Education in the United States (US)

Education in the United States (US) 

Outline

EDUCATION IN THE US

1. Compulsory (mandatory) school attendance

1. The system of education

1. TYPES OF SCHOOLS:
2. Free state-run schools
3. Private fee-paying schools

+vocational trainings

adult professional education

specific for handicapped or talented children

home-schooling

1. ORGANIZATION:
2. The school year
3. Classes
4. Grade system
5. the National curriculum

1. STAGES OF EDUCATION

• Pre-school education
• Nursery schools (clasess) -from the age of 3 to 5
• Kindergartens- from 5 to 6.

• Elementary schools

• Higher education

Secondary education

EDUCATION IN THE US

1. Compulsory (mandatory) school attendance

School attendance in the Slovak Republic is compulsory from the age from 6 to 16

1. The system of education

1. TYPES OF SCHOOLS

1. Free state-run schools
2. Private fee-paying schools

Other types of education: vocational trainings

adult professional education

specific for handicapped or talented children

home-schooling

1. ORGANISATION

1. The school year

- an academic year has 3 terms: fall,spring and summer

1. Classes

-from Monday to Friday.

-Start at 8AM /9AM

1. Grade system

-the same as in the UK

1. The National Curriculum

-US doesn´t have a national system of education!

-the systems and standards vary from state to state.

-Each state is responsible for its educational system, however the basic features are the same that gives the Federal Department of Education.

1. STAGES OF EDUCATION

1. Pre-school education

includes:

-from the age of 3 to 5: Nursery schools (classes), various play groups

-from the age of 5 to 6: Kindergartens-which is compulsory and it´s the first introduction to ________ education. The purpose is to help the children to develop social and communication skills, play habits and become more independent and self-confident.

1. Elementary schools

-children transfer to Elementary schools at the age of 6.

-provides the general intelectual and social development.

-promotion to a higher grade is based on the pupils´skills in writing, reading, spelling, arithmetics, History, Geography, Music and Art.

-children are devided to classes:

SECONDARY EDUCATION

-they have compulsory subjects including English, Science, P.E., Social subjects+their elective subjects

-big schools offer usually more study program or curricula:

1. the academic program=College prep.

-preparation for university

1. the vocational (non-academic) program

-providing professional training.

1. the general (comprehensive )program

-combines both the features of academic and vocational program.

1. the honors academic program

- is designed for the best students

-the students graduate with honours which means not according to their grades, but they take from the beginning a different very demanding program.

-are comprehensive,coeducational schools. These schools are a combination of all types of schools.

-it doesn´t include specialized vocational schools, but some schools may offer specialized courses or subjects from traditional ones (Maths, Science, History, etc.) to new ones (Business, Computer science, Runing a shop, Management).

-in big towns there are also specialized schools (of e.g. performing arts, science or navy)

-the students who form a homeroom (or a grade) go to different lessons

according to the subjects they have chosen for a particular school term or

according to their results if streaming or track is provided.

-if a student is interested in a certain field of study, he can enter higher classes (E.g. advanced Biology, Physics) or he can study all subjects, but the level of instruction is not so high.

-high schools organize extra activities like sports(teams), an orchestra, a choir, a jayy band, clubs and societies.

HIGH SCHOOL QUALIFICATION

(High School Diploma)

-there is no national School-Leaving Exam. The students graduate from high schools with a High School Diploma.

-to get it a student must complete a number of courses for which he gets a certain number of credits.

CREDITS

-the number of credits shows how many classes must a student take per week in a given course.

-the number of credits can be reduced by his teachers if he´s absent, he doesn´t do his homeworks regularly, doesn´t hand his homework in on time, if he isn´t active.

-so credits show how a student goes to school and what his approach to learning is, not what his results are.

-each school informs every student at the beginning of his study, how many credits he should have in order to graduate from high school.

-this means that each student can organise his study program.E.g. If he has earned most credits in the first 3 years, the last year in a high school is so free that he can find a part-time job to earn money to university.

-the number of credits consists of credits for compulsory subjects and electives. To design one´s own study program is difficult but older students help and advice them.

GRADES

-the level of knowledge is expressed in grades which come mainlyfrom written tests or essays (oral exams are not common) and to inform parents about the results a school sends report cards at least twice a year (after each term) and at the end of the school year they get transcripts.

-they have point and percentile system

Grade Percentage GPA(points)

A 90–100 3.5–4.0 Excellent

B 80–89 2.5–3.49

C 70–79 1.5–2.49 Average

D 60–69 1.0–1.49

E / F 0–59 0.0–0.99 Failing/Incomplete

GPA-(Great Point Average) if a student has only A-s(he has straight A-s) has better opportunities and can choose better universities.

-there are no final exams, only a certain number of credits is required.

-to get to university a student must meet the demands for a university or college application process set by a particular university or college.

1. Higher education

-a college and university looks at the student´s results (GPA), his extracurricular activities, his activities in the school community aswell as the community where he lives.

-many universities ask the applicants to sit for an entrance examination, which means a test in English and Maths.

-sometimes a SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) is required (it´s standardised) especially for oversea students and applicants from not English speaking countries are asked to sit for a TOEFT(Test of English as a Foreign Language).

-to get the Bachelor´s degree students have to go to courses and they get grades and credits.

It takes usually 4 years and to continue at the graduate school students must meet the requirements set by the particular schools.

-students study for a Master´s degree which takes usually 1 or 2 years, then they have to write a thesis. If you want to continue,you have to get only A-s and B-s, not C!

-they have to pay for studying

-hostels and dorms create the campus.

-

-Harverd,Yale, Princeton

-each university has its own curriculum; undergraduate students must select their ´major´ (the field in which he wants to get a degree) and a certain number of electives or one ´minor´

subject.

CHARGING

-all the universities chrge tuition.

-students have to pay for room and board

-many students receive a financial aid package which may be a combination of grants from the government, a scholarship, a student loan and work-study (a part-time job at the college)