1. From Pre-K to Graduate School EDUCATION IN THE U.S.A.

4. TERMS TO KNOW U.S. EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM PART 1 Public school State-certified private school Approved home schooling program Funding (local, state, federal governments) Curricula Locally-elected school board School district Educational standards Standardized tests Compulsory education Levels of schooling Elementary school Middle or junior high school High school (secondary education) Age groups Grades (K-12) Kindergarten First grade… Twelfth grade Public institution of higher education Private institution of higher education Post-secondary education College (first tertiary degree) Graduate school

5. TERMS TO KNOW U.S. EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM PART 2 State-passed laws Land-grant colleges Blaine Amendments (1876) Public tax money Federal funding Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute (1881) A. & M. or A. & T. National Education Association (Committee of Ten, 1892) Elementary education (grammar school) Regional associations Accreditation Equal treatment High school movement (1910-1940) High school enrollment Graduation National School Lunch Act (1946) Low-cost or free school lunch meals Low-income students Subsidy

6. A BRIEF HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN THE U.S. When: After the American Revolution (ca. 1750-1870) What: Parochial schools How: Government-supported and free public schooling Who:Children of the parish (Catholic, Lutheran, Calvinist, Orthodox, Jews) What: Nonsectarian Common schools Who:Designed by Horace Mann How:3R’s (reading, writing and arithmetic), history, geography What: Normal school (the Columbian School in Concord, Vermont) Who: Qualified teachers

7. 1-2 years of pre-school 12 years regular schooling 4-stage higher education degree system Associate Bachelor’s Master’s Doctorate Completion of each level or stage is a prerequisite for access to the next Non-degree certificates and diplomas Special education services Adult basic and continuing education Leisure learning programs Continuing professional education Training programs GENERAL INFORMATION

8. Pre-school (ages 3 to 5) (pre-primary) (a.k.a. Early Childhood Education) Pre-kindergarten or nursery school Kindergarten or pre-school Child/Day Care Centers School entry (generally age 6) (primary) Duration of school (Elementary and Secondary Education) First grade Middle school Junior high High school High School Diploma GED (General Education Development) Certificate Secondary education tracks Honors/Regents Academic/College preparatory Vocational General/Basic AP (Advanced Placement) programs Qualified students take college level introductory courses in selected subjects taught be certified faculty IB (International Baccalaureate) PROGRESSING THROUGH THE SYSTEM

9. GENERAL STRUCTURE

10. SPECIAL EDUCATION IEP (Individual Education Plan) Special needs instruction or support Compulsory schooling until age 20 or 21 Certificate or diploma Special programs for the gifted and talented GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) GATE Testing (see NYC Department of Education)NYC Department of Education

11. POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION Students completing high school may choose to attend college or university Associate’s degree (two-year program) Community college Junior college Bachelor’s degree (baccalaureate) (four-year program) Bachelor’sbaccalaureate Public or private institutions Some counties and cities fund four-year institutions City University of New York City Colleges of Chicago San Francisco City College

12. HIGHER EDUCATION Research universities Doctorate-granting universities Master’s (Comprehensive) universities and colleges Baccalaureate (Liberal Arts) colleges Associate of Arts colleges Professional schools and other specialized institutions Post-secondary vocational and technical schools

13. PRIVATE AND PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS Large research universities (more focus on graduate education) Small liberal arts colleges (focus on undergraduate education) Private universities Non-sectarian and secular Religiously-affiliated Non-profit education For-profit education

14. ACADEMIC DEGREES Academic “major” or concentration (double major, triple major) Academic “minor” program