Educational Jargon
Acronyms:
ACT: An achievement test measuring student’s knowledge typically taken by 11th and 12th grade students planning to
attend a four year university.
AP: Advanced Placement. College-level courses taken at the high school and then assessed through an AP test for
college credit.
CDE: Career Development Events. These are various FFA events in 23 different areas to help prepare students for
careers in agriculture. They range from different speaking contests to evaluation teams through a competitive setting.
CTE: Career and Technical Education. Courses that prepare students for high-skill, high-pay, and high-demand careers.
Examples- Agriculture Ed., Technical Ed., Family/Consumer Ed., Business Ed., & Health and Safety Services
CTSO: Career and Technical Education Organization (FFA, DECA, FCCLA are examples)
DPI: Department of Public Instruction
FFA: National FFA Organization (formerly the Future Farmers of America but the name changed in 1988)
MAP: Measures of Academic Progress. This is an assessment test given to students throughout their K-12 education to
assess reading, writing, and math skill levels.
NAAE: National Association of Agricultural Educators
SAE: Supervised Agriculture Experience
STEM: Science Technology Engineering and Math
WAAE: Wisconsin Association of Agricultural Educators
WKCE: Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination. Given to 10th grade students at the high school level.
YA: Youth Apprenticeship. Available to juniors and seniors to obtain a work-based learning experience, minimum of 450
hours per year is required.
Definitions:
Articulated Courses- High school classes have been aligned with technical college classes so that students taking the
class will earn college credit for the classes taken. The course outline and text may very but material covered is similar or
identical.
Career Cluster and Pathways - A broad set of related occupations used when organizing career information, instruction,
and student opportunities. Career Clusters provide a way for schools to organize instruction and student experiences
around sixteen broad categories that encompass virtually all occupations from entry through professional levels.
Carl Perkins-The Perkins Act defines vocational-technical education as a organized educational program offering
sequences of courses directly related to preparing individuals for paid or unpaid employment in current and emerging
occupations. The Carl Perkins Act is federally funded to allow schools to continue CTE programs so students can explore
career interests.
Four-year Course Plan - An individualized course plan for the four years of high school related to the student's career
major, this plan is a key component of the Career Program of Study.
Program of Study (POS) - As defined by Perkins IV, a Program of Study identifies options for students to use when
planning specific course work and other education activities that lead to a career pathway. A program of study specifies
secondary and post-secondary courses, includes academic and CTE content in a coordinated, non-duplicative
progression of courses, dual-credit opportunities, and industry-recognized credentials or associate or baccalaureate
degree goals.
Science Equivalency- Agriculture classes that have been “cross-walked” to the science standards to show rigorous
science curriculum. These classes are accepted by most state universities as a high school science elective aiding in
meeting the 3 year science requirement at most universities.
Transcripted Courses- The high school class curriculum and textbook is identical as if the course was offered at the
technical college campus. The grade earned in the course and credits appear on the student’s transcript.
Important Websites:
Ag-Science Equivalency:
http://dpi.wi.gov/ag/asec.html
Badger High School:
http://www.badger.k12.wi.us/
Career Clusters and Pathways for Agriculture:
http://dpi.wi.gov/ag/agcarcluster.html
Elkhorn High School:
http://www.elkhorn.k12.wi.us/
National Agriculture Program Standards:
http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/ag/pdf/agstandards.pdf
National Career Clusters:
http://www.careerclusters.org
National FFA:
www.ffa.org
Partnership for 21st Century Skills:
www.p21.org
WISCareers:
http://wiscareers.wisc.edu/Default.asp
Wisconsin Agriculture Education Standards:
http://dpi.wi.gov/standards/pdf/agried.pdf
Wisconsin DPI:
http://dpi.wi.gov/home.html
Wisconsin FFA:
www.wisconsinffa.org
Wisconsin STEM:
http://wistem.org/
http://dpi.wi.gov/stem/resources.html