USA EDUCATION IN

BRIEF

What is education?

Education is
the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge,
skills, values, beliefs, and habits. Educational methods include
storytelling, discussion, teaching, training, and directed research.
Education frequently takes place under the guidance of educators,
but learners may also educate themselves. Education can take
place in formal or informal settings and any experience that has a
formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts may be
considered educational. The U.S. educational system can be
characterized by its large size, organizational structure, marked
decentralization, and increasing diversity. Schools in the United
States can be found everywhere, and the US continues to operate
one of the largest universal education systems in the world. More
than 81.5 million children and adults were enrolled in primary,

Higher
education
structures

K-12
structures

School
attendance
is
compulsory for students through
age 16 in most states. Children
generally begin school with
kindergarten (K) at age five and
continue
through
secondary
school (grade 12) to age 18.
Students completing high school
may choose to attend a college
or university, which offer

undergraduate degrees such

as Associate's degrees or
Bachelor's
degrees
(baccalaureate). The U.S.
educational
system
comprises
96.000
public
elementary and secondary
schools plus more than 4200

RISE OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Public schools were unknown in the colonial era,, although several New
England colonies established subscription schools for those who could
afford to pay the fees. Harvard, the first institution of higher learning in
North America, was founded in 1636 in Massachusetts and, like all early
colleges, focused almost exclusively on religious scholarship and
classical languages Latin and Greek.
The Common School The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 mandated
that every township set aside one parcel out of every 36 for a public
school. These were often simple one-room buildings, celebrated as the
iconic little red schoolhouse.
Frontier Schools On the western frontier, settlers sought to build
schools as they established new towns. In fact, territories were required
to offer free public education to all so that they attract other settlers
before they could be considered statehood

Ryssby Frontier School cca.

1888

Grosvenor Common School

Grades

GRADING SCALE
In schools in the United States children
are consistently assessed throughout
the school year by their teachers, and
report cards are issued to parents at
varying intervals. Generally the scores
for individual assignments and tests
are recorded for each student in a
grade book, along with the maximum
number of points for each assignment.
At any time, the total number of points
for a student when divided by the total
number of possible points produces a
percent grade, which can be translated
to a letter grade.

A
+
100.0-97.0

96.993.0

92.990.0

B
+
89.987.0

86.983.0

82.980.0

C
+
79.977.0

76.973.0

72.970.0

D
+
69.967.0

66.963.0
F or E
59.9-0.0

62.960.0

PRIMARY SCHOOLS

Public Elementary School teachers instruct between 20-30 students of

diverse learning needs.

A typical classroom will include children with a range of learning needs or

abilities, from those identified as having special needs (special education)
to students non-native English speakers (well talk about that later).

Each local school district gives each teacher a book to give to the students
for each subject, and brief overviews of what the teacher are expected to
teach.

Learning standards are identified for all areas of a curriculum by individual

States, including those for mathematics, social studies, science, physical
development, the fine arts, and reading.

Teachers typically earn either a Bachelors or Masters Degree in Early

Childhood and Elementary Education.

MIDDLE SCHOOLS

Middle School include the grade levels

intermediate between elementary school
and senior high school.

At this time, students are given more

independence:
1.
Having different teachers for each
subjects.
2.
Taking on more independent
homework
assignments
and
projects.
3.
Moving to different classrooms for
different subjects
4.
being allowed to choose some of
their class subjects (electives).

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

The term High school is often

used instead of senior high school

The students in these grades are

commonly referred to as:
freshmen (grade 9)
sophomores (grade 10)
juniors (grade 11)
seniors (grade 12).

Students take a broad variety of

classes without special emphasis
in any particular subject

Mandatory subjects are required

in nearly all U.S. high schools:
Science (3 years of biology,
chemistry
and
physics);
Mathematics (4 years of algebra,
geometry, pre-calculus, statistics,
and calculus); English (4 years of
literature,
humanities,
composition, etc.; Social sciences
(3 years world and U.S. history,
gov./economics);
Physical
education (4 years); Many states
require
a
"health"
course

Students Choice: Elective Classes

Computers:
Word
processing,
graphic design

programming,

Career and Technical Training:

Business Marketing, health
occupations, technology education,
publishing, journalism, public
speaking, creative writing, poetry

Performing Arts/Visual Arts:

Choir, band, orchestra, drama, art,
ceramics, photography, dance

Foreign Languages:
Spanish/French most common

Advanced

Placement

Courses

(AP):

HIGHER EDUCATION
A greater proportion of young
people receive higher education in
the United States than in any other
country. State universities in places
like California, Arizona, Ohio, and
New York, have multiple campuses
and student populations exceeding
30,000. Approximately 33% of U.S.
colleges
and
universities
are
private and generally charge tuition
costs substantially higher than
state-run public institutions. Higher
education costs almost $373 billion
and consumes 3% of the nations
gross domestic product.

Education

Percentage

High school
graduate

86.68%

Some college

55.60%

Associate and/or
bachelor's
degree

38.54%

Bachelor's
degree

29.0%

Master's degree

7.62%

Doctorate or
professional
degree

2.94%

The mean annual Total Cost

(including all costs associated
with a full-time post-secondary
schooling, such as tuition and
fees, books and supplies, room
and board), as reported by
collegeboard.com for 2010:

Public University (4
$27,967 (per year)

years):

Private University (4 years):

$40,476 (per year)

Total, four-year schooling:

Public University: $111,868

HARVARD ACCEPTANCE RATE

Overall Admit
Rate

Black Admit
Rate

Difference

10.0%

16.7%

+67.0%

MIT ACCEPTANCE RATE

Overall Admit
Rate

Black Admit
Rate

Difference

15.9%

31.6%

+98.7%

DIVERSITY AND ASSIMILATION

Schools in the United States have experienced waves of immigration
throughout history and today American schools, like the larger society
they serve, are more ethnically diverse than ever. In the early 20 th century,
children of immigrant families flooded public school systems in the
Northeast and Midwest. Today new immigrants continue to change
composition of student populations. It is not uncommon to find schools
where more than a dozen different languages are spoken at home by
students. As a result the teaching of English remains one of educations
most important responsibilities. Hispanics often found themselves in
segregated and many schools adopted bilingual approaches in the 60s
and 70s, but their popularity waned along with lack of funding so they
focused on them learning English instead. About 3.7 million receive special
English language services, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

Hispanic Students

African American Students

LAWS THAT MADE EVERYONE EQUAL

NCLB ( No Children Left Behind)
requires states to set standards
for achievement at different
grade leves to take steps to
improve the performance of
those who dont meet the
standards. NCLB mandates state
goals for what children should
know
in
reading
and
mathematics in grades three
through eight as measured on
standardized tests. Reading and
math scores for immigrants
reached an all-time high.