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John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints |
I am therefore extremely grateful to Major Jim Collins of the USAF and Heather Paine who kindly provided much of the information which appears on this page.
Pre-school/Nursery goes from three or four years of age and then there's Kindergarten which is like a "play school", where children begin to learn basic 3R's: reading/writing/arithmetic.
When children reach the year of their fifth birthday they can begin school properly. Many parents hold their child back a year if they would be likely to be the youngest in the class. They feel it might be too demoralising for the child to be in that position.
Elementary School is followed by Middle School (for 6 to 8 year olds) [I think this should read grades 6 to 8, see comment below - JC] and then there's High School (for 9 to 12 year olds) [I think this should read grades 9 to 12, see comment below - JC] . If a child has "graduated" from High School, they can apply to College, or take a test as part of the application procedure.
School buses are paid for by the tax system. There are school taxes, property tax, state tax and federal tax!
In the USA a public school is a regular state-funded school and a private school means people pay more for their children to attend. There are also many religious schools (like British convents etc) and something called Charter schools - I will have to do more research on them for you.
University is often called "school" in the USA for some strange reason.
First year students at High School and at University are called "Freshmen" - which sounds pretty sexist to me! Next is "Sophomore" (second year), "Junior" is third year and "Senior" is fourth year. Then students graduate.
Fall Semester runs from September to December and Spring Semester goes from January to June.
For those in a hurry (as I was), or who want to raise their GPA (Grade Point Average) by retaking a class, there are two summer sessions - one in the month of July and one in August. Summer session classes are usually daily (or at least four days a week) and the format is intensive. I did two each session and it nearly killed me because when the semester begins in September students have had no long break and are almost "studied out"!
John Bergmayer sent me the following comment:
The description of primary schools in America is inaccurate. It is more like:
Elementary School: Grades 1 - 5 (or 4 in some places), ages 6 - 10.
Middle School: Grades 6 - 8, ages 11 - 13.
High School: Grades 9 - 12, ages 14 - 18.
I actually graduated high school when I was 17 - it varies slightly.
Q. Can you recommend any web sites which explain the fundamentals of the US and/or Canadian education systems?
A. In the US there is no "national" education system, unfortunately in my view. Each state sets up its own requirements. You might try a search under "Dept of Education", "Department of Education", "NEA" or "National Education Association" and see if you come up something there. Note that NEA also stands for "National Endowment for the Arts".
Q. What are the dates of the school holidays?
A. These change year by year. The school year is 180 days, that's pretty much standard nationwide. States determine which, if any, holidays they will have off. Note: I have little knowledge of the "Year Round" school year that is becoming more common. The summer vacation was originally intended to release farm children in time to help with the planting and harvesting.
The school year normally runs as follows:
A. Primary/Elementary School: Kindergarten is for ages 5-6. 1st Grade is for age 6. 2nd Grade is for age 7, and so on up to 6th Grade which is for ages 11-12.
Junior High/Middle School: 7th Grade is for ages 12-13. 8th Grade is for ages 13-14. 9th Grade is for ages 14-15. 9th Grade is sometimes moved into high school, pupils then becoming "Freshmen" in High School.
For high school pupils the "nth Grade" term is normally dropped for all but formal record keeping. 9th Grade is for ages 14-15 and is called "Freshmen". 10th Grade is for ages 15-16 and is called "Sophomore". 11th Grade is for ages 16-17 and is called "Junior". 12th Grade is for ages 17-18 and is called "Senior".
In most states driver's education is available via the high school curriculum for students who will turn 16 that school year.
Q. What are the hours of the school day?
A. Variable. A typical school day starts between 7am and 7:30am and runs until between 2:3pm and 3:30pm. Schools are open Monday to Friday. In some high schools the pupils receive "work experience/work release" enabling them to use part of the school day to work at a job.
Q. Do parents have to make a payment for the use of school buses?
A. No, this would be unfair to rural/farm families whose children have to ride up to an hour each way to go to school and have no other transport options. School buses are paid for through state tax (for states that have it).
Q. Do schools provide a mid-day meal?
A. Yes. For lower-income families the lunch is provided free-of-charge. Also, in Utah there is a breakfast program for students from low-income families also free or heavily subsidised.
Q. Is there a national curriculum?
A. Not in the British sense. The NEA has guidelines on what should be taught when but it's really up to each state's department of education to determine what is taught.
Q. What exams are taken at what ages?
A. Some states have standardised competency tests on basic skills. Passing those tests enables pupils to move on to the next grade. Sadly, however, moving to the next grade is a social promotion in too many instances.
There are no college acceptance exams as in Britain or Germany. College acceptance is based on academic records and some teacher recommendations. Normally, it's pretty easy to get at least probationary acceptance in a state college/university.
Q. What qualifications can be obtained at school?
A. None really. The historical purpose of compulsory schooling in the US was for the future farm hand/factory worker to gain some basic knowledge of citizenship, arithmetic to calculate taxes and the monthly budget, and learn lessons such as being on time, etc. For the future wife there were lessons on basic household skills such as cooking, cleaning, child care, etc. Schooling was never intended to provide an academic/college preparation nor a vocational education. Fortunately vocational classes are now offered, but students do not receive an apprenticeship or certification to the best of my knowledge.
Q. What are the educational possibilities after compulsory schooling?
A. Fifty to seventy percent of all high school graduates go on to College (University). For those who wish, they may quit school at 16 or "test out" of school by taking the General Education Diploma (GED) test. A passing score awards a student a high-school equivalency diploma. This is also an option for those who have dropped out of school and can't take traditional classes.
External link: United States Department Of Education - checked Feb-00.
Q. A semester is one term at a university which has two terms in its educational year. A trimester is one term at a university which has three terms in its educational year. I received the following explanation from a visitor to this site:
Almost all universities in the US are traditionally not operational in the summer (and most students follow this tradition). Thus, semesters are only a little over four months in length or so. Trimesters are even shorter. Many universities offer a limited selection of courses over a special summer term but attendance is much lighter. I believe semester systems are more common than trimesters. Semesters are also used at many middle schools and high schools.Anne Stibor of Wisconsin sent me this comment:
It's been my experience that semesters are more common than the three-term year here in the States (at least in the Midwest). Primary and secondary schools generally have a school year running from late-August or early-September through early-June, with the break between semesters being somewhere in January. Many colleges and universities have first semester running from late-August or early-September until mid-December and then second semester running mid-January through early-to-mid May.Q. What is the difference between a university and a college?
A. Marvin Barron, currently a college student at Swarthmore College, near Philadelphia, kindly sent me this explanation:
Although it is quite easy to get into a state university or a community college in the US, competition for private universities and colleges is extremely intense. The title "college" does not refer to a vocational nature of the institution, but rather simply conveys that the school does not offer a graduate (beyond four year) course of study. Colleges are generally either community colleges that target low income and generally less-educated individuals or highly selective private institutions that provide a general liberal arts education.
It would seem that charter schools are a relatively new form of public schools (in the American sense; in other words they do not charge a fee). They differ from normal public schools in that they are not administered by local school boards.
About 34 US states which have laws permitting charter schools. The word "charter" refers to each school's constitution. It would seem that the day-to-day funding of charter schools is provided out of taxation based on the number of pupils, although sometimes at a lower rate than for normal public schools. However, it seems that in most cases groups running charter schools must provide the buildings.
Advocates of charter schools claim that their independence allows them to provide a superior education. Opponents say that they sometimes cream off better pupils and funding to the detriment of the normal public schools in an area, their pupils tend to be drawn from one section of society, and sometimes they are run by companies for profit who employ poorly qualified teachers on low pay.
As an outsider, it would appear to me that a major benefit of charter schools is the enthusiasm generated in people involved with a new project and making their own decisions.
USA Today 14-Aug-03 stated that charter schools are publicly funded but privately operated.
The following information about charter schools in the USA appeared in a BBC News web site story which was published in June 2004:
According to the National Home Education Research Institute, there are over two million homeschooled children in the USA, and this number is growing by 15% per year.
Most recently modified 11-Jun-04