SCHOOL SYSTEM IN THE USA

1. SCHOOL SYSTEM IN THE USA

5. Preschool Education

6. Preschool education programmes maintain a close relationship with the home and parents, and aim to give children useful experiences which will prepare them for elementary school.

7. The programmes are designed to help the childrenlearn to get along with others, and form good work and play habits.

8. PUBLIC SCHOOLS

9. MostAmericansreallybelieve inpubliceducation. Theywanttheirchildrentogotoschoolsthatarefreeandareopentoall. Theywanttheirchildren tomakefriendswitheveryone – childrenofallraces, fromallkindsoffamilies, withdifferenttalentsanddifferentinterests.

10. Thereisnogreatdifferencebetweencity, suburban, andcountryschools intheUnitedStates. Publicschoolsteach thesamesubjectsinthesamegradesacrosstheland. Publicschoolsdonotteachreligion.

11. Mostschoolbuildingslook thesameandhavethesametypesofroomsinside.

12. Atpublicschoolsstudentswear whattheywant. Theyoftendressinbrightcoloursandtennisshoes. Theysometimesinventnewandinterestingfashions.

21. SCHOOL SUBJECTS

26. PRIVATE SCHOOLS

27. Onlyabout 17 percentofAmericanchildrenaresenttoprivateschools. Mostprivateschools acceptonlychildren whoarealreadydoingwellinschoolandareabletoworkquietly.

28. Classesareoftenlesscrowdedthanclassesinpublicschools. Thisgiveschildren a chancetolearnmoreofwhattheirteachersaretryingtoteachthem.

29. Childrenatmanyprivateschoolswearspecialschooluniforms, allexactlythesame.

30. Someparentschooseprivatereligiousschoolsfortheirchildren. Theseschoolseachbelongto a church. Theygivelessonsaboutthatreligion. Theygivelessonsinalltheusualschoolsubjectsaswell.

31. TESTS AND MARKS

32. IntheUnitedStatesstudentstakemanytestseachyear. Ifstudentspassthesetests, theygoontothenextgradewheretheworkisharder. ThereisanotherspecialtestthatpupilstakeeveryyearinalltheschoolsinAmerica. Itis a differenttestforeachgradebutthesameforallstudentsinthesamegrade. Itshowswhattheyhavelearntthatyear. Italsoshowswhichschoolsteachwell.

33. MostAmericanschoolsgivethefollowingmarks: A – 91-100 percent, B – 81-90 percent, C – 80 percent, D – 65-70 percent, E – 50-64 percent, F – below 50 percent.

34. Inhighschoolitispossibletotakesomeclasseswithoutmarks. Thenthestudentgets a “P” for “pass” and “F” for “fail”.

35. Studentsgetreportcardsfourtimes a year. Onecopyissenttotheparentsandtheschoolkeeps a copy.

36. Seventy-one percentofAmericanstudentsgraduatefromhighschool. Somestudentsdon’twanttocontinuetheireducation. Whentheyleaveschooltheywilllookfor a job. 40 percentofhighschoolstudentsgoontocollege.

37. School uniform in the USA

38. Arguments about uniforms

39. During the 1990s state schools in the USA began to adopt uniforms. Later, claims that introducing uniform leads to better discipline and educational results encouraged other school districts and schools to make a change. Both Clinton and Bush administrations have been in favour of school uniforms.

40. Boys typically wear a collared shirt, tie, and slacks of required colors.

41. Both sexes usually wear a sweater or blazer (or both) when required by regulations or weather. Some schools have unisex uniforms— most often a distinctive shirt, and sometimes pants of a given color.

42. The girls' uniform has become an iconic figure in Western culture. The hit 1998 music video for Britney Spears' first single, "...Baby One More Time" featured Spears and a number of backup dancers wearing a modified version of the Catholic school uniform.