Would someone mind explaining the American school system?

[VSL]

Finishing school at 16yrs also coincides with being the legal age for (heterosexual) sex and to be able to play Lotto!

We don't get to drive 'til 17yrs though.

And then alcohol at 18yrs.

 

[simba928]

My school district is the same as most of the people here have said:
kindergarten through 5th grade is elementary school (our school district has four elementary schools)
6th through 8th grade is middle school (all four elementary schools combine into one middle school)
9th through 10th grade is high school (one high school)

My cousin's school district is a little different, though:
1st through 5th is elementary
6th through 9th is middle school (the 9th graders are in the same building as 6th through 8th, but they follow the high school rules)
10th through 12th is high school.

For a while, though, our school was considering putting 8th grade into the high schoolers. I thought that was the stupidest idea ever, but I couldn't do anything about it.

 

[LoveWDW]

I've always been confused about A Levels, so the above discussion has helped, I think. It appears that A Level study is done in college- which seems to be like the Junior College or Community College in the US, where you can get an Associates Degree that usually takes two years. There are also 4 year Colleges that are entered after high school and result in a Bachelors Degree. Universities are composed of several Colleges- the colleges each have their own subject of concentration- math, history, etc. and one can get a Bachelors, Masters, or Doctorate.

Have I got it right?

 

[#1MMFan]

Call me a dunce if you will but I don't get the American schooling system. I do watch all American based TV shows but I still don't get it!

Here's the British version for anyone who wants to compare.

Nursery school: Kids start around 5 years old, and start the "Kindergarden" year (I can't remeber what we call it, will tell in due course) and then Year 1 and Year 2.

Primary school: Years 3 - 6. Kids take SATS exams at year 3 and 6 to show how good the school is. (Note: some catholic schools merge nursery and primary school together, so you stay at the same school for 6 years!)

Secondary school: Years 6 - 11. Kids take SATS exams at year 9 and learn for GCSEs (General Certificate of Secondary Education) in year 10 and 11, which are there main qualifications.

College years: Dependant on their GCSEs, Kids can take A levels at Years 12 and 13. Kids can take resits for GCSEs and A levels if the kid wants, but you can only stay in College for 3 years (I think).

University: You get UCAS points (No idea what UCAS stands for, will find out in due course) for each A level you get. If you get enough you can go to university for as long as you wish and get a degree in any subject you had studied for.

That's about it, the British University flows the same way as American Universities. Masters, Phds Etc.

It seems I have arrived just in time to correct a little mis-statement... Dr Marsh.... umm sorry, I digress... but the above quote is not what happens in the entire UK, it is what happens south of the border. In Scotland the school system is different, and I started primary school (after attending Nursery school) at aged 4, unlike our neighbours down south who seem to start later.

 

[VSL]

I've always been confused about A Levels, so the above discussion has helped, I think. It appears that A Level study is done in college- which seems to be like the Junior College or Community College in the US, where you can get an Associates Degree that usually takes two years. There are also 4 year Colleges that are entered after high school and result in a Bachelors Degree. Universities are composed of several Colleges- the colleges each have their own subject of concentration- math, history, etc. and one can get a Bachelors, Masters, or Doctorate.

Have I got it right?

Over here, you can only get a degree (BA, BSc, MA, PhD, MPhil, etc.) from Uni. Also, there are different faculties, but not different Colleges, within Uni.

This is Neath Port Talbot College website and this is my Uni's website - any language that you can't understand is Welsh.
[In College, you can take BTEC's and other qualifications which are vocational, whereas A Levels are academic and the route that most students intending to go to Uni take]

 

[Dimplenose]

I don't think Pokemon_Master's plan fits the whole of UK. Here in Surrey my kids did this

Playgroup (less formal than nursery) at 2 and a half
They could have gone to nursery at 3 and a half but I kept them at playgroup until school

School - they joined reception class the September before theit 5th birthday
Years 1-6 at the same school as reception (although some schools here have R,1 &2 and then change to a different school for 3,4,5, and 6)

Secondary School - (aged 11) for years 7,8,9,10,11
At 16 they will have the option to stay on for 6th form or go to college or get a job
At 18 they will be able to go to University (if they have passed the required exams)

Libby

 

[USA Here I Come]

Ok I live in Yorkshire (UK) and heres how the school system works here:

I started nursery at 4 and then at 5 you got to primary school and start reception class (sometimes called pre-5). After reception I then went into years 1, 2, 3 ,4, 5 and six. These year groups are split into two different parts infant and junior (infant consists of years 1 and two and junior is years 3, 4 and 5) sometimes you go to two different school for infant and junior depending on how big the schools are. In year seven (aged 11) you start high school and you are at High school until year 11 when your compulsery schooling ends (aged 16). In year 11 you sit GCSEs, qualifications which you need to pass in order to go onto A Levels. After GCSEs you can either sit A Levels, get a job or do some kind of apprenticeship. Normally high schools have what is called a sixth form where students can study for and sit their A Levels (at age 18), if a high school doesn't have a sixth form there are seperate colleges where people are free to sit A Levels. Depending on what grades you got at A Levels determines how many UCAS points you get (University and College Admissions System) and this in turn determine which University course (if any) you can take.

Ok hope I haven't confused everyone even more LOL