afterward. Not afterwards. agenda. “Agenda” takes singular verbs and pronouns. Example: The agenda was approved by the school board. age-appropriate. ages. Always spell out people’s ages. Example: children age five through fourteen. See also grades. aid, aide. “Aid” means assistance. An “aide” is an assistant. allude, refer. “Allude” means to speak (or write) of something without specifically mentioning it and is not the same as “elude,” which means to avoid or evade. To “refer” is to mention something directly. alumni, alumnus. An “alumnus” (singular) is a graduate or former member of a school or organization; “alumni” is the plural form. alternative schools. Not alternatives. among, between. Use “among” for collective relationships (honor among thieves) and, in general, relationships of three or more items (the work was divided among Sue, James, and Carl). “Between” is typically used for one-to-one relationships (between you and me). ampersand (&). Replace with “and” unless the ampersand is part of a proper name (such as Barnes & or abbreviation. When an ampersand is used within abbreviations, no space is left on either side. Example: R&D. a.m., p.m. Lowercase with periods. and/or. This construction should be avoided. There is usually no loss of meaning if you use one or the other. anticipate, expect. “Anticipate” means to foresee and deal with in advance; “expect” does not include the notion of preparation. Examples: They expected the visitors to arrive at noon. They anticipated the arrival by cooking an extra amount of food. antibusing.
antidrug. anti-intellectual. appendix (singular); appendices (plural). (This is a change from the previous edition.) Do not capitalize appendix or appendices in running text. Example: See appendix C for further information. apportionments. that federal or state governments distribute to local education agencies or other governmental units according to certain formulas. appropriations. Funds set aside or budgeted by the state or local school district boards for a specific time period and specific purpose. The state Legislature and local school boards must vote every year on appropriations. apt, liable, likely. “Apt” means having an inherent tendency. “Liable” means open to or exposed to something unpleasant or disadvantageous. “Likely” means probable or expected. Examples: Teenagers are apt to speed on open roads. If they do, they are liable to be arrested. Then they are likely to be sorry. arbitrate, mediate. Not interchangeable. One who arbitrates a case in controversy and presents a decision. One who mediates interposes between parties in order to reconcile them. Asian American. An American of Asian descent. Assembly. Capitalize the proper name of a legislative body (such as the California Assembly or the Assembly). Also capitalize the plurals (such as the California and New York Assemblies). assistive technology. Devices, equipment, or systems that increase independence and improve personal productivity for people with disabilities. Associate in Arts degree. But associate’s degree. assure, ensure, insure. “Assure” means to set the mind at rest, “ensure” means to guarantee, and “insure” refers to insurance. Examples: The mutual fund manager assured her clients that their assets were safe. To ensure the accuracy of the data, several researchers checked the work. The policy insures his life. at risk. Use with “of,” not “for.” Example: The child is at risk of developmental delay.
Example: The consensus was to amend the bill. Terms such as “general consensus” are redundant; avoid them. continual, continuous. “Continual” means recurring at frequent intervals. “Continuous” means going on without interruption. Examples: Snow fell continually during our vacation at Lake Tahoe. Filene’s Department Store has been located at Sixth and Polk continuously since its establishment in 1871. convict (verb). Use with “of,” not “for.” Example: He was convicted of murder. coordinator-in-charge. copyright. cost-effective (adjective); cost-effectiveness (noun). county office of education. Formerly “office of the county superintendent of schools.” Capitalize when part of an actual title, such as Sacramento County Office of Education. course work. credentialed; credentialing. crisis (singular); crises (plural). criterion (singular); criteria (plural). cross section (noun), cross-section (verb), cross-sectional (adjective). crosswalk. cupful (singular); cupfuls (plural). cupholder. current, currently. The term is often unnecessary, as in “The government currently owns 740 million acres of land in the United States.” curricula. Not curriculums. cut back (verb); cutback (noun, adjective). cut off (verb); cutoff (noun, adjective).
institutions of higher education. Not institutes of higher education. insure, assure, ensure. “Insure” refers to insurance, “assure” means to set the mind at rest, and “ensure” means to guarantee. Examples: The policy insures his life. The mutual fund manager assured her clients that their assets were safe. To ensure the accuracy of the data, several researchers checked the work. inter-. Usually closed. Example: interactive. Hyphenate with a capitalized word: inter-American. Otherwise, consult the dictionary and hyphenate words not listed there. interactive whiteboard. Note that a SMART board is a trademarked product. internet. Not capitalized. (This is a change from the previous edition.) intra-. Usually closed. Example: intramural. Hyphenate with a capitalized word or to two vowels. Example: intra-atomic. Otherwise, consult the dictionary and hyphenate words not listed there. intranet. Not capitalized unless it is used as a proper noun. Examples: The CDE Intranet contains a map of the building. Most departments have an intranet page. IQ. Abbreviation for intelligence quotient. it’s, its. “It’s” is a contraction for “it is” or “it has.” Example: It’s up to you. “Its” is possessive. Example: The turtle hides in its shell. J job site. judgment. Not “judgement.”
may, might, can. “May” indicates permission or possibility. “Can” indicates the ability or power to do something. Example: You may leave whenever you wish. She might be able to start work in the fall. He can be trusted to carry out the assignment. mean, median, norm, average. The “mean” is an intermediate figure between two extremes. Example: The mean temperature of the day, which had a high of 56 degrees and a low of 34 degrees, was 45. The “median” is the middle number of points in a series arranged in order of size. Example: The median grade in the group of 50, 55, 85, 88, and 92 is 85; the average is 74. The “norm” implies a standard of average performance for a given group. Example: The child was above the norm for his age in reading ability. The “average” is the result obtained by dividing a sum by the number of quantities added together. Example: The average of 7, 9, and 17 is 33 divided by 3, which equals 11. media. Usually plural: Radio and television are electronic media. Singular when collective: The news media is resisting attempts to limit its freedom. median. See mean, median, norm, average. mediate, arbitrate. Not interchangeable. One who mediates interposes between parties in order to reconcile them. One who arbitrates hears a case in controversy and presents a decision. megabyte. Capitalize as “MB” when abbreviating. Use numeral before abbreviation: 3 MB. mid-. See the “Compounds, Hyphens, and Dashes” section. middle grades. millions, billions. Use numerals with million or billion: California has 21 million inhabitants. The programs have cost $2 billion nationwide. Decimals are preferred to fractions (not 1/2 million).
picture book (noun); picture-book (adjective). Pilipino. The official language of the Republic of the Philippines. Not Filipino, the name of a citizen of the Republic of the Philippines. playfield. playtime. Pledge of Allegiance. p.m., a.m. Lowercase, with periods. P.O. Box. podcast. policymaker, policymaking postsecondary. post-test. Always hyphenated. See also pretest. post-reading. prekindergarten, pre-K. prereading. preschool. presently. A somewhat ambiguous and much-debated word that is used in business and political contexts. Consider at present or now as an alternative. pre-service. president-elect. pretest. See also post-test. principal, principle. “Principal” means “main” or “chief” (such as a school principal) and is used in some financial terminology. A “principle” is a rule or something fundamental. prior to. See before. privilege. Not “priviledge.” problem solving (noun); problem-solving (adjective).
URL. An Internet address. “URL” is an initialism for Uniform Resource Locator. use, utilize. “Utilize” is usually unnecessary. username. One word. (This is a change from the previous edition.) user-friendly. V verbal. Verbal refers to all words, whether written or spoken. Use oral to refer to spoken words, and written to refer to words put on paper. versus. vice president. vice principal. vice regent. videotape. W Washington, DC. No periods in the abbreviation for the District of Columbia. web. Do not capitalize web when referring to the World Wide Web. The term has become so pervasive that it is now considered a common noun. However, continue to capitalize World Wide Web. web address. Provide live links for web addresses. Underline all web addresses and verify that each address is hyperlinked to a valid web page. Example: . Always include the “http://” as part of the full address. Never break addresses at hyphens, but it is okay to break an address at the end of a line after a slash or a period. Never add a hyphen to a web address to mark a line break; adding or deleting a hyphen changes the address. webcast. webinar. web page.
Department of Education. Part of a book, with author and editor Greenes, C. 1999. “Ready to Learn.” In Mathematics in the Early Years, edited by J. V. Cooper. Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Editor, no author Goldstein, B., ed. 2004. Bilingual Language Development and Disorders in Speakers. Baltimore, MD: Paul Brookes. Book edition Patry, William F. 1995. The Fair Use Privilege in Copyright Law. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: Bureau of National Affairs.