Education system of the United States of America

The Education system of the United States of America is decentralized, the majority of the decisions on the programs and the financing being taken by local instances: the school boards . Educational programs (" Curricula") are in general establish by each state. The federal government, via the United States Department off Education (in other words the minister of education), intervenes especially in the financing of education. The private schools work out their program freely and in the public system, only 22 States draw up a list of handbooks recommended. In the majority of the States, freedom of choice is total. The legislative assemblies of each federate state establish a common minimum base of knowledge in the programs.

The courses are exempted in English in the 50 States, in Spanish in the Territoire of Puerto Rico. There is no official language in the United States by the Constitution, but 29 of the 50 federate States adopted single English as official language (Spanish is one second official language in the territory of Puerto Rico, the hawaïen in the State of Hawaii and the Chamorro in the territory of Guam); French is a language “with facilities” in several parishes of the Louisiana. Each " school District" or school district has the choice of its language of teaching, but English is the choice in the 50 States, including in Hawaii and Louisiana. The Oporto-Yankees chose Spanish.

90% of the American pupils are provided education for in the public.

History

“The United States was the first country to create a system of education public and free opened with all”. The first reforms were carried out as of the end of the 18th century under the impulse of Thomas Jefferson: in order to establish a republican mode, Jefferson believed in the virtues of the reason and education. He wanted to generalize primary school education in Virginia: at the end of the Years 1770, it wished to open the elementary schools with all the free children, boys and girls. He imagined a free secondary education for the poor. But these proposals were not adopted because of their cost considered to be too high for the State. In 1819, Jefferson organized and drew the plans of the Université of Virginia and became the Recteur about it: new fact for L `time, it wanted that the university does not teach the Théologie. As of 1832, the State of the New York founds the free and obligatory elementary school.

In the middle of the 19th century, reforms are undertaken in the Massachusetts by Horace Mann: this character, who belonged to the council of education of Massachusetts dreamed to impose the education system Prussian. It militated in particular in favor of a lengthening of the compulsory schooling and a better remuneration of the professors.

Between 1890 and 1920 several qualified reforms of “progressists are carried out”. The presidency of Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) was determining; it is still at that time that the Pédagogie is renewed thanks to work of the philosopher John Dewey, whose influence is still notable today. This last insists on the essential place of the school in the formation of an democratic society.

As from the years 1950, the American education system undergoes important transformations: thanks to the efforts of black lawyer Thurgood Marshall and NAACP, the school segregation is declared unconstitutional by the Supreme court of the United States in 1954 (stop Brown v. Board off Education). The busing (transport of the pupils in the famous yellow school buses) was to allow social diversity and racial by bringing the children of the black districts in the schools of the white districts. However, in the states of the South, desegregation was done in violence. In 1957, several black students must be escorted to go in progress to the college of Little Rock.

In the years 1960, the university campuses, whose more protestor is that of Berkeley, express against the engagement of the United States in the Guerre of Vietnam. The students claim moreover major social changes. The policy of the Affirmative Action (Positive discrimination in French), launched by Lyndon Johnson must make it possible the Blacks to more easily integrate the American universities. Ethnic diversity thus becomes selection criteria at the entry of faculties. Years 1970 represent one time of reforms of the American education system: initially, the Congress imposes co-education in all the public corporations in 1972. Two years later, the Bilingual Education Act obliges the schools required a bilingual teaching for the children not controlling English.

Chronology

List of the foundations

1636 : Harvard College

1693: College off William and Mary (Virginia)

1701 - 1707: Yale

1746 : College of the New Jersey, ancestor of the University Princeton

1754: College of the King, New York

1755: School of Philadelphia

1764: Brown, founded College of Rhode Island

1766: College of the Queen, New Jersey

General characteristics

Classes

Pre-School , Nursery School or Head Start : from 3 to 5 years
Elementary School or Grammar School (elementary school, elementary school)

Kindergarten (maternal): 5-6
1st Rank : 6-7
2nd Rank : 7-8
3rd Rank : 8-9
4th Rank : 9-10
5th Rank : 10-11

Middle School or Junior High School

6th Rank : 11-12 (sometimes this class is ensured by the elementary schools)
7th Grade : 12-13
8th Rank : 13-14

High school

9th Rank (known as Freshman year ): 14-15 (sometimes this class is ensured by the middle schools )
10th Grade (known as Sophomore year ): 15-16
11th Rank (known as Junior year ): 16-17
12th Rank (known as Senior year ): 17-18

College or University

Undergraduate

College or University

Cycle 4 years leading to a Bachelor off Arts (BA), a Bachelor off Science (BS) or other diplomas like a Bachelor off Fine Arts (BFA) for example.

Community college

Lower division , 2 years cycle leading to a diploma of Associate off Arts (AA).
Upper division , 2 years cycle emerging a BA, a BS or other diplomas like a Bachelor off Technology (BT) for example.

Postgraduate

Cycle from 1 to 3 years leading to a master : Master off Arts (MY), Master off Science (ms) or on other diplomas such as a Master off Education (MEd) or Master off Fine Arts (MFA).

Postgraduate in the “national universities”

Cycle 3 years or more leading to a doctorate: Doctor off Philosophy (PhD), Doctor off Arts , Doctor off Theology , Doctor off Medicine or Juris Doctor dismantles); a doctorate can also be obtained after at least 2 years of studies according to a master .

A decentralized system

The American education system is strongly decentralized what means that it primarily raises of the federate States and not of the Federal government. The decisions concerning the programs, the handbooks, the distribution and the amount of the expenditure of teaching are mainly spring of each State, which has as a consequence of strong disparities, but also a great flexibility. The federate States are jealous of their prerogatives as regards education, which can cause conflicts with the federal government and a brake with the reforms.

There exists an English minister of education (: US Department off Education ) charged to organize the general framework of the school system. Each federate State also has a minister of education, assisted by a council of education of State ( School Board off Education ). The States deal with 45% of the expenditure of the public corporations. They compose the report card ( School districts ). At the local level, the councils of education ( School boards ) deal of the school programs, the budget, the educational and administrative personnel. It should be noted that there exist approximately 2000 schools with charter ( charter schools ) in the United States, which escapes control from the local authorities.

The decentralization of the American education system causes inequalities of financing: each year, the United States devotes 7% of the total GNP in education. The receipts come from the local taxes and a total federal envelope (assistance with the most disadvantaged pupils, education and health care). Federal helps are proportional to the poverty of the States. For example, the the Mississippi receives much more money than the New Hampshire. The variations are large between the dynamic states and those which have more difficulties. Moreover, the inequalities are also important between the municipalities of the same State, even between the districts.

Positive discrimination

Since the years 1970, measurements of positive discrimination were installation to support the entry of the ethnic minorities in the universities and to support social diversity.

However, this policy is called into question since the years 1990: thus, the June 28th 2007, the Supreme court prohibits positive discrimination at the entry of the American public schools, with five votes against four. The decision of the Court stipulates that “research by the schools of an estimable objective does not want to say that they are free to carry out a discrimination on the basis of race to reach it”. The questionings are also local: in 1996, the Proposal 209 restricted ethnic criteria in the admissions at the public universities.

Primary and secondary education

School programs

The programs are not the same ones from one State to another. One can consult (in English) the programs for the elementary school in California which insist on education with the environment and physical education (at least 200 minutes every 10 days of school; 400 minutes in the secondary). The " Curriculum" start with the objectives of training expressed in terms of awaited behaviors on which refer the exhibées school performance evaluations. The contents, the tools, the activities and the ways of training are organized, in a variable way, to achieve these goals of training. This variation goes until the extreme of the training individualized " with the carte" for each pupil with the assistance of the " Multi-media center in " technology éducative" (Educational Technology) which conceives and produced complete whole of training in various types and sectors of formation.

The school programs aim moreover the insertion of the ethnic minorities (in particular since the American Ethnic Heritage Act of 1972) and initiation to the Citoyenneté. In California, the Native American Day (4th Monday of September) is the occasion to pay homage to the Amerindian of the State; the teachers are thus invited to speak about the Indian culture in the schools. Since 2004, the courses of Indian history are obligatory in the elementary schools of the Maine.

Teaching stresses the training of the New technologies, sometimes on protection of nature: the code of education of California insists that the pupils are sensitized with the environmental problems on all the levels of their schooling.

Teachers

The teachers are not numerous enough and are rather badly considered. The law Affirmative Action of Ronald Reagan imposes a quota of professors resulting from the ethnic minorities.

Religion at the school

“Public educational establishment is laic”, in the direction where the teachers should not make Prosélytisme. Since 1962 (stop Engel versus Vital ), the prayer is prohibited at the school. The Constitution of the United States of America, and more particularly the Establishment Clause of the first Amendment, stipulate that there does not exist official religion in the United States.

On the debates around the teaching of the evolutionism, to see the article Créationnisme.

Various schools

The majority of the American pupils are provided education for in public corporations. These schools do not require any financial participation with the families. The handicapped children are integrated in normal classes. The private schools in the majority of the cases are managed by religious organizations. A minority of children is educated apart from the school framework ( Home Schooling ) by their parents or thanks to the virtual schools, on Internet. There exists finally more and more of same sex schools (schools for girls - schools for boys) since the Administration Bush reconsidered the law on co-education.

Educational performances and policies

Reforms

At the beginning of the Years 1980, primary and secondary education suffered from serious defects: the level of the pupils was rather bad and violence belonged to the daily newspaper. The inequalities related on the social status and the ethnic origin were very marked. One frequently showed the teaching staff for these bad results. It is the report/ratio Nation At Risk (1983) which makes become aware of the failures of the American education system. Reforms were undertaken to mitigate these difficulties, at the local level, as at the federal level:

foundation of Centers of Childhood
institution of a level of knowledge and minimal know-how with annual reviews
reduction of the size of the establishments
privatization of the public schools
organization of tops of education in the years 1990, bringing together the governors of the States
program E-Spleen for the development of data processing and NTIC.

In 2002, the Bush administration makes pass to the law “any child misfit” ( No Child Left Behind ) who stresses the acquisition of competence in mathematics and reading. It is a question of increasing the margin of intervention of the federal government. The law proposes to test the level of the establishments and to leave more freedom to the parents to choose the school of their children. A school which obtains weak results can lay out financial aids to apply “ additional services of education ”, in other words remedial courses. The results of this policy are discussed: some affirm that discriminations regressed and the reading level improved. Others do not note any positive change.

Statistics

In 1960,46 million Americans was provided education for; in 2000, they were 68 million. In 1967, half of the adults had made secondary studies; the figure passed to 61% in 2000.
According to the annual report of OECD, the country occupies:

the 9th rank of the OECD countries for the access to higher education.
the 9th rank of the OECD countries for the rate of population between 25 and 34 years having arrived to a secondary formation.
the 13th rank of the OECD countries for the rate of obtaining a post-graduate advanced degree in three to six years.
the 16th rank of the OECD countries for the rate of obtaining a diploma of secondary education in the population in typical age to obtain it: 73% of a generation obtain the equivalent of the vat.

According to a report/ratio of the Educational Policy Institute (EAR), the country devotes 17,2% of the GDP per capita to higher education.

Higher education

See also: List of the American universities, American Universities

If secondary education suffers from many deficiencies, higher education is one of best world. It forms effective executives and wove many bonds with the world of the companies. The American universities profit from financial means considerable: for example, the capital of Harvard east of 20 billion dollars. In a federal country like the United States, the university system is decentralized and the establishments of higher education enjoy a broad autonomy which allows them a great flexibility.

The academic year costs approximately 6500 dollars in a University of State and to 40.000 dollars Harvard. Few families can completely finance the studies of their children: one thus has recourse to the purses, the loans and student work. Approximately 500.000 foreign students attend the American universities and the majority remain in the United States after obtaining their diploma. The economy of the country benefits from the brain drain . On the other hand, the purses with the merit for great performances are many and comfortable with the various university cycles. In 1998,35% of the Americans had a diploma of higher learning against 11% in 1970. The Federal state and the universities spend 260 billion dollars for higher education in 2000, which accounts for 2,6% of the GDP. Lastly, the American universities accommodate 565.000 foreign students in 2006, including 60% the Asian ones. Moreover, certain people turn over to the university after the 30 years age. The ethnic minorities progress: they accounted for 16% of the American students in 1976 and 35% in 1995.

universities: each State of the Union has in theory several private universities like two public university systems: a more prestigious system said " university de" (for example " University off Arizona") whose seat is often very selective, and a parallel and less prestigious system, " university of State de" (for example Arizona State University); the exceptions relate to rare States like New York and Pennsylvania (of which " universities de" are private and the universities known as " State de" make only one public system) and Ohio (where the system " State de" is most selective). The American territories of overseas like Guam, the United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico have, them also, their public universities. The establishments of Puerto Rico function for the Spanish majority (with certain English programs available also). In the fifty States, in Guam and Virgin Islands, the language of teaching is English.

Organization: the board of directors has a right to watch on the programs, the taught disciplines and the budget. The federal government allocates funds for the research and the development.
Effective: the largest universities have more than 5000 students.
colleges: in fact the establishments exempt a teaching of first cycle.
University of State, private universities: these last are financed by the States, the companies, the gifts and the foundations. Some depend on religious institutions, others are related to associations.

There exist registration fee at the entry in the university. Those vary according to the State (for the public universities) or the prestige of the establishment (for the private universities).
Teaching: the wages are not the same ones from one university to another. They are recruited and thanked by the Council for education for the State.

See too

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