Education system in the US

Main Boards of Education:

1. State Board: - responsible for curricula and text books

- responsible for setting standards for graduation and entering state colleges
and universities.
- responsible for distributing of state funds to local communities

2. Local Board: - controls higher teacher and other personnel

- responsible for buildings and grounds
- controls distribution of local funds

Main Ideas:
• Democratization: everyone should get education, compulsory to age of 16, equal rights
• Socialization of immigrants: schools are an instrument of integrating foreigners, emphasis
on civics, government and history, used to be foreign languages in the 60ies.

Preschool: nursery school and kindergartens

Grade School: 8 years, 5 years or 6 years, starts at the age of 6 years
Junior High School: 3 or 2 years to the age of 13, often part of grade school (courses: drivers
education, R.O.T.C → premilitary training, non-required subjects are called electives)
Middle School: usually separate school
Senior High School: 4 years (14-17) use the terms freshman, sophomore, junior and senior

Grades = Noten, A-excellent, B-good, C-average, D-poor, F-fail

PTA – Parent teacher association – on local, state & national level,discuss matters concerning
education or students, PTSA – Parent Teacher Students association – in the last years
GPA – grade point average – average of all marks received in High School
SAT – Scholastic Assessment Test – to determine qualifications during the year for college-level
work. One of the criteria used to admit students to colleges and universities. 2 foreign languages
required when planning to study, extracurricular activities & sports usually after school, no grades

Ivy-League: Association of long-standing private colleges and unis in the northeastern USA which
are of high scholastic achievement and social standing, e.g. Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth

Colleges: 4 years, same terms like in high school, emphasizes a liberal and general education, rather
than a specialized technical or vocational preparation, awards bachelor's degree. May be
independent and privately controlled. 1St 4 years: undergraduate programme (but no Law → post
graduate programme), 1st 2 years variety of courses before concentrating on a specific field, 2nd 2
years general courses finished, you choose one major and 1 or 2 minors but you can take elective
courses, (Junior College: 2 year programme, run by state, degrees are called associated degrees)

Universities: liberal arts & science college and often other colleges, offering undergraduate
programme, also includes graduates ad professional schools, it confers the whole range of degrees
in various fields, degrees awarded in a “commencement ceremony”. Different kinds of Unis are:
Public Uni: school fees & board costs called tuition, Private Unis: cost more, old ones are in Ivy-
League, Ethnic Unis: e.g. black universities