United States educational system

United States Department of Education

The education system in the United States is largely public, with control and funding from all three levels of government: federal, state, and local.

Description

Preschool education is compulsory. Preschool education is optional. From the age of six, that is, from the first grade of primary school, school education is compulsory.

The school term in the United States lasts twelve years. Five years of primary school (1st-5th) and another seven years of secondary school (6th-12th). American schools start the course in September after the summer holidays (July-August). A school year lasts two semesters: the first, from September to December; and the second, from January to June. Young people attend public schools, which are subsidized by the state from primary to secondary. Secondary students have four or five subjects and their study periods are one or two hours.

Schools offer extracurricular activities such as being in a band, orchestra or choir, clubs, dances, assemblies, plays, and sports. After they finish high school, whose graduation is in the month of June, having already graduated, they go to high school, that is, the university, be it small or large, in their own state or in another. In general, this last stage is not free, they have to pay for a university degree, but there are scholarships for good students and many university students solve it by looking for a part-time job to pay for their university studies.

No Excuses charter schools are intended to reduce the educational gap, and increase the academic achievement of vulnerable groups. These schools are those that stress the importance of high academic expectations for all students, strict discipline, extended school days, intensive teacher training, and parental involvement. A systematic review of 18 studies conducted in the United States between 1990 and 2015 found that "No Excuses" schools generated, on average, greater gains in math and literacy achievement for their students than their peers in traditional public schools. presenting a greater effect in mathematics. In addition, these benefits increase over three years, then level off. While the results of this review are informative, they cannot be considered as general to all “No Excuses” charter schools, due to various limitations and sampling biases in the studies.

Statistics on education

A study of the 146 most competitive colleges and universities indicates that only 3% of admitted students come from modest families.

History

According to sociologist Rick Fantasia, until World War II, American universities "operated in the service of the upper class," receiving almost exclusively the children of patrician families, generally based on & #34;a wink and a handshake" (that is, depending on the network of social relations). Once admitted, those children of "blue blood" they led a quiet university life in a climate of institutional veneration and established solid bonds with their peers that would last a lifetime; from the Rotary Club to the boards of directors, passing through the golf courses (what is still called the "old boy network" or "red of boys of mature age").

Academic degrees

Two-Year Colleges

Lee Preparatory School

Signing the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002.

Colleges that only offer two-year programs leading to an associate's degree are higher education institutions called community college in English) or junior (Junior College in English). English). They can be the basis for later studies of longer duration in other universities.

They offer general education courses, technical education, and vocational preparation courses, all of which prepare students for immediate employment.

Since their goal is to provide an education to the entire local community, community schools generally admit almost all students who meet the basic requirements and offer a wide range of options at relatively low cost. Most, but not all, admit foreign students. Private two-year colleges offer similar programs, but sometimes the emphasis is on academic preparation for undergraduate studies at another college, rather than technical studies.

Two-year colleges sometimes award certificates of merit upon completion of shorter technical programs in addition to the associate's degree.

During the past few years, nearly 500,000 foreigners attended two-year colleges in the United States. There are several reasons why foreign students see these schools as an attractive option for the first two years of undergraduate study. Reasons often cited as advantages are low cost, faculty emphasis on teaching rather than research, and attention to individual learning needs.

Many two-year colleges offer foreign students a wide variety of services, although others are just beginning to develop such services. Some offer facilities and programs for foreign students, including English as a Second Language programs. Since most of the students live nearby, they do not have dormitories on their campuses. Not all of these institutions are authorized to issue the Form I-20 (the document necessary to apply for a student visa). In such cases, foreign students must be permanent residents (immigrants) to attend these schools.

If you plan to continue your studies beyond an associate's degree by first studying at a two-year university and transferring the credits later, you must ensure that the academic credits are transferable to four-year studies at the chosen university. Before taking courses at a two-year institution, check with the registrar's office at the four-year institution you wish to enter to see if they accept credit for the courses you plan to take at the community college. Many two-year colleges have agreements with other nearby colleges to ensure that their students are accepted when transferring to a degree program. Even though community colleges in a state have transfer agreements with public colleges and with colleges within the same state, private colleges may not agree to transfer all credits from a community college. Credits from technical programs that are oriented toward immediate employment are mostly not transferable to academic programs.

Four-Year Colleges

Boston College.

The terms "college", "university" and "institute" are used interchangeably in the United States to refer to institutions of higher learning that offer degree programs, as are the five United States military academies. There is no official or legal control over the option of the institution to choose one or the other term as part of its name. Many institutions change their name when they add new programs and levels of study.

Historically, a college offered four-year programs of study leading to a bachelor's degree, while a university also offered graduate programs.

There are more than 2,000 three-year colleges in the United States, and each has a unique identity. Each defines its own goals, its emphases, and its admission standards. "Liberal arts" colleges, for example, emphasize excellence in teaching subjects such as humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, and languages.

Washington University in San Luis

In addition to liberal arts colleges, there are specialized institutions of all kinds. Some universities admit only men, others only women, or only black students, but most are open to all qualified students who apply. In others, special emphasis is given to religion. Colleges that emphasize career preparation may have special co-op or internship programs in which students are required to work part-time to earn their degree.

Universities can be public or private. High-level institutions are found equally between public and private universities, the difference lies in the origin of their funds. Public institutions use state government funds, funds from student tuition payments, and donations. Since public institutions are supported by the state government, they give preference to the enrollment and enrollment of students from their state. The cost is lower at public institutions than at private ones, even for out-of-state students.

State public universities fall into two general categories:

• Research Universities: Most states have at least one public university whose mission is to provide traditional educational opportunities in various academic areas. In addition to providing undergraduate studies, these universities emphasize both research and teaching. In general, at the postgraduate level, less emphasis is placed on applied studies and research and more emphasis is placed on pure theory or research.

• Universities "land grant" (whose area are the terrestrial disciplines) and "sea grant" (whose main area are maritime disciplines)

Homer Statue at the University of Virginia.

In 1862, Congress passed the Morrill Act, granting land to many states to establish universities. These "land grant" universities, in addition to providing a wide variety of education in many areas, emphasize the application of knowledge in areas such as agriculture and engineering. Universities whose emphasis is applied knowledge generally use names such as "University of Agriculture and Mechanics" or "Technological University". Other states call them "state universities" ("state universities"). More recently, some state universities have been called "sea grant" to emphasize the importance of his applied maritime studies.

Short courses

In addition to degree programs, many two-year and four-year colleges offer opportunities to study short courses. Summer programs are open to students not enrolled in a degree program, and some institutions offer the option of a year of study abroad.

Medical Schools

In the US, you must pass medical school before becoming a doctor. To do this, a student who wishes to apply to a medical school has to pass the MCAT “Medicine School Admission Test”. Before this, she must take some common subjects, called compulsory in Spain; but apart from this they do not have any kind of "career" in itself, but can take subjects from all existing fields (be it a subject in the humanities, social sciences, etc.).

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