Education in the usa

Schooling is compulsory for all children in the United States, but the age range from state to state. Compulsory education is provided by public schools, state-certified private schools, and an approved home school program. In most public and private schools, education is divided into three levels: elementary school, middle school (sometimes called junior high school), and high school (sometimes referred to as senior high school).

Most children enter the public education system around ages five or six. The American school year traditionally begins at the end of August or the day after Labor Day in September, after the traditional summer recess. Children are assigned into year groups known as grades, beginning with preschool, followed by kindergarten and finishing in twelfth grade. The US uses ordinal numbers (e.g., first grade) for naming grades (In the UK students would use cardinal numbers, e. g. year ten.) The school year ends up usually in late May or early June.

After pre-school and kindergarten, there are five years in elementary school. After completing five grades, the student will enter junior high or middle school and then high school to get the high school diploma.

Students completing high school may choose to attend a college or university (post-secondary education). Undergraduate and graduate degrees may be associate's degrees (AA, AS) after two year program or bachelor's degrees (B.A., B.S., B.F.A., B.S.W., B.Eng., B.Phil.) normally after four years of study.

Curriculum varies widely depending on the institution. Typically, an undergraduate will be able to select an academic major or concentration, which comprises the main or special subjects, and students may change their major one or more times.

Postraduate degrees may be either master's degrees (M.S., M.B.A., M.S.W.) or doctorates (Ph.D., J.D., M.D.).

Private institutions are privately funded and there is wide variety in size, focus, and operation. Some private institutions are large research universities, while others are small liberal arts colleges.

(AA, AS) – Associate of Arts, Associate of Science

(B.A., B.S., B.F.A., B.S.W., B.Eng., B.Phil.) – Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Social Work, Bachelor of Engineering, Bachelor of Philosophy

(M.S., M.B.A., M.S.W.) – Master of Science, Master of Business Administration, Master of Social Work

(Ph.D., J.D., M.D.) – Doctor of Philosophy, Juris Doctor, Doctor of Medicine

TEXT 7. Read and translate the text. What university would you choose?

American Private Universities

Harvard University is an American private Ivy League research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was established in 1636. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the US. It comprises eleven separate academic units – ten faculties and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.

Some US presidents have been graduates, and more than 70 Nobel Laureates have been student, faculty, or staff members. Harvard is also the alma mater of most American billionaires. The Harvard University Library is the largest academic library in the United States, and one of the largest in the world.

Yale University is an American private Ivy League research university located in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1701.

About 50 Nobel Laureates, some US Presidents, several foreign heads of state graduated from this university. Yale Law School is particularly well-regarded and is among the most selective law schools in the US. The official color of the university and its athletic teams is Yale Blue.

Yale has an intense athletic rivalry with Harvard traditionally culminating in The Game, although the Harvard–Yale Regatta predates the football game. This rivalry, though, is put aside every two years when the Harvard and Yale Track and Field teams come together to compete against a combined Oxford University and Cambridge University team, a competition that is the oldest continuous international amateur competition in the world.

Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university located in Princeton, New Jersey. Princeton provides undergraduate and graduate instruction in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and engineering. Princeton does not have schools of medicine, law or business, but it does offer professional degrees through the School of Public and International Affairs, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the School of Architecture.

Stanford University is an American private research university located in Stanford, California. The university is organized into seven schools including academic schools of Humanities and Sciences and Earth Sciences as well as professional schools of Business, Education, Engineering, Law, and Medicine.

Stanford alumni have founded many prominent technology companies including Cisco Systems, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Silicon Graphics and Yahoo!

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, also known as MIT, is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.

California Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Caltech) is a private research university located in Pasadena, California. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering.

Numerous faculty members are associated with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute as well as NASA. Although Caltech has a strong tradition of practical jokes and pranks.

TEXT 8. Read and translate the dialogue. Answer the questions below.