Organizational Structure
The U.S. education comprises three basic levels: elementary, secondary and higher education (tertiary). Vocational training, adult education, schools or classes for special types of children, and kindergartens also form part of the program in most states.
Parents may choose whether to send their children to their local free public schools, or to private schools which charge fees. The organization and curricula of private schools and colleges are similar to those of public schools although the administration differs.
The vast majority of students at the primary and secondary levels go to public schools. Most of those who attend private schools attend church-sponsored parochial schools.
The school year is usually 9 months, from early September to mid-June. The common pattern of organization, referred to as the 6-3-3 plan, includes elementary school in grades 1 through 6, junior high school in grades 7 through 9 and senior high school in grades 10 through 12. The older 8-4 plan, in which grades 1 through 8 were the elementary school and 9 through 12 the high school, continues in many localities. There is also a 6-6 plan, grades 1 through 6 in elementary school and 7 through 12 in high school. Today, unified systems operating both elementary and high schools most commonly use a 6-3-3 plan or a 6-2-4 variation.
Preschool education:There are no mandatorypublic preschool or crèche programs in the U.S. A child’s introduction to formal education is usually in kindergarten classes operated in most public school systems. Many systems also provide nursery schools; here the age group is between 3 and 5 years. These preschool education programs aim to give children useful experiences which will prepare them for elementary school. The programs are flexible and are designed to help the child grow in self-reliance, learn to get along with others, and form good work and play habits.
In the large cities, there are upper-class preschools catering to the children of the wealthy. As these schools are seen as the first step towards the Ivy League, there are even counselors who specialize in assisting parents and their toddlers through the preschool admissions process.
Compulsory education:In the U.S., all students must attend mandatory schooling starting with 1st grade and following through 12th grade (first grade is not the same as kindergarten, which is often not compulsory). In practice, parents may educate their own children at home (although not widespread), or send their children to either a public or private institution, though almost all students enter the public schools because they are “free” (tax burdens by school districts vary from area to area).
Most children enter kindergarten at the age of 3, 4 or 5, then elementary schoolat the age of 6, and leave compulsory education at the age of 18 when their senior year (Grade 12) of high school ends. Students attend school for around 8 hours per day, 185 days per year. Most schools have a summer break period for about two and half months from mid-June through August. Originally, “summer vacation,” as it is called, allowed students to participate in the harvest period during the summer. School begins on the first Monday in September.
Elementary school:(Kindergarten through Grade 4/5/6):The main purpose of the elementary school is the general intellectual and social development of the child from 6 to 12 or 15 years of age. Education is mostly not standardized at this level. In general, a student learns through extremely rudimentary algebra in mathematics, grammar and spelling in English (or language), and a year of state, U.S., and world history. Science varies widely from district to district and is one of the most under-taught subjects; most elementary teachers have a degree in English or education.
Promotion from one grade to the next is based on the pupil’s achievement of specified skills in reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, history, geography, music and art.
Students do not choose a course structure and remain in a single classroom throughout the school day, with the exceptions of physical education (more commonly known as P.E.) and music, art or crafts classes.
Middle school:(Grades 5/6/7 through 8) or “junior high school” and “intermediate school” are all interchangeable names for schools. At this time, students begin to take classes from several teachers, unlike in elementary school where all classes are with the same teacher. The classes are usually a strict set of science, math, English, social science courses, reading and/or technology class and a mandatory physical education or P.E. class. Student-chosen courses, known as electives, are generally limited to only 1 or 2 classes.
High school:(Grades 9 through 12) runs from grades 9 through 12. In high school, students obtain much more control of their education, and may choose even their core classes.
Students mostly take a broad variety of classes. The curriculum varies widely in quality and rigidity; e.g. some states consider 70 (on a 100 point scale) to be a passing grade while others consider it to be 75.
The following are the typical minimum course sequences that one must take in order to obtain a high school diploma:
· Science (biology, chemistry, and physics)
· Mathematics (usually 3 years minimum, including algebra, geometry, and/or trigonometry)
· English (4 years)
· Social Science (various history, government, and economics courses, always including American history)
· Physical education (at least 1 year)
Many states require a “Health” course in which students learn anatomy, nutrition, and first aid; the basic concepts of sexuality and birth control; and why to avoid destructive substances like illegal drugs, cigarettes, and alcohol.
A recent study by the National Commission on Excellence in Education (A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform) recommended a program of 5 “new basics” for the final four years of secondary school. The minimum course of study for any student seeking a high school diploma would include: 4 years of English, 3 years of mathematics, 3 years of science, 3 years of social studies and one-half year of computer science. For the college-bound, the Commission strongly recommended 2 years of foreign language in high school.
Interesting to know: Education terminology in American English is somewhat different from British English. In informal speech, Americans usually put the grade number first as an ordinal number (“12th grade”) as opposed to the Commonwealth usage of putting the grade number after the word grade as a cardinal number (“Grade 12”). It is used in the U.S. only in formal contexts.
Electives:In general, basic subjects are required in the 10th through 12th grades, but in some high schools students may elect an increasing proportion of their work according to their interests. Larger schools may offer a selection of courses aimed at three or more levels—academic, vocational and general.
1. The academic program is designed to prepare students for college. Among the subjects added to the core are more advanced mathematics and science courses and foreign languages.
2. The vocational program may give training in 4 fields: agricultural education, which prepares the students for farm management and operation; business education, which trains students for the commercial field; home economics, which trains students for home management, child care and care of the sick; and industrial education, which provides training for jobs in mechanical, manufacturing, building and other trades. This program prepares students either for employment or further training.
3. The general or comprehensive program provides features of the academic and vocational types. Its introductory courses give an appreciation of the various trades and industrial arts rather than train students for specific jobs. Those who do not expect to go to college or enter a particular trade immediately, but who want the benefits of schooling and a high school diploma, often follow the general course.
In fact, the availability of such courses depends upon each particular school's financial situation.
Common types of electives include:
· Visual arts (drawing, sculpture, painting, photography, film)
· Performing Arts (drama, band, orchestra, dance)
· Shop (woodworking, metalworking, automobile repair)
· Computers (word processing, programming, graphic design)
· Athletics (football, baseball, basketball, track and field, swimming, gymnastics, water polo, soccer)
· Publishing (journalism)
· Foreign languages (French, German, and Spanish; Chinese, Latin, Greek and Japanese are less common)
Additional options for gifted students:Not all high schools contain the same rigorous coursework as others. Most high and middle schools have classes known as “honors” classes for motivated and gifted students, where the quality of education is usually higher and much tougher.
If funds are available, a high school may provide Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses, which are special forms of honors classes. AP or IB courses are usually taken during the 3d or 4th years of high school, either 1) as a replacement for a typical 3d-year course (e.g., taking AP U.S. History as a replacement for standard U.S. History), 2) a refresher of an earlier course (e.g., taking AP Biology in the 4th year even though one already took Biology as a freshman), or 3) simply as a way to study something interesting during one’s senior year (e.g., AP Economics).
Most postsecondary institutions take AP or IB exam results into consideration in the admissions process. Because AP and IB courses are supposed to be the equivalent of freshman year college courses, postsecondary institutions may grant unit credit which enables students to graduate early. Both public schools and private schools in wealthy neighborhoods are able to provide many more AP and IB course options than impoverished inner-city high schools, and this difference is seen as a major cause of the differing outcomes for their graduates.
Also, in states with well-developed community college systems, there are often mechanisms by which gifted students may seek permission from their school district to attend community college courses full-time during the summer and weekends and evenings during the school year. The units earned this way can often be transferred to one’s university, and can facilitate early graduation.
Standardized testing:Under the No Child Left Behind Act, all American states must test their students statewide to ensure that they are achieving the desired level of minimum education. The Act also requires that students and schools show “adequate yearly progress.” This means they must show some improvement each year.
Most young Americans graduate from schools with high school diplomas upon a satisfactory completion of a specified number of courses. Students are usually graded from A (excellent) to F (fail) in each course, which they take, on the basis of a) performance in tests given at intervals throughout the year, b) participation in class discussions and c) completion of written and oral assignments. Locally developed end-of-the-year examinations are given in many schools.
In some schools, most course credit is earned through mid-term and final examinations/tests (in the middle and at the end of the semester).
During the 7th, 8th and 9th grades, guidance counseling is important as the pupils begin to plan their careers and select subjects that will be useful in their chosen work. Guidance counseling continues throughout the senior high school years and into college, particularly in the junior college or first two years of the four-year college.
Students receive “report cards” at least twice a year (in some school districts, up to 6 times) which indicate the grades they have received in each of the subjects they are studying. High schools maintain a school “transcript” which summarizes the courses taken and the grades obtained for each student. A copy of the transcript is normally submitted to colleges when a student applies for admission. During high school, students, usually in their junior year (11th grade), may take one or more standardized tests depending on their postsecondary education preferences and their local graduation requirements (some students choose not to take the tests at all).
College-bound students generally take college admission tests during their last two years of high school. These tests are administered by the privately operated Educational Testing Service (ETS) and American College Testing Program (ACT), and are mostly multiple-choice. The SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) and ACT are the most common standardized tests that students take when applying to college.
A students may take the SAT, ACT, or both depending upon the college the student plans to apply to for admission. They are designed primarily to measure aptitude and verbal and mathematical skills rather than substantive knowledge. Test scores, added to high school transcripts and recommendations from teachers, form the basis for college acceptance.
Admission decisions are based on a number of academic criteria, including high school coursework, grade point average and class rank, recommendations from high school teachers; the impression applicants make during interviews at the university and admissions test score, as well as a more flexible set of nonacademic characteristics, such as demonstrated leadership ability, creativity, athletic abilities and achievements and community service.
Many students apply to more than one college or university and enroll in one from among those that offer them admission.
One innovation in the American high school organization includes programs to keep the school buildings in use year round. “Keep the school doors open” became a popular slogan among American educators in the mid-70’s, because closing most school buildings from June to September was a waste of time and talent and, more often than not, an unnecessary break in the learning process. Many schools now offer summer courses — some of which are remedial (corrective) in nature — which students may not have time to pursue during the regular school curriculum. More often, the schools allow students to take additional courses, some at the advanced level, for which they receive college-level credit.
University Education:Postsecondary education in the U.S. is known as college or university and usually consists of 4 years of study at an institution of higher learning.
According to UNESCO, the U.S. has the highest number of higher education students in the world. Out of more than three million students who graduate from high school and compete for admission each year, about one million go on for “higher education”.
There are 4,495 colleges, universities, and junior colleges in the country. In 2008, 36% of enrolled students graduated from college in four years. 57% completed their undergraduate requirements in six years, at the same college they first enrolled in. The U.S. ranks 10th among industrial countries for percentage of adults with college degrees.
American higher education includes institutions ranging from open-access two- and four-year institutions that admit all students to highly selective research universities and liberal arts colleges that admit only a small fraction of those who apply.
Degree-granting institutions are typically divided into 4 major groups:
1) Two-year colleges (often but not always community colleges) usually offer the associate's degree such as an Associate of Arts (A.A.); Associate in Science (A.S.).
Community colleges are often open admissions, with low tuition. America’s 1,100 public two-year institutions enroll the largest share of undergraduates. They are run by the local municipality, usually the county. These institutions award associate’s degrees in vocational fields, prepare students for transfer to four-year institutions, and provide a wide array of educational services. These services range from specialized training for large employers, to English language instruction for recent immigrants and recreational courses.
Some community colleges have automatic enrollment agreements with a local four-year college, where the community college provides the first 2 years of study and the four-year university provides the 3rd and 4th year of study, all on one campus. E.g., the University of Houston has partnered with community colleges in neighboring cities to provide bachelor’s and master’s degrees in cities that are only served by community colleges.
We should remember that the community college awards the associate’s degree while colleges and universities award the bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
2) Four-year colleges (which usually have a larger number of students and offer a greater range of studies than two-year colleges) offer the bachelor's degree, such as the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) or Bachelor of Science (B.S.) or sometimes (but very rarely) another bachelor's degree such as Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.). The bachelor’s degree is by far the most common type of undergraduate degree awarded.
Like in high school, the 4 undergraduate grades are also called freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior years. In contrast to secondary education, such grades are not assigned or described by numerical designations.
Four-year institutions in the U.S. which emphasize the liberal arts are liberal arts colleges. They are known for being residential and for having smaller enrollment and class size. Most are private. In addition, some offer experimental curricula.
Interesting to know: Americans capitalize the full name of a postsecondary degree when written out in full with reference to a specific field — for example, one always writes “Bachelor of Arts” — but not when referring to generic classes of degrees. Thus, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and doctorate are usually written without capitalization.
3) Universities are research-oriented institutions which provide both undergraduate and graduate education. For historical reasons, some universities—such as Boston College, Dartmouth College, and the College of William & Mary—have retained the term "college," while some institutions use the term "university." A common practice is also to refer to different units within universities as colleges or schools (what is referred to in other countries as faculties).
Graduate programs grant a variety of master's degrees—such as the Master of Arts (M.A.), Master of Science (M.S.), Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.), or Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.). The master’s degree is either itself a terminal degree or prepares graduates for future advanced study at the doctoral level.
The doctoral degree is the highest academic award and recognizes the graduate’s ability to conduct independent research. The most common degree of this type is the doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.). Entrance into postgraduate programs usually depends upon a student’s undergraduate academic performance as well as their score on a standardized entrance exam like the GRE (graduate schools in general), the LSAT (law), the GMAT (business), or the MCAT (medicine).
Some universities have professional schools, which are attended primarily by those who plan to be practitioners instead of academics (scholars/researchers). Examples include journalism school, business school, medical school, law school, veterinary school, and dental school. Some programs, such as medicine, have formal apprenticeship-like procedures like residency and internship which must be completed after graduation, before one is considered to be fully trained. Other professional programs like law and business have no formal apprenticeship requirements after graduation (although law school graduates must take the bar exam). Business schools often wish to see several years of real-world work experience.
4) Technical institutions offer courses of from 6 months to 4 years duration and provide a wide variety of technical skills, from hair styling to business accounting or computer programming; but don’t award a degree. Many technical institutions work with local companies and offer apprenticeship, internship, which allow students to get real practical experience in their industry (and sometimes a sizeable paycheck) before they graduate.
In U.S. education, a course is a unit of teaching that typically lasts one academic term, which is led by one or more instructors (teachers or professors), has a fixed roster of students, and gives each student a grade and academic credit. There are different formats of course in universities:
· the lecture course, where the instructor gives lectures with minimal interaction;
· the seminar, where students prepare and present their original written work for discussion and critique;
· the colloquium or reading course, where the instructor assigns readings for each session which are then discussed by the members;
· the tutorial course, where one or a small number of students work on a topic and meet with the instructor weekly for discussion and guidance;
· the laboratory course, where most work takes place in a laboratory.
Unlike most European university courses, grades are generally determined by all of these kinds of work, not only the final examination.
Public vs. private schools:Inthe U.S., students in most areas have a choice between free taxpayer-funded public schools and private schools. Private schools charge varying rates depending on geographic location and religious status. E.g., some churches will partially subsidize a private school for its members.
Although free to all students, most public schools are moderately underfunded by their state or city governments, and can only afford to employ teachers with bachelor’s and associate’s degrees. Class sizes vary widely; some states achieve average sizes of less than 20 students, but class sizes can run as high as 40 or 45. It is clear that large class sizes contribute to discipline problems and a poor learning environment. Meanwhile, students in public schools in wealthier districts are often more advanced and better prepared than students in private schools. In poorer districts, teachers often must buy materials for their students out of their own salaries.
In contrast, private schools usually maintain high quality facilities and a sufficient number of teachers to keep class sizes lower than in public schools, generally around 15 and usually capped at 20. This is possible partly because private schools pay their teachers less (often about 80% of the public school pay scale) and partly because private schools are at liberty to refuse any more students after they have reached their full capacity, whereas public schools are required by law to give education to anyone who signs up. As a result, admission is competitive, often based on university entrance exams like the SAT.
Some private schools charge high tuition, aggressively recruit teachers with advanced degrees, provide a challenging and varied curriculum, and promote themselves as the route to the most prestigious universities. Discipline also tends to be stricter in private schools than in public schools, as persistently unruly students may be expelled and forced to return to the public school system.
Colleges and universities:Each state in the U.S. maintains its own public university system, which is always nonprofit. A few states (like California and Arizona) have two separate state university systems. The more prestigious one is usually known as “University of [state name]” and its faculty are expected to conduct advanced cutting-edge research in addition to teaching, while the less prestigious is usually known as “[state name] State University” and is focused on quality of teaching and producing the next generation of teachers. Some states have experimented with the two-tier framework and then returned to a single, unified public university system.
Cost: The vast majority of students lack the financial resources to pay tuition up-front and must rely on student loans and scholarships from their university, the federal government, or a private lender. All universities, but a few charity institutions, charge tuition to all students, although scholarships (both merit-based and need-based) are widely available.
Students often use scholarships, student loans, or grants, rather than paying all tuition out-of-pocket. Student loans usually carry a lower interest rate than other loans and are usually issued by the government. Often they are supplemented by student grants which do not have to be repaid.
A scholarship is an award of access to an institution. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria. The most common scholarships may be classified as:
· Merit-based: These awards are based on a student's athletic, academic, artistic or other abilities, scores on the ACT and SAT standardized tests;
· Need-based: These awards are based on the student and family's financial record;
· Student-specific: These are scholarships where applicants must initially qualify by race, gender, religion, family and medical history, or many other student-specific factors;
· Career-specific: These are scholarships awarded by a college or university to students planning to pursue a specific field of study. Often the most generous awards are given to students pursuing careers in high-need areas such as education or nursing.
Generally, private universities charge much higher tuition than their public counterparts, which rely on state funds to make up the difference. Because each state supports its own university system with state taxes, most public universities charge much higher rates for out-of-state students. Private universities are generally considered to be of higher quality than public universities, because the absence of state funds tends to drive private universities to offer better services to students.
Annual undergraduate tuition varies widely from state to state. In 2009, average annual tuition at a public university (for residents of the state) was $7,020. Private schools are typically much higher, although prices vary widely from "no-frills" private schools to highly specialized technical institutes. Depending upon the type of school and program, annual graduate program tuition can vary from $15,000 to as high as $50,000. Tuition does not include living expenses (rent, room/board, etc.) or additional fees that schools add on such as “activities fees” or health insurance.
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, was:
· Public University (4 years): $27,967 (per year)
· Private University (4 years): $40,476 (per year)
Total, four year schooling:
· Public University: $81,356
· Private University: $161,904
College costs are rising at the same time that state appropriations for aid are shrinking. This has led to debate over funding at both the state and local levels. Between 1982 and 2007, college tuition and fees rose three times as fast as median family income, in constant dollars.
The debt of the average college graduate for student loans in 2010 was $23,200.
The status ladder:American colleges and universities are notorious for being somewhat status-conscious. Their faculty, staff, alumni, students, and applicants all monitor unofficial “rankings” produced by magazines like U.S. News and World Report and test preparation services like The Princeton Review.
These rankings are generally sorted by prestige, which in turn is often based on factors like brand recognition, selectivity in admissions, the generosity of alumni donors, and the volume of faculty research.
In terms of brand recognition, the most well-known university in the U.S. is Harvard University. Harvard alumni are prominent in American business, education, science, law, government, and media; but more than this, Harvard has become a “top” school in the public mind. It is featured in numerous movies as the ultimate example of the academic “ivory tower.”
It is almost universally acknowledged that the most prestigious universities are other members of the Ivy League athletic conference on the East Coast, but it is not necessarily true that they offer a better education.
Beneath these in status are a small group of elite private universities scattered around the country. After these come the top land-grant public universities, and then the vast majority of universities and colleges (public and private). At the bottom are community colleges, which by law are usually required to accept all local residents who seek to attend and rarely offer anything beyond an associate degree.
This “ladder” is not absolute, however. Some non-Ivy League private universities, such as M.I.T. and Stanford University, can rival Ivy League schools in prestige, especially in newer or more specialized fields of study. Likewise, some elite public universities, such as UC Berkeley, are comparable to their private counterparts (usually in terms of graduate education and research, but not necessarily in terms of undergraduate education). There are several dozen small private liberal arts colleges (like Amherst and the Claremont Colleges) known by their small class sizes and high-quality teaching; they can often offer an educational experience superior to that at larger universities.
There is no absolute correlation between prestige and quality of education, and most schools are better in some areas than in others. As with many issues concerning education in the U.S., the status ladder is controversial.