The Education System in the USA
Introduction
In the USA, children start school when they are five or six
years old. Depending on the state, schooling is compulsory until the age of 16
or 18. Children younger than five can go to a nursery school or preschool.
At the age of five or six, the children attend elementary
school (also known as grade school or grammar school), which last six years.
The fist year at elementary school is called kindergarten.
After elementary school, students attend middle school (also
known as junior high school) for three years. Then they continue at high
school. In some states, students have to stay in school until they are 18 years
old. In other states they may leave school at 16 or 17 with parental
permission.
Age School
< 5 nursery
school / preschool
5-11 elementary
school
11-14 middle school
/ junior high school
14-18 high school /
senior high school
When students in the USA say what year they are in, they
usually use ordinal numbers, e. g. ‘tenth grade’. (In the UK students would use
cardinal numbers, e. g. ‘year ten’.)
Classes
At elementary school pupils primarily learn how to read,
write and count. There are about 20 to 30 pupils in one class.
At junior and senior high school, mandatory subjects are
English, maths, biology, chemistry, physics, physical education and history.
Schools also offer optional courses from which the students can choose, e. g.
art, modern languages, computers. Physical education is a very important
subject in the United States – many students participate in sports programs.
Gifted and talented students can take advanced courses in
their schools or attend additional courses at community colleges in the
afternoons or during the holidays. Often such courses are later acknowledged by
universities, and can facilitate early graduation.
Grading Scale
In the USA (as in other English speaking countries) letter
grades are used in reports.
A > 90 % (excellent)
B > 80 % (very good)
C > 70 % (improvement needed)
D > 60 % (close fail)
E > 50 % (fail)
F < 50 % (fail)
In general, only grades A to C are a 'pass' – a plus (+) or
minus (-) might be added (e. g. A-, B+).
Different Kinds of Schools
Most students in the USA are enrolled in public schools.
These are financed through taxes, so parents do not have to pay for their
children's education. About 10 % of US students attend private schools, where
parents have to pay a yearly fee.
Another option is homeschooling: approximately 1-2 % of
parents in the USA educate their children at home. Some reasons for
homeschooling are religious views, special needs (e. g. handicapped children),
or problems in traditional schools (bullying, drugs etc.). However, there is
also opposition to homeschooling claiming that the students have difficulties
socializing with others, that homeschooling (often carried out by the parents)
is of a poor academic quality and that (especially concerning religion) extremist
views might be encouraged.
School Uniforms
It is not common for students in the USA to wear school
uniforms, but many schools have dress codes telling students what kind of
clothing is or is not allowed in school. Some schools (especially private
schools) have started to require their students to wear school uniforms in
order to improve school discipline and avoid 'fashion cliques'.
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