDs or more (1 point). Therefore, children’s scores on the home literacy index can range from 0 to 5 points. The higher the value of the index, the “richer” the home environment is in terms of educational activities and literary resources.

Homeschool: Students are considered to be homeschooled if (1) they are ages 5–17 in a grade equivalent to at least kindergarten and no higher than 12th grade; (2) their parents report them as being schooled at home instead of at a public or private school for at least part of their education; and (3) their part-time enrollment in public or private schools does not exceed 25 hours a week. Students who are schooled at home only because of a temporary illness are not considered to be homeschooled students.

HOPE Scholarship Tax Credit: This federal income tax credit is designed to help taxpayers pay the cost of the first 2 years of postsecondary education.

Humanities: Instructional programs in the following fields: area and ethnic studies, foreign languages, letters, liberal/general studies, multi/interdisciplinary studies, philosophy and religion, theology, and the visual and performing arts.