Education in the United States is completely different than education in The Netherlands. There are some similarities, but in the Netherlands, we uphold a certain educational system with certain ruling from which provinces across the country don’t deviate. In the United States, however, much concerning education (just la of the educational standards for the respective states. Education in the United States is compulsory, but the ages depend on the state. For the state of New York, the ages for compulsory education are 6 to 16. A child can fulfill these ages of compulsory education in 3 ways: private schooling (provided that the private school has a state-certificate), public schools or througah a home school program. Education in the United States is generally divided into 3 stages.
Primary education, usually referred to as elementary school, starts at the age of 5 and ends at the age of 11. The beginning of this education is referred to as kindergarten. Years that follow are called first grade (at the age of 6), second grade (at the age of 7) and so on. Educational programs before kindergarten are not part of compulsory education and are called preschool programs. At the age of 11, children graduate from elementary school. Children can attend an elementary school where all 8 primary grades are taught. These children can go to high school upon completion of primary education. Additionally, children can also go to middle school (junior high school) after grade 5 of elementary school.
Secondary education is split into two: junior high school/middle school and high school. I will elaborate on high school. High school usually begins at the age of 14. It covers 9th grade through 12th grade. This means that students graduate from high school around or at the age of 18. In high school, students get to obtain more control over their education, having the volition of choosing their own classes. There is a great variety in high school curricula across the state, but in general, high schools offer either vocational or college prep programs. Regardless of the variance in courses, high schools generally require science, mathematics, English and social studies to be core courses at their schools. These courses must be taken by students throughout their education. 4 English credits are required at the majority of high schools in order to graduate. Besides this, 3 science classes are obligatory. The 3 science classes that are generally offered are chemistry, biology and physics. Other options are anatomy, forensic science or geology. Mathematics-wise, high schools generally offer pre-algebra, algebra 1, algebra 2, geometry and trigonometry classes. In addition to these mathematic courses, advanced students have options such as calculus, discrete math and statistics (which allow them the opportunity to earn International Baccalaureate or Advanced Placement accreditation). 3 mathematics credits are required to graduate, though 4 are recommended and is slowly becoming the prevailing standard. Requisite social studies are economics, government, U.S. history and world history. Additional are criminal justice, psychology and sociology. Furthermore, school curricula require their student to take physical education (P.E.) for two years. Besides the above-mentioned core courses, there is also a concept called electives where students have to choose from. The electives high schools offer often depend on the financial status of the school and the state the school is situated in. High schools usually mandate their students to earn some credits for electives as well in order for them to graduate, the most common being physical education and foreign languages. The electives are:
The educational system of the united states