Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Grades
USA
American children usually start in kindergarten or grade one at the age of five or six
and go up one grade each year until reaching grade 12 at the age of 17.
These years are usually organized under the ‘6-3-3 plan’. Where grades 1 to 6 are in
elementary school; grades 7 to 9 in junior high or middle school and grades 10 to 12 in
a high school.
PERU
Peruvian children usually start in Kindergarten at the age of 5 for 1 year. Then, they go
to primary school for 6 years. Finally, they go to high school for 5 years.
Terms
USA
The American school year runs from early September until May or June and is divided
into ‘quarters’ or terms.
During the school year there are some breaks like thanksgiving break, Christmas break
or mid-winter break. The largest break is the summer break; it is from 10-11 weeks.
PERU
The Peruvian school year runs from early March until Mid-December and is divided in
trimesters.
During the school year there are some breaks too, like Easter Week or National
Holidays. The vacation in Peru are from late December to early March.
School Hours
USA
The school day in elementary schools is usually from 8.30am to 3pm or 3.30pm, with
an hour for lunch. In high schools, it is usually from 7.30am to 2pm or 2.30pm. This is
divided in six one-hour classes and a 30-minute lunch break. Extra-curricular activities
and sports are scheduled after school hours. Lessons in public schools are from
Monday to Friday.
PERU
The school day in elementary schools is usually from 8:00 am to 12:45, with a 15-
minute break. In high schools, it is usually from 8:00 am from 1:30 pm. This is divided
in 45-minute classes and a 15-minute break. Lessons in public schools are from
Monday to Friday.
In contrast to Peruvian schools, where the students often have a classroom belonging
to the class, in American schools it is the teachers who stay in the same classroom. The
students are the ones who change rooms.
Activities during the year
USA
During the year, teachers organize many activities covering different kind of interests:
Sports Tournament
Christmas Show
PERU
In Peru there are not many activities during the year. Only there are little celebrations
wrote in the Civic Calendar.
The most important activities are Mother’s day, Father’s day, among others.
Educational quality
According to the latest reports of UNESCO on educational quality. The United States is
in position 27 and Peru is in position 127. The study evaluated 133 countries around
the world.