United States
The Education System in United States
Education is one of the top priorities of the country. American education is mainly provided by the public sector and gets funding from the federal, state, and local funds. Public education is universal to all states. Child education is compulsory. Ages for compulsory education vary by state. In general, schooling begins from 5 to 8 years old and ends from 14 to 18 years old. After going to kindergarten, students are enrolled to elementary school, wherein they go to school for 5 years. After graduating from 5th grade, students now enroll to high school from 6th to 12th grade. Middle school, which is sometimes called “junior high” is from 6th to 9th grade, while secondary school or senior high, is from the 10th to 12th grade. After which, students receive their high school diploma and may opt to look for a job or continue schooling for a college or university degree. Post-secondary education (college/university) is governed separately from the elementary and high school education.
Parents can either enroll their children in public or private schools. Approximately 85% of the students in America are enrolled in public schools, mainly because it is free of tuition fees and other charges. On the other hand, 10% of the students enroll in private schools. Aside from these, parents can also enroll their children in approved home schooling programs, and 1.7% of the students are enrolled in such.
School year starts in August or September, and ends in May or June. American students enjoy a 2 to 2 ½ summer break, from June to August, quite longer compared to summer breaks in other countries.
Literacy rate in the United States is 98%, though they fair below average in the areas of Science and Math compared to other developing countries.
