NationStates Jolt Archive

I Would like to know about American educational system.
I don't know much, so some basic information wloud be nice.
I Konow you have high school and after that you go to college...
Is that right at all?!?... But how old are you then? How old are you when you start high school? How long does it take? Is there more option.
I don't need to know every little detail. :confused:


Thanks!

Ninni, the American school system sucks.

In Math-
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d03/tables/dt407.asp

and Science-
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d03/tables/dt411.asp

Every state has compulsory goverment schools that run 12-13 years or "grades". Normally, the first year is called kindergarden and is often only a half day long. Kids normally start kindergarden at age 5. The rest of the years are just called 1st grade, 2nd grade, etc. Usually, K and grades 1 thru 5 or 6 are in an Elementary school. Grades 6 or 7 thru 8 or 9 is either called junior high school, or middle school. The final 3 or 4 years belong to what's called senior high school or simply high school. It's these years where performance is important for college. A high school diploma is considered minimal acceptable education by many employers.

Normally, students are 18 years old when they finish the 12th grade. They are legally required to attend school at least until age 16. All K-12 public education is available for free. The schools are generally finianced primarily by local property taxes as well as state and federal funding. The state and especially federal funding come with strings attached. There are also private schools and in some cases there are "charter" schools, which are sort of like publicly funded private schools. Parents also have the option of home-schooling their children. BTW, IMO american public schooling is terrible.

College is usually not available for free. There are state-run public universities as well as private universities. The tuition is usually much cheaper at the state universities, but expensive private universities are often considered superior. Government backed low-interest loans (cheap money) are avaible, and in some cases grants (free money) are as well. There are also community colleges, which are much cheaper than universities, but only offer the first 2 years of a 4 year degree. There are also loads of private trade schools and even some "commerical" universities. Such universities are econimcally competitive with state schools. In the US, a 4 year degree can sometimes be free or can cost as much as $100,000. It depends on many factors.

Every state has compulsory goverment schools that run 12-13 years or "grades". Normally, the first year is called kindergarden and is often only a half day long. Kids normally start kindergarden at age 5. The rest of the years are just called 1st grade, 2nd grade, etc. Usually, K and grades 1 thru 5 or 6 are in an Elementary school. Grades 6 or 7 thru 8 or 9 is either called junior high school, or middle school. The final 3 or 4 years belong to what's called senior high school or simply high school. It's these years where performance is important for college. A high school diploma is considered minimal acceptable education by many employers.

Normally, students are 18 years old when they finish the 12th grade. They are legally required to attend school at least until age 16. All K-12 public education is available for free. The schools are generally finianced primarily by local property taxes as well as state and federal funding. The state and especially federal funding come with strings attached. There are also private schools and in some cases there are "charter" schools, which are sort of like publicly funded private schools. Parents also have the option of home-schooling their children. BTW, IMO american public schooling is terrible.

College is usually not available for free. There are state-run public universities as well as private universities. The tuition is usually much cheaper at the state universities, but expensive private universities are often considered superior. Government backed low-interest loans (cheap money) are avaible, and in some cases grants (free money) are as well. There are also community colleges, which are much cheaper than universities, but only offer the first 2 years of a 4 year degree. There are also loads of private trade schools and even some "commerical" universities. Such universities are econimcally competitive with state schools. In the US, a 4 year degree can sometimes be free or can cost as much as $100,000. It depends on many factors.


Thank you!! :p

Ninni, the American school system sucks.

In Math-
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d03/tables/dt407.asp

and Science-
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d03/tables/dt411.asp


I've also heard that American education system is no good. From people who has experience with lets say American and German Schooling...

[Edit:] Heh, beaten to it... Oh well, might as well leave this up, even if it is redundant...

Well, school begins at 5 or 6 (depends on your birthdate... for instance, since my birthdate is in December, I couldn't go to school until I was 6), but for most, it is at age 5, so I'll use that as the starting point...

There are things like pre-school and such (which is essentially "educational" daycare) for younger children, but they are not required...

Anyways, the first required grade we enter at age 5 is called "kindergarten"...

This is the beginning of our "elementary school" years, which usually last until grade 5 (6 years total... Kindergarten, and grades 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5)... This schooling usually consists of being in one classroom all day, doing a little of everything, taught by one teacher (reading, math, science, etc), with some visits by specialized teachers now and then for things like art, music, etc...

Grades 6, 7, and 8 are often lumped together into "Junior High" or "Middle School"... These are used to gradually get us used to the High School schedules, which are a switch from one classroom and one teacher, to multiple classrooms, with a teacher for each subject (go to math class for an hour or 2 "period" in one room, switch to another room for English for another hour or 2, etc)... It's generally an all-around way of getting us out of the elementary school mindset, and into the High School mindset...

The breakup between elementary and junior high/middle school can vary from city to city... Some of them put grade 6 as the last elementary grade, and grades 7 and 8 are Junior High, and there are probably some other variations, but it's generally the same everywhere...

And now, comes High School... Grades 9, 10, 11, and 12 ("Freshman", "Sophomore", "Junior", and "Senior" years, respectively)...

Senior year (grade 12, which makes a total of 13 years counting Kindergarten) is the last year we are required to attend school... We graduate after this year, and receive our diplomas... We are generally at age 18 at this point (I was 19, due to having to wait until I was 6 to start going to school, like I mentioned above)

College/University comes next, and is entirely optional... Depending on what you're going to study, College/University takes different numbers of years to finish... For most degrees, it's 4 years... To become a doctor or a lawyer, though, it usually takes 8 (4 to get your bachelor's degree, and another 4 to get your master's)... There are even some degrees that only take 2 years... And there is no limit (budget and time allowing) on how many years you can go to College... You don't have to stop after getting a degree, you can go back to get a higher degree, or even start over in a different subject... You can also spread out your schooling over more years (instead of taking a full year's worth of "credits" each year, you can take half a year's worth of credits, and go for twice as many years)

As far as our first, mandatory, 13 years of school, there aren't many options... Our parents can apply to "Home School" us, which means that the students stay at home, and are taught by their parents (receiving government poficiency checks on a regular basis to make sure they're getting a proper education), and there are things like "Parochial Schools" (Catholic school) that our parents can choose to send us to... But other than that, we're pretty much stuck doing what they tell us, and going where they tell us...

During High School (and even Junior High), the advanced students usually have the option of taking "Honors" courses, and even College-level courses... Successfully passing these types of advanced courses can give us a headstart going into College...

Exceptionally advanced students sometimes can skip grades entirely... But I don't think that's a good thing for their social development (being pushed out from your regular class of students, and into a class of older ones might cause some social issues)... However, it is sometimes a necessary evil, especially when a student is so far ahead of his/her peers, that remaining at their level is a waste of time (and might even cause regression)...

On the flip side, poor students can fail a grade, and be held back for another year (or until they successfully complete the course work for that grade... which can sometimes be done through "summer school")...

Students that "drop out" of school (which can be legally done after age 18, if they're still in school) can go back later on to finish their schooling and get a "GED" (General Education Development) diploma, which is the equivalent of a High School diploma...

After we graduate High School, we can go to any College/University that we wish (as long as we can afford it, and we pass their admissions process) and "major" in any subject that we wish... A "Major" is the term that is applied to the main subject that you are studying for your degree... College students take basic courses as well, but focus on major-specific classes...

Also, it is not necessary to jump directly into College/University after graduating from High School... You can enter College at any age, even years after you've graduated... And now, there are lots of online Colleges, in which you can get the same education over the computer right from home...

That should about cover everything... Oops, I misread that last line... Guess I gave you every little detail, anyways...lol

I've also heard that American education system is no good. From people who has experience with lets say American and German Schooling...

I don't have any outside experience to compare it to, but having gone through it, I can say that it's not terrible, but it definitely needs some improvement...

For one, it's entirely too standardized... It's set up on a system of "people of this age and in this grade should perform at this specific level"... That's not possible to achieve, and some kids get "left behind" from being below standard, and some become extremely bored from being more advanced than the standard... There are some variations in place for these non-average students, but these systems are pretty much just "band-aid" fixes...

As far as the poor scores coming from our students in statistics like those posted above, I suspect that apathy plays a large role... Education in this country is not given the proper amount of emphasis... Many just don't think that it is important... And in lots of cases, school is just a way for these kids to go play some sports (only going for barely passing grades so they can remain eligible to play those sports)...

I don't know where the cause of this apathy lies (obviously, it's probably in multiple causes), but it seems to me that it's a major factor in our failing educational system...

Another problem is the rather poor funding our school systems receive... This isn't a major problem in my town, but in many places (some extremely close to here), the schools are falling apart from lack of money... Teachers go on strike, or have to be laid off, they can't afford new textbooks, and have to continue using old, sometimes obsolete books, etc... Many schools are also overcrowded, and getting worse by the day... When I was in school, the average classroom size was 20-30 students... These days, I'd guess it's probably higher than 40 or even 50 in many places... Especially in those districts that can't afford to build new facilities, or expand the existing ones (which is a problem in many, many places)... And all of those students are to one, lone teacher... This usually results in little to no individual attention...

I can't say that the school system is a complete failure, though... It works very well in some cases (not to brag, but I think I did alright myself...lol), it just fails miserably in enough cases to overshadow the accomplishments...

I've also heard that American education system is no good. From people who has experience with lets say American and German Schooling...

The system, not the actual schools I take it ? I also prefer the 'Humboldts bildungsideal' (emphasis on acquiring pure knowledge) for universities over the Anglo-saxon system (emphasis on practical applications of knowledge) - but the actual German educationsystem is vastly underfunded... both on highschool and on university level...

On the other hand - it *is* accessible for all.

I've also heard that American education system is no good. From people who has experience with lets say American and German Schooling...American schooling is not nearly as bad as people make it out to be. Usually the people most vocal about the failings of the public school system are the very intelligent and the very stupid. The very intelligent will often complain that they didn't learn anything in high school (a statement which I find to be a little ridiculous, but whatever), because teachers are always aiming for the lowest common denominator. The very stupid will say they didn't learn anything in high school, for a variety of reasons which I don't really think I need to get into. I think the school system does a decent job of taking care of everyone in the middle, but does a piss-poor job of taking care of the extremes.

Also, you have to take any rankings you see on various subjects with a grain of salt. A lot is made of the fact that the East Asians consistently kick the US's butt when it comes to academics. Why is this? Because the entire focus of Chinese and Japanese public education is on test-taking. You'll often hear "teaching for the test" as an argument against standardized testing in the United States. Well, that's all that China and Japan do. Thus, their students do exceedingly well when it comes to measuring who is better at what. Unfortunately, their style of education does not lend itself to critical thinking and creativity, which is why American college students are usually superior to Japanese and Chinese college students. I'm teaching in Japan right now, and you be amazed at my students' inability to think abstractly. It really blows me away.

As for European superiority... well, I really don't know much about the European education system to make any sort of judgement.

There are a lot of problems with the American public education system (I'm not even going to get into college/university problems). Many schools are underfunded and overcrowded. The best teachers escape to the suburbs, leaving the worst teachers to deal with the urban students who need the most help. There is simultaneously too much emphasis on standardized tests and not nearly enough emphasis on results. I guess those are the biggest problems right now.

but the actual German educationsystem is vastly underfunded... both on highschool and on university level...
Very true. It's amazing how they can subsidise coal mining with 40 billion euros to save less then 20,000 jobs in mining. But they can't spend more then 9 somewhat billion on education.

On the other hand - it *is* accessible for all.
For the moment it is. They want to introduce fees for higher education now. Somewhere between 200 and 500 euros for one semester. Still not terribly expensive in my opinion but it's causing quit a riot now.