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US education
Education in the United States is provided mainly by government, with control
and funding coming from three levels: federal, state, and local. At the
elementary and high school levels, curricula, funding, teaching, and other
policies are set through locally elected school boards with jurisdiction over
school districts. School districts are usually separate from other local
jurisdictions, with independent officials and budgets. Educational standards and
standardized testing decisions are usually made by state governments.
Children are required to attend school until the age of 16-18 depending on the
state. Many more states now require children to attend school until the age of
18. Some states have exemptions for those 14-18. Students may attend public
schools, private schools, or homeschool. In most public and private schools,
education is divided into three levels: elementary school, junior high school
(also often called middle school), and senior high school. Grade levels in each
vary from area to area.
76.6 million students were enrolled in schools from kindergarten through
graduate schools. Of these, 72 percent aged 12 to 17 were judged academically
"on track" for their age (enrolled in school at or above grade level). Of those
enrolled in compulsory education, 5.2 million (10.4 percent) were attending
private schools. Among the country's adult population, over 85 percent have
completed high school and 27 percent have received a bachelor's degree or
higher. The average salary for college or university graduates is $45,400,
exceeding the national average by more than $10,000, according to a 2002 study
by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The country has a reading literacy rate at 98% of the population over age 15,
while ranking below average in science and mathematics understanding. The poor
performance has pushed public and private efforts such as the No Child Left
Behind Act. In addition, the ratio of college-educated adults entering the
workforce to general population (33%) is slightly below the mean of other
developed countries (35%) and rate of participation of the labor force in
continuing education is high. However, a recent study showed that "A slightly
higher proportion of American adults qualify as scientifically literate than
European or Japanese adults".
School grades
In the U.S. the first year of compulsory schooling begins with kindergarten at
the age of five or six. Children are then placed in year groups known as grades,
beginning with first grade and culminating in twelfth grade. The U.S. uses
ordinal numbers for naming grades, unlike Canada and Australia where cardinal
numbers are preferred. Thus, when asked what grade they are in, typical American
children are more likely to say "first grade" rather than "Grade 1". Typical
ages and grade groupings in public and private schools may be found through the
U.S. Department of Education. Many different variations exist across the
country.
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