American School System

If you want to follow a school in the US, know that diversity within US borders applies to the education system as well. Differences in the structure and design of curricula might arouse confusion in international students. Although educational standards are set by the federal government, the powers of the state governments incumbent public education system. Therefore, each state has its own education department that sets curriculum, hire staff schools, establishes the funding of this sector etc. The latter is, in many US states, divided into local school districts. Each school district and even school schools, in some cases, have a certain amount of freedom in terms of internal organization.

Differences in curriculum, structure of education, offer materials and extracurricular activities are generated by the organizational structure of the education sector. For example, in some states, schooling is compulsory up to age 16, while in other states students can not legally stop their schooling until the age of 18.

Structure of the educational system

Besides the educational concept, another common point of American States educational systems is their structure. Education is of three types: elementary / primary, secondary (which combines general education with high school education) and postsecondary / higher.

Children start going to school from the age of 5 years and completed high school at age 18 (K-12 education covers the full cycle of primary and secondary schooling). Depending on the state, the models after which education is structured are:

• The 6 + 3 + 3: primary school (K-5), middle school (6-8), High School (9-12);
• The 8 + 4: primary school (K-8), High School (9-12);
• The 6 + 6: primary school (K-6) combined school and high school (junior & high school, 7-12).

Primary (Elementary School / Primary School)

Kindergarten is the beginning of primary education, and children begin to attend from the age of 5 years. During the primary school, pupils foundations of general knowledge, they learning to read and write. Students also learn basic concepts of math, geography, civic culture, music, science, health and physical education. Most often, foreign languages ​​are introduced beginning with the years of school (middle school / junior high school).

General Education (Middle School / Junior High School)

Once in school, students receive a little more flexible curriculum, materials having both mandatory and optional. The number of materials and combinations of courses varies by district and type of diploma required. The compulsory subjects, such as maths, English and science, students can be placed in a group corresponding to their level of academic study.

High school (High School)

Although there is no unified national curriculum, secondary general content of the program has many points in common, and necessary conditions that a student must meet to graduation are similar.

Compulsory student’s weekly timetable form together with the optional subjects chosen. Some of the compulsory subjects are English, mathematics, foreign languages, physical education, arts and / or music, general science, social studies (material that combines history, politics and geography). In addition, students have the flexibility to choose the level at which to study the compulsory and optional, under the guidance counselor school and parents.

Evaluation forms

Upon completion of high school, students will not support some public exams such as the baccalaureate exams Romanian or A-Level exams in the British system, but must meet a number of conditions graduation, determined by each individual state. Students are evaluated throughout the school year through tests, final exams at the end of the semester, homework, group projects, active participation in class etc. All forms of evaluation contribute to the student’s final mark in each subject separately.

Grading System

Notes are expressed either by the letters (A +, B + B, C +, etc.), or by a percentage of up to 100%. Their average is expressed using a scoring system called Grade Point Average (GPA), where the maximum score is 4.

Diploma (American High School Diploma)

Graduation Diploma for secondary education, students must take into account the requirements imposed by the US in studying and school district. Most often, the student must have a minimum number of credits in the subjects.

US Honors Program

Selective and nationally recognized American Honors is a program lasting two years, providing motivated students distinguish who want to study at the most prestigious institutions of higher education, including the Ivy League.

Advanced Placement (AP)

This is a course syllabus that follow the curriculum at the college level that students can follow during high school, the desired materials. Many US universities and colleges require applicants to have completed APs to certain materials, depending on the desired specialization. These courses add value plus graduation diploma. Depending on the results of final examinations APs, students can obtain loans from the home higher education institution accepting.

SAT / ACT

The preparations for a US university applications include SAT or ACT test support (depending on the requirements of the institution you are applying). Both tests are designed to measure different skills, but their approaches are different. ACT put more emphasis on the assimilation of knowledge in accordance with the curriculum, while the SAT test language skills, verbal and mathematical logic. The tests are composed of several sections such as: math, reading, language skills and grammar and essay writing (optional). ACT is distinguished by the greater tendency towards science.

Preparation for university

Depending on the desired specialization and prestige university or college in which students will apply, they must take into account the admission requirements imposed by their respective institutions of higher education. Applications to university or college will be evaluated not only by the value of GPA, but also the type of diploma obtained, the Honors and AP sites, SAT or ACT score. Besides the results obtained over the years, universities will pay attention to reputation graduated high school, the academic level of the class in which the student studied, and extracurricular activities in which the student has taken part over the years and its concerns. So for higher education institutions not only matters as future student will excel academically but also how it will actively take part in life within campuslui.

Some schools in the US offer the IB program.

Here you can see which partner institutions offer the American School System. 

If you are thinking about studying abroad, 

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