Education in the u.S.A. Part one Elementary and Secondary Education
Going to School in America Today
Each fall almost 50 million young Americans walk through the doorways of about 100,000 elementary and secondary schools for the start of a new school year. Filling classrooms from kindergarten to the 12th grade, they attend classes for an average of five hours a day, five days a week, until the beginning of the following summer.
About 85 percent of American students attend public schools (schools supported by American taxpayers). The other 15 percent attend private schools, for which their families choose to pay special attendance fees. Four out of five private schools in the United States are run by churches, synagogues or other religious groups. In such schools, religious teachings are a part of the curriculum. (Religious instruction is not given in public schools.)
The combined expenses of both education systems, public and private, exceed $190,000 million a year. From that point of view, American education is a powerful consumer. Who decides how many of these thousands of millions of dollars should be used annually for teachers' salaries, new computers or extra books? Private schools that meet state standards use the fees they collect as they think best. But where public taxes are involved, spending is guided by boards of education (policymakers for schools) at the state and/or district level.
The same thing is true for decisions about the school curriculum, teacher standards and certification, and the overall measurement of student progress.
Education — a Local Matter
From Hawaii to Delaware, from Alaska to Louisiana, each of the 50 states in the United States has its own laws regulating education From state to state, some laws are similar; others are not. For example:
All states require young people to attend school. (The age limits vary: 32 states require attendance to age 16; eight to 18; etc.) Thus, every child in America is guaranteed up, to 13 yeas of education. This is true regardless of a child's race, religion, sex, learning problems, physical handicap or inability to speak English.
Some states play a strong role in the selection of learning material for their students. For example, state committees may decide which publishers textbooks can be purchased with state funds. In other cases, decisions about buying instructional material are left to local school officials.
What an American Student Learns
American students pass through several levels of schooling — thus several curricula on their way to a high school diploma. They attend:
Elementary School. "Elementary school" usually means grades Kindergarten (K) through 8. Many Americans refer to the elementary grades as "grammar school" Secondary School. "Secondary school" generally means grades 9-12. These grades are popularly called "high school". However, in many districts, "junior high school" includes grades 7-8. And when 7-9 are included with the 10th, 11th and 12th grades, all six are said to form a "senior high school".
Although there is no national curriculum in the United States, certain subjects are taught in all (K) to 12 systems across the country.
Almost every elementary school provides instruction in these subjects: mathematics; language arts (a subject that includes reading, grammar, composition and literature); penmanship, science, social studies (a subject that includes history, geography, citizenship and economics); music; art and physical education.
Most secondary schools offer the same "core" of required subjects; English, mathematics, science, social studies and physical education.
Students are guided by school counselors in choosing electives, which can range from specialized academic to vocational subjects. For example, high school offer more than one year — in most cases, several years — of math, science and the other core subjects. After they complete the required units in these core areas (for example, one year of American history), students can take additional units as electives (perhaps a year of European history and a year of world political issues).
Other elective courses vary from school to school. Some high schools specialize in particular types of subjects — business education, or industrial trades, or foreign languages, for example. A student planning to be a physician would want to attend a school offering many electives in science.