Parochial school: A private Catholic school serving students in one or more of grades K-12 that is the domain of a local church parish.

Part-time enrollment: The number of students enrolled in postsecondary education courses with a total credit load of less than 75 percent of the normal full-time credit load.

Postbaccalaureate student: A student with a bachelor's degree who is enrolled in graduate-level or first-professional courses.

Postsecondary education: The provision of formal instructional programs with a curriculum designed primarily for students who are beyond the compulsory age for high school. This includes programs with an academic, vocational, and continuing professional education purpose and excludes vocational and adult basic education programs. See also supplemental note 8.

Postsecondary education institution: An institution for which the sole purpose or one of the primary missions is the provision of postsecondary education. See also Two-year postsecondary institution, Four-year postsecondary institution, and supplemental note 8.

Prekindergarten: Public preprimary education for children ages 3-4 (ages 3-5 in some states) who have not yet entered kindergarten. It may offer a program of general education or special education and, in some states, may be part of a collaborative effort with Head Start. Private preprimary educational programs are typically referred to as "center-based programs." See also Head Start.

Preschool: A beginning group or class enrolling children younger than 5 years of age and organized to provide children with educational experiences under professionally qualified teachers in cooperation with parents during the year or years immediately preceding kindergarten (or prior to entry into elementary school when there is no kindergarten). See also Nursery school.

Private school: A school serving students in one or more of grades K-12 that is controlled by an individual or agency other than a state, a subdivision of a state, or the federal government; that is usually not supported primarily by public funds; and that is not operated by publicly elected or appointed officials. Organizations or institutions that provide support for homeschooling but do not offer classroom instruction for students are not included. See also supplemental note 3. Types of private schools include the following:

• Roman Catholic: A religious private school operated by the Roman Catholic church.
• Other religious: A religious private school other than those operated by the Roman Catholic church.
• Nonsectarian: A private school with no religious orientation or purpose.

Private institution: An institution that is controlled by an individual or agency other than a state, a subdivision of a state, or the federal government; that is usually not supported primarily by public funds; and that is not operated by publicly elected or appointed officials. See also supplemental note 8. Types of private institutions include:

• Private for-profit institution: A private institution in which the individual(s) or agency in control receives compensation other than wages, rent, or other expenses for the assumption of risk.
• Private not-for-profit institution: A private institution in which the individual(s) or agency in control receives no compensation, other than wages, rent, or other expenses for the assumption of risk. These include both independent not-for-profit schools and those affiliated with a religious organization.

Problem solving: An individual's capacity to use cognitive processes to confront and resolve real, cross-disciplinary situations where the solution is not immediately obvious, and where the literacy domains or curricular areas that might be applicable are not within a single domain of mathematics, science, or reading.

Professional development: The advancement of skills or expertise to succeed in a particular profession, especially through continued education.

Property tax: The sum of money collected from a tax levied against the value of property.

Public charter school: A public charter school is a publicly funded school that, in accordance with an enabling statute, has been granted a charter exempting it from selected state or local rules and regulations. A public charter school may be a newly created school, or it may previously have been a public or private school. In return for funding and autonomy, the charter school must meet accountability standards. A school's charter is typically reviewed every 3 to 5 years and can be revoked if guidelines on curriculum and management are not followed or standards are not met. See also Public school.

Public institution: A postsecondary educational institution whose programs and activities are operated by publicly elected or appointed school officials and which is supported primarily by public funds. See also supplemental note 8.

Public school: An institution that provides educational services for at least one of grades 1-12 (or comparable ungraded levels), has one or more teachers to give instruction, has an assigned administrator, is located in one or more buildings, receives public funds as primary support, and is operated by an education or chartering agency. Public schools include regular, special education, vocational/technical, alternative, and public charter schools. They also include schools in juvenile detention centers, schools located on military bases and operated by the Department of Defense, and Bureau of Indian Affairs-funded schools operated by local public school districts. See also Special education school, Vocational/ technical school, Alternative school, and Public charter school.

Purchasing power parity: Purchasing power parity (PPP) conversion factors take into account differences in the relative prices of goods and services—particularly nontradables—and therefore provide a better overall measure of the real value of output produced by an economy compared with other economies. PPP gross national income (GNI) is measured in current international dollars, which, in principal, have the same purchasing power as a dollar spent on GNI in the U.S. economy. Because PPPs provide a better measure of the standard of living of residents of an economy, they are the basis for the World Bank's calculations of poverty rates at $1 and $2 a day. The GNI of developing countries measured in PPP terms generally exceeds their GNI measured using the Atlas method or using market exchange rates.

Purchasing power parity (PPP) indices: Purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rates, or indices, are the currency exchange rates that equalize the purchasing power of different currencies, meaning that when a given sum of money is converted into different currencies at the PPP exchange rates, it will buy the same basket of goods and services in all countries. PPP indices are the rates of currency conversion that eliminate the difference in price levels among countries. Thus, when expenditures on gross domestic product (GDP) for different countries are converted into a common currency by means of PPP indices, they are expressed at the same set of international prices, so that comparisons among countries reflect only differences in the volume of goods and services purchased.