American Education System Essay
Stages
Formal education in the U.S. is divided into a number of distinct educational stages. Most children enter the public education system around ages five or six. Children are assigned into year groups known as grades. The American school year traditionally begins at the end of August or early in September, after a traditional summer vacation or break. Children customarily advance together from one grade to the next as a single cohort or "class" upon reaching the end of each school year in late May or early June.
Depending upon their circumstances, children may begin school in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten or first grade. Students normally attend 12 grades of study over 12 calendar years of primary/elementary and secondary education before graduating and earning a diploma that makes them eligible for admission to higher education. Education is mandatory until age 16 (18 in some states).
In the U.S., ordinal number (e.g., first grade) are used for identifying grades. Typical ages and grade groupings in contemporary, public and private schools may be found through the U. S Department of Education. Generally, there are three stages: elementary school (K–5th grade), middle school (6th–8th grades) and high school (9th–12th grades)
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In K–12 education, sometimes students who receive failing grades are held back a year and repeat coursework in the hope of earning satisfactory scores on the second try. High school graduates sometimes take one or more gap years before the first year of college, for travel, work, public service, or independent learning. Many undergraduate college programs now commonly are five-year programs. This is especially common in technical fields, such as engineering. The five-year period often includes one or more periods of internship with an employer in the chosen field.
In the United States, education is primarily the responsibility of state and local government. Every state has its own department of education and laws regarding finance, the hiring of school personnel, student attendance and curriculum. States also determine the number of years of compulsory education – in some states, education is only compulsory until the age of 16.
However, with the layering of tests issued by mandates from Congress, the US Department of Education, and state and local governments, the system is becoming confusing and unwieldy. Standardised testing in schools has become a controversial issue, with a recent study from the Council of the Great City Schools suggesting that students would sit around 112 standardised tests between kindergarten and 12th grade.
The act replaced the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 and, among other things, is an attempt to bring back some element of control with the recommendation for having fewer tests, of higher quality. States are required to test students in reading and maths in Grades 3 to 8, and then once during their high-school years. Even though every state is in charge of its own education laws and initiatives, the US federal government has made attempts to standardise the curriculum across US schools through the introduction of the Common Core. According to the Common Core State Standards Initiative, the Common Core is a set of “high-quality academic standards in mathematics and English language arts/literacy” and outlines what a student should know, and be able to do, at the end of each grade.
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The standards were created to “ensure that all students graduate from high school with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in college, career, and life”. Some 42 states, the District of Columbia, four territories and the Department of Defense Education Activity voluntarily adopted the Common Core, although a handful of states have now withdrawn from the Common Core and adopted their own sets of standards. However, the introduction of the Common Core tests to measure pupils’ performance against these academic standards, layered on top of existing state-run academic tests, college entrance tests and Advanced Placement tests, has caused confusion and accusations of duplication of assessment.
Even President Obama has been forced to accept that the pressure of over-assessment in schools has become unbearable. “I hear from parents who, rightly, worry about too much testing,” he said in a statement, “and from teachers who feel so much pressure to teach to a test that it takes the joy out of teaching and learning, both for them and for the students. I want to fix that.” Once pupils and teachers have had time to adjust to the new system, one clear advantage is that the standards are internationally benchmarked, which means that the US standards can be compared with the standards of other countries around the world. And the tests are also standardised so that results can be compared across states, whereas previously it was impossible to compare standards nationally as each state had their own system of testing. While states will no longer have to incur the cost of developing their own testing methods, many believe that the new Common Core system will also increase teaching standards and better prepare students for life after high school.
In general, a student learns basic arithmetic and sometimes rudimentary algebra in mathematics, English proficiency (such as basic grammar, spelling and vocabulary), fundamentals of other subjects and other subjects. Learning standards are identified for all areas of a curriculum by individual States, including those for mathematics, social studies, science, physical development, the fine arts, and reading.
Each state sets minimum requirements for how many years of various mandatory subjects are required; these requirements vary widely, but generally include 2–4 years of each of: Science, Mathematics, English, Social sciences, Physical education; some years of a foreign language and some form of art education are often also required, as is a health curriculum in which students learn about anatomy, nutrition, first aid, sexuality, drug awareness, and birth control. In many cases, however, options are provided for students to "test out" of this requirement or complete independent study to meet it.
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List Of Few Topics On American Education System Essay
- The history of education in the United States
- The role of standardized testing in the American education system
- The impact of funding disparities on school quality
- The role of technology in the classroom
- The inclusion of special education students in mainstream classrooms
- The effects of teacher diversity on student outcomes
- The impact of school choice on educational equity
- The role of extracurricular activities in education
- The influence of school culture on student achievement
- The effects of school size on student learning
- The impact of poverty on educational outcomes
- The role of parental involvement in education
- The use of data-driven decision making in education
- The impact of teacher workload on student achievement
- The effects of teacher retention on student outcomes
- The impact of teacher professional development on student learning
- The role of teacher unions in education policy
- The impact of school discipline policies on student behavior
- The effects of school bullying on student learning
- The role of school counselors in student success
- The impact of school safety policies on student learning
- The role of school libraries in student achievement
- The impact of school breakfast and lunch programs on student health and learning
- The effects of school attendance on student achievement
- The impact of school climate on student learning
- The role of school uniforms in education
- The impact of teacher salary on teacher retention and student achievement
- The effects of class size on student learning
- The impact of school facilities on student achievement
- The role of extracurricular programs in student engagement and success
- The impact of school vouchers on educational equity
- The effects of charter schools on student achievement
- The role of distance learning in education
- The impact of online education on student outcomes
- The effects of homeschooling on student learning
- The role of alternative education programs in student success
- The impact of language barriers on student learning
- The effects of cultural differences on student achievement
- The role of multicultural education in promoting equity in schools
- The impact of race on education outcomes in the United States
- The effects of gender on student achievement in the American education system
- The role of Title IX in promoting gender equality in education
- The impact of disability on student learning in the American education system
- The role of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in supporting students with disabilities
- The effects of bilingual education on student achievement
- The impact of English language learner (ELL) programs on student success
- The role of multicultural education in promoting diversity in the classroom
- The impact of the achievement gap on education equity
- The effects of poverty on student achievement in the American education system
- The role of teacher diversity in promoting equity in education
- The impact of school discipline policies on student achievement and behavior
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