1. A for effort
- recognize that someone tries hard to do something even though they may not be successful The students received an A for effort for their work on the class project.
2. above average
- better or higher than average The boy received above average marks in all subjects except history.
3. as easy as ABC
- very easy Learning how to use a computer was as easy as ABC for the children.
4. back to basics
- an approach in education which uses traditional ideas or methods that have been successful in the past The teacher believed that back to basics was important in her classroom and the parents were happy with the results.
5. below average
- worse or lower than average Most members of the class were below average in the math test.
6. bookworm
- someone who reads a lot My sister is a bookworm and is always reading a book.
7. brainstorm something
- try to develop an idea or think of new ideas The students got into groups to brainstorm ideas for the school play.
8. call the roll
- call the names of students on a roll and usually expect them to answer if they are there Every morning before the class started the teacher called the roll.
9. cap and gown
- the special cap called a mortarboard and the robe that is worn during academic ceremonies such as graduation All of the students wore a cap and gown to the graduation ceremony.
10. catch up to (someone or something)
- move fast or work hard to reach someone or something that is ahead of you After my illness I had to study very hard to catch up to the rest of the class.
11. copycat
- someone who copies the work of another The children called the girl a copycat when they discovered that she had copied part of the test from another student.
12. count noses
- count the number of people The teacher stopped to count noses several times during the field trip.
13. cover a lot of ground
- complete a lot of material in a class or course We covered a lot of ground during the first month of the science class.
14. cow college
- a school where farming/agriculture is studied My cousin plans to go to a cow college when he finishes high school.
15. crack a book
- open a book to study (usually used in the negative) I did very well in the course even though I didn't crack a book until the last week of classes.
16. crank out a paper
- write out a paper in a mechanical way I had to crank out a paper almost every week to pass the course.
17. cut class
- not go to class I decided to cut class in order to study for my geography test.
18. draw a blank
- get no response from someone when you ask them a question The teacher drew a blank when she asked about the boy's plans for the weekend.
19. drop out of school
- stop attending school My friend dropped out of school when he was seventeen and began to drive a truck.
20. eager beaver
- someone who works very hard and is very enthusiastic The young girl was an eager beaver and always came to class before the other students.
21. fill in the blanks
- supply the missing words or information on a test or other exercise We had to fill in the blanks for most of the questions on the test.
22. flunk out
- fail a course or fail out of school The boy was very smart but he always flunked out of his language class.
23. from the old school
- having ideas that were popular in the past but which are no longer popular or common My grandmother was from the old school and always made her children make their own lunches and walk to school.
24. get credit for (a course)
- receive official recognition and credits after passing a course I was able to get credit for the course even though I had taken a similar course before.
25. get through (a course or set of material)
- finish (a course or set of material) The boy was a very good student and quickly got through every course that he started.
26. goof off
- waste time My sister spent most of the week goofing off and was not prepared for her test.
27. have one's nose in a book
- be reading a book The boy loves to read and always has his nose in a book.
28. higher education
- education after graduating from high school - usually college or university The government has recently invested a lot of money in higher education.
29. hit the books
- begin to study hard After playing all weekend I had to hit the books on Sunday evening.
30. honor roll
- a list of people/students with exceptional achievements My neighbor was on the honor roll during his last year in high school.
31. in pen
- written or signed with a pen The teacher asked the students to make sure that they wrote the essay in pen.
32. in pencil
- written or signed with a pencil I wrote the test in pencil so that I could erase my mistakes easily.
33. Ivy League
- a small group of older and famous eastern United States colleges and universities such as Harvard, Yale and Princeton Several of the company executives had gone to an Ivy League school.
34. know one's ABCs
- know the alphabet or the most basic things about something The students worked hard and had a good teacher and soon everyone knew their ABCs very well.
35. learn by heart
- memorize something so you can repeat it without thinking The children learned all of the songs by heart for the school play.
36. learn by rote
- learn or memorize something without thinking about it We learned many verbs by rote in the foreign language class.
37. live in an ivory tower
- not be aware of the realities of everyday life The university professors lived in an ivory tower and had no idea what was going on around them.
38. make the grade
- be satisfactory and of an expected level My final assignment didn't make the grade and I was forced to do it again.
39. meet the requirements (for something)
- fulfill the requirements (for something) The young woman was unable to meet the requirements to enter medical school.
40. off campus
- at a different location than the grounds of a college or university Most of the students went to a restaurant off campus when they had the chance.
41. old boy network
- the situation where people (usually men) who went to the same school help each other get good jobs It was an old law firm and being part of an old boy network was necessary to get a job there.
42. on campus
- located on the grounds of a college or university There was a small bank on campus which many of the students used.
43. pass with flying colors
- pass something easily and with a high score I was able to pass the science test with flying colors.
44. play hooky
- not go to school when you should The boys played hooky and went to the video game center for the afternoon.
45. publish or perish
- university professors often have to publish books or articles in journals or they will not be successful in their jobs at the university As a university professor his father wrote many scientific papers. He was forced to publish or perish.
46. put one's thinking cap on
- start thinking in a serious manner The boys put on their thinking caps and tried to think of a new name for the school newspaper.
47. read out loud
- read something so that other people can hear you The students each had a chance to read out loud from the book of poems.
48. read to oneself
- read without saying anything so that other people cannot hear you I spent the morning in the library reading to myself.
49. read through something
- read all of something I read through the test briefly before I started to answer any questions.
50. school of hard knocks
- the ordinary experience of learning from work and daily life She left school early and began to learn about life in the school of hard knocks.
51. school of thought
- a particular way or a philosophy of thinking about something There are many schools of thought related to the different ways to learn a foreign language.
52. show-and-tell
- in the lower grades of school children bring something interesting to show to the rest of the class The little girl brought in a turtle shell from her holiday to show-and-tell at school.
53. show of hands
- raise hands in a classroom or other group to vote or see what people think about something After a show of hands the class voted to go on a field trip the next week.
54. (in) single file
- stand in a line with one person behind the other The students lined up in single file before they entered the auditorium.
55. take attendance
- record the names of persons who are attending school or something similar After our teacher took attendance we began to do our math lesson.
56. take the roll
- call the names of students in an attendance book and expect them to answer if they are there The teacher took the roll and then we started the lesson.
57. teach one's grandmother to suck eggs
- try to tell or teach someone who knows more than you do how to do something Teaching some of the children how to use a computer is like teaching my grandmother to suck eggs. Many of them know more than I do.
58. teach someone a lesson
- do something to someone in order to punish them for their bad behavior My friend was always late so I taught her a lesson and left our meeting place before she had arrived.
59. teacher's pet
- the teacher's favorite student My sister was always the teacher's pet when she was in the first grade at school.
60. the three R's
- the three basic skills for a basic education - reading, (w)riting, and (a)rithmetic My father studied in a small country school where they studied the three R's and almost nothing else.
61. town-and-gown
- the relations (often bad) between a town and its people and the university and university students who are located in that town There were town-and-gown conflicts every year around graduation time when many parties were held for the new graduates.
62. university of life
- learning from daily life and work rather than going to university My grandfather began to work on the family farm when he was fourteen and learned everything from the university of life.
63. work one's way through college
- work at a job to help pay for your college or university expenses My brother worked his way through college at the local supermarket.