The American School System

1.1. General Information

The American education system is unlike that in many other countries. Education is primarily the
responsibility of state and local government, and so there is little standardiation in the curriculum,
for e!ample. The individual states have great control over "hat is taught in their schools and over
the re#uirements that a student must meet, and they are also responsible for the funding of
schooling. Therefore, there is huge variation regarding courses, sub$ects, and other activities % it
al"ays depends on "here the school is located. Still, there are some common points, as e.g. the
division of the education system into three levels& elementary'primary education, secondary
education, and postsecondary'higher education (college or university).



*ap of the +.S. Education System

,ormal schooling lasts 1- years, until around age 1.. /ompulsory schooling, though, ends by age
10 in most states1 the remaining states re#uire students to attend school until they are 12 or 1.. All
children in the +nited States have access to free public schools. 3rivate schools (religious and non4
sectarian) are available, but students must pay tuition to attend them.

In the follo"ing description of the +.S. education structure, "e "ill focus only on the first t"o
levels& primary and secondary schools.


1.-. Structure

+.S. educators fre#uently use the terms 541- education, and sometimes 3541- education, to refer to
all primary and secondary education from pre4school prior to the first year or grade through
secondary graduation. 6ne of the follo"ing three patterns usually prevails in the community&
Elementary school (547), middle school (04.), high school (841-)1
Elementary school (540), $unior high school (248), senior high school (841-)1 or
Elementary school (54.), high school (841-).
9 The ma$ority of +.S. children begin their educations prior to entering regular school. 3arents
"ho send their children to pre4schools'nursery schools (age -4:) and kindergartens (age 740) have to
finance these institutions privately. /hildren learn the alphabet, colors, and other elementary basics.

9 +.S. children enter formal schooling around age 0. The first pattern (see above) is the most
common one. Elementary students are typically in one classroom "ith the same teacher most of the
day.

9 After elementary school, students proceed to middle school, "here they usually move from
class to class each period, "ith a ne" teacher and a ne" mi!ture of students in every class. Students
can select from a "ide range of academic classes and elective classes.

9 In high school, students in their first year are called freshman, in their second year sophomore,
in their third year $unior, and in their last and fourth year senior.
There is an even greater variety of sub$ects than before. Students must earn a certain number
of credits ("hich they get for a successfully completed course) in order to graduate and be a"arded
"ith a ;igh School <iploma % there is no final e!amination like in many other countries.

,ranklin ;igh School graduation
ceremony (http&''tennessean.com'slidesho"s'-==>'"am'graduations'franklin'2.shtml)


The number and combination of classes necessary depend on the school district and on the kind of
diploma desired.

6nly "ith a high school diploma students can enroll in postsecondary education. It is important to
kno" that colleges and universities sometimes re#uire certain high school credits or tests (e.g. SAT)
for admission, and students must plan their high school career "ith those re#uirements in mind.
http&''""".ruser.uni4heidelberg.de
Types of +S Institutions of ;igher Education
?iberal Arts /olleges
A liberal arts college is one "ith a primary emphasis on undergraduate study in the ?iberal Arts and
Sciences.
Students in the liberal arts generally concentrate their studies in a particular field of study, "hile
receiving e!posure to a "ide range of academic sub$ects, from the sciences to humanities sub$ects.
Encyclopaedia @ritannica defines liberal arts as a Auniversity curriculum aimed at imparting general
kno"ledge and developing general intellectual capacities, in contrast to a professional, vocational,
or technical curriculum.B ?iberal arts institutions can be either private or public.
3rivate +niversities
3rivate universities are universities not operated by governments, although many receive public
monies, especially in the form of favorable ta! considerations and governmental student loans and
grants. They receive private funding through alumni donations, faculty research grants, and tuition
fees. American students en$oy private institutions for their technological resources, research
facilities, and small class sies. 3rivate universities are able to attract and retain teaching staff "ell4
kno"n in their academic fields. The teaching e!perience is enriched by the staffCs varying
e!periences outside of the classroom. +nusual and innovative academic programs may be found on
private university campuses. Some of the most competitive and selective institutions of higher
education in the +nited States are private. ,or e!ample, +.S. De"s E Forld Geport ranks the top
ten universities in the +nited States for -=1- (in numeric order) as& ;arvard +niversity, 3rinceton
+niversity, Hale +niversity, /olumbia +niversity, /alifornia Institute of Technology, *assachusetts
Institute of Technology, Stanford +niversity, +niversity of /hicago, +niversity of 3ennsylvania and
<uke +niversity.
3ublic +niversities
A public institution, often referred to as a state university, is one that receives funding from the state
and'or federal government, although tuition revenue and private funding also contribute to its
financial stability. These institutions may follo" state4"ide admission re#uirements, or have their
o"n individual re#uirements. ,aculty research grants typically are important to state university
teaching staff and bring numerous practical research opportunities to you. These public universities
often have large departments "hich offer numerous degree options. 3ublic or state universities
generally are less costly than private institutions, but still offer outstanding learning opportunities.
http&''""".universityguideonline.org