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Elementary and secondary education
See also: Elementary education in the United States and Secondary education in
the United States
Schooling is compulsory for all children in the United States, but the age range
for which school attendance is required varies from state to state. Most
children begin elementary education with kindergarten (usually five to six years
old) and finish secondary education with twelfth grade (usually eighteen years
old). In some cases, pupils may be promoted beyond the next regular grade. Some
states allow students to leave school at age 16 or 17 with parental permission,
before finishing high school; other states require students to stay in school
until age 18.
Most parents send their children to either a public or private institution.
According to government data, one-tenth of students are enrolled in private
schools. Approximately 85% of students enter the public schools, largely because
they are "free" (tax burdens by school districts vary from area to area). Most
students attend school for around six hours per day, and usually anywhere from
175 to 185 days per year. Most schools have a summer break period for about two
and half months from June through August. This break is much longer than in many
other nations. Originally, "summer vacation," as it is colloquially called,
allowed students to participate in the harvest period during the summer.
However, this is now relatively unnecessary and remains largely by tradition; it
also has immense popular support.
Parents may also choose to educate their own children at home; 1.7% of children
are educated in this manner. Proponents of home education invoke parental
responsibility and the classical liberal arguments for personal freedom from
government intrusion. Few proponents advocate that homeschooling should be the
dominant educational policy. Most homeschooling advocates are wary of the
established educational institutions for various reasons. Some are religious
conservatives who see nonreligious education as contrary to their moral or
religious systems. Others feel that they can more effectively tailor a
curriculum to suit an individual student’s academic strengths and weaknesses,
especially those with singular needs or disabilities. Still others feel that the
negative social pressures of schools (such as bullying, drugs, crime, and other
school-related problems) are detrimental to a child’s proper development.
Parents often form groups to help each other in the homeschooling process, and
may even assign classes to different parents, similar to public and private
schools.
Opposition to homeschooling comes from varied sources, including teachers'
organizations and school districts. The National Education Association, the
largest labor union in the United States, has been particularly vocal in the
past. Opponents' stated concerns fall into several broad categories, including
fears of poor academic quality, loss of income for the schools, and religious or
social extremism, or lack of socialization with others. At this time, over half
of states have oversight into monitoring or measuring the academic progress of
home schooled students, with all but ten requiring some form of notification to
the state.
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