| Term | Acronym | Definition |
| Adult Basic Education | ABE | |
| Academic Language | | The complex components of the English Language that are required for success in academic areas. |
| American Council of the Blind | ACB | |
| Accountability | | A system that allows the public to understand how well its schools are working and to provide information to policymakers on the changes that are needed to make the schools more effective and to continually improve all students’ educational opportunities. |
| Achievement Gap | | The measurable difference in academic performance between male and female students, students with and without disabilities, students with and without English proficiency, students who are on free and reduced lunch and those who are not on free and reduced lunch, and minority and non-minority students. |
| American College Test | ACT | An achievement test from the American College Testing Program used for placement testing in some community colleges and for admissions screening in some baccalaureate institutions. |
| Americans with Disabilities Act | ADA | |
| Average Daily Attendance | ADA | |
| Attention Deficit Disorder | ADD | |
| Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder | ADHD | |
| Average Daily Membership | ADM | |
| Alternative Delivery of Specialized Instructional Services | ADSIS | The purpose of ADSIS is to provide instruction to assist students who need additional academic or behavioral support to succeed in the general education environment. The goal is to reduce the number of referrals to special education by providing supports early to struggling students. |
| Aid to Families with Dependent Children | AFDC | |
| Aid to Families with Dependent Children - Emergency Assistance | AFDC-EA | |
| Aid to Families with Dependent Children - Unemployed Parent | AFDC-UP | |
| American Federation of Teachers | AFT | |
| Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act | AHERA | |
| Area Learning Center | ALC | State-approved Area Learning Centers provide year round educational services to students who qualify as at-risk of not completing high school. The mission is to serve middle-level through adult learners, with the Targeted Services component (elementary and middle-level) as an option. All students must have a continual learning plan and can generate up to 1.2 ADM when membership exceeds statute minimums. |
| Annual Measurable Achievement Objective | AMAO | |
| Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking | ANPR | |
| American National Standards Institute | ANSI | |
| Assurance of Mastery | AOM | |
| Annual Operational Plan | AOP | The yearly budgetary plan for Moorhead Area Public Schools. |
| Advanced Placement Course | AP | Courses that offers high school students the opportunity to complete college-level courses and earn college credit for them by achieving a satisfactory score on an AP exam. |
| Association of School Business Officials | ASBO | |
| Autism Spectrum Disorder | ASD | |
| American International School of Johannesburg | ASOJ | |
| American International School of Yaounde | ASOY | |
| Robert Asp Elementary | ASP | Abbreviation for Robert Asp Elementary |
| Assessment | | A method to measure what students are learning. A test is one kind of assessment. |
| Assessment Plan | | A plan which predetermines the methods of evaluating the success or progress toward the goals of a plan or program. |
| Assistive Technology Device | | Any item, piece of equipment or product system that is used to increase, maintain or improve the functional capabilities of a child with a disability. |
| Assumptions | | Statements that influence today’s decision-making that are not something that can be controlled, that are taken for granted or considered fact. They are expectations of factors that are almost certain to affect future activities. |
| Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery | ASVAB | |
| At-risk Student | | A learner at any point in time who has the potential for failure by not meeting anticipated expectations, acceptable levels of achievement, or having other factors which impede education and social development. |
| Authentic Assessment | | 1) A way of measuring student knowledge and level of achievement through real-life tasks. 2) A tool which allows students to show their learning in more varied ways than traditional testing. 3) A way to measure students’ ability to apply what they’ve learned. |
| American Vocational Association | AVA | |
| Advancement Via Individual Determination | AVID | AVID is dedicated to closing the achievement gap by providing educators with proven strategies to prepare students for success in high school, college and a career, especially students traditionally underrepresented in higher education. |
| Area Vocational Technical College | AVTC | |
| Adequate Yearly Progress | AYP | The minimum level of improvement that school districts and schools must achieve each year as determined under the No Child Left Behind Act. |
| Blood Alcohol Concentration | BAC | |
| Basic Skills | | Minnesota state regulations which require districts to implement a K-12 Basic Skills program which establishes minimum performance standards in communications and math, identifies pupils who are not making sufficient progress, and develops individual remediation plans for those pupils. |
| Basic Standards | | 1) Basic literacy requirements in mathematics, reading and writing measured in skills testing. 2) Requirement to graduate from high school. 3) Fundamental learning skills needed to live and work in society. |
| Blood Alcohol Technician | BAT | |
| Blood Borne Pathogens | BBP | |
| Behavior Intervention Plan | BIP | |
| Block Grant | | A federal program, state administered, which provides dollars as a means of supporting programs and services to public and private schools in certain targeted areas. |
| Block Scheduling | | Scheduling of the school day into longer blocks of time. The most prevalent block schedules use four 90 minute blocks of times for 4 quarters allowing students 16 course option rather than 12 under a typical 6 period semester schedule. |
| Building Leadership Team | BLT | |
| Bonafide Occupational Qualification | BOQ | |