American Education
Created | Updated Jan 5, 2004
The American school system is highly decentralized. Most students attend our free compulsory schools. There are also private schools which are mostly religious schools. There is a growing movement where children are Home Schooling by their parents.
Public Schools
Most students in America are educated at public schools. These are schools that are free to all. Children must attend these schools or some suitable substitute. The schools are funded by the states. They are overseen by boards that are elected at the local level, usually the county level.
These boards can be very controversial. The elections are local and not very well covered. Therefore, organized groups can easily elect members of the board. This has been an area where Christian conservatives have made a lot of in roads.
Teachers
Teachers in public schools are some of the hardest working and least thanked people in the nation. They do have summers off, but they work long hours. Most take home bags of work to be graded every night.
Public school teachers are licensed1 by the states. Most states require a Bachelors degree in teaching or a Bachelors degree with a minor in teaching. Many states are now allowing people who have other kinds of degrees to apply for emergency certificates. If they survive the first year and receive some formal training, they're granted normal licenses.
The teachers have some of the most powerful unions around. The National Education Association (NEA) got President Carter to establish a cabinet level Department of Education, even though the states are primarily responsible for education. The Department of Defense employs more teachers than the Department of Education.
Ages of American School Children
For those of you who are overseas, this is a guide to provide very rough equivalencies of our grades. Keep in mind, that US schools tend to present information slower than you might be used to. Also, the ages can change. Kids can skip grades. In some places they can be held back for poor performance, but that's been replaced with social promotion in most places.
| Elementary School | Middle School | High School |
| 1st Grade - 6 y/o | 6th Grade - 11 y/o | 9th Grade - 14 y/o - Freshman Year |
| 2nd Grade - 7 y/o | 7th Grade - 12 y/o | 10th Grade - 15 y/o - Sophmore Year |
| 3rd Grade - 8 y/o | 8th Grade - 13 y/o | 11th Grade - 16 y/o - Junior Year |
| 4th Grade - 9 y/o | 12th Grade - 17 y/o - Senior Year | |
| 5th Grade - 10 y/o | In some areas, Junior High School runs from 7-9th grades. | |
Grades
Student performance is measured primarily by grades. At the end of each term, most students receive letter grades. These usually indicate2:
- A - 100-90% - Outstanding
- B - 89-80% - Above Average
- C - 79-70% - Average
- D - 69-60% - Below Average
- F - 59% or less - Failure
There are other common grades such as 'I' which indicates an incomplete course.
Issues in the Schools
Since schools are where children are taught, and we all value children, education policy is often a matter for debate. Some of the major issues that people disagree on include:
- Home schooling 3
- Prayer in public schools
- Sex education in public schools
- Creationism in public schools
- Gateway Testing
- Discipline in the Schools
