What is curriculum?

Curriculum has numerous definitions, which can be slightly confusing. In its broadest sense, the word is used to refer to all courses offered at a school. This is particularly true of schools at the university level, where the diversity of classes might be an attractive point to a potential student.

A curriculum may also refer to a defined and prescribed course of studies, which students must fulfill in order to pass a certain level of education. For example, an elementary school might discuss how its curriculum, or its entire sum of lessons and teachings, is designed to improve national testing scores or help students learn the basics. An individual teacher might also refer to his or her individual course of classes, referring to all the subjects that will be taught during a school year.