Generally speaking, education in the US is mandatory up to the age of 16, but this varies from state to state as each one has different educational laws and programs. American children start their institucional education between the ages of 4-5 attending preschool or kindergarten. After that, they attend school for a total of 12 years which are divided into grades that go from 1st grade to 12th grade. During the first 4 years, students attend elementary school, the second 4 years take place in middle school and for the last 4 years students move on to high school. This education system is commonly known as K-12 (from Kindergarten to 12th grade).

A major characteristic of American schools is the high priority given to extracurricular activities such as sports, performing arts, languages and several others. These sorts of activities are generally done simply out of pleasure, and also to look good on a later college application.

School and College sports programs play a key role in the life of small towns across America, for they represent a major source of income for the school districts. And apart from the business aspect of it, they are also a big part of social life in each town. In schools, sport facilities often include a big gymnasium with a multipurpose indoor court used for basketball, volleyball, wrestling or any other indoor sporting events and activities such as school dances.

In College or University, sport facilities go to the next level, having big stadiums similar in size to those in profesional leagues, and sometimes even bigger. In fact, college sports are so big in the US, that they are even televised, making them a tremendous money maker for the economies of the towns where the universities are in. So yep, sports in the USA are a really big deal, both socially and economically.

And now, let´s get more into the three main stages of primary and secondary education.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (1st to 4th grade)

In general at this early stage, children are taught the basic subjects such as basic grammar, basic Math and the fundamentals for other subjects like History or Biology. The classes at this level are normally conducted by a single teacher who instructs the different subjects to about 20 or 30 students. The kids often remain in the same classroom throughout the school day, except for specialized programs, such as physical education, library, music, and art classes.

Typically, the curriculum in public elementary schools is determined by each school district, which is in charge of selecting the textbooks, and also setting the standards and benchmarks for the different grade levels. That´s why depending on each school district, school programs can be quite different from each other in several ways.

MIDDLE SCHOOL (5th to 8th grade)

After finishing elementary school, children then move on to middle school to start their secondary education. Here, students are given more independence, moving to different classrooms for different subjects, and are also allowed to choose some elective subjects they might find interesting.

At the beginning of each academic year and cost free, each student is lent the set of textbooks they will use that year. But in return, they must take very good care of them, under penalty of a fine in case they don´t. That way, most books are very well kept and can be reused by other students in the following years.

Every student is also assigned a locker in order for them to keep inside their books, school material and personal belongings. This is actually really practical, because that way, children don´t have to carry everything with them from class to class or to their homes, only taking with them whatever they need for each class and leaving everything else in their lockers.

HIGH SCHOOL (9th to 12th grade)

It is at this level where students are required to step up their game, for in case they plan to continue with their education afterwards, they must meet all the curricular requirements in order to graduate. Here, students take a broad range of mandatory subjects, and same as in middle school, they may also choose some additional elective subjects to fill out their required hours of learning.

As a fun fact, first year high school students are commonly known as “freshmen”, second year students are called “sophomores”, third year “juniors” and fourth year students are called “seniors”.

Junior and senior high school students who plan to attend college or university, must take the so called SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test), which is a nationwide standardized test that measures the skills of the students in the different subjects they take in high school, similar to the selectivity test we take here in Spain. Their SAT´s scores, their high school grade reports and participation in extracurricular activities, play a key role in college applications. So much so that in case they excel at any of those areas mentioned before, they may be eligible to get a college scholarship, which is a really big deal in the US, for higher education is by no means cheap there, and getting a scholarship could mean a great economic relief for the students as well as for their families.

After graduating from high school, many students move on to college or university (tomato-tomato, potato-potato) to start with their higher education. And in those cases when students choose a different path other than college, they may attend vocational schools, also known as trade schools, where they can learn different trades to become professional electricians, mechanics, plumbers and the like.

But let´s talk about college for a bit.

COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY (Higher Education)

In the American culture, going to college is a real life changer for most students, as it is considered by many as the beginning of adulthood. This is mainly due to the fact, that most students have to leave the confort of their homes to go live on their own near their universities, which are often located hundreds of miles away and in some cases even in different states. In order to get into college, students must get accepted first, and then, they must pay the tuition fees which are usually quite high. Unless of course, they got a full or partial scholarship.

Prices may vary greatly depending on the type of school you attend, as well as the kind of degree you study. The cheapest option of all being public community colleges, where the average tuition fee is about $3,500 per year, while at private universities the cost goes a lot higher to an average of $35,000 per academic year. In many instances, the cost of accommodation must also be added, which may raise the final price quite significantly.

In college, students may take on what are called undergraduate programs in order to get their Bachelor diplomas in Arts or in Science, these are generally called B.A. or B.S. respectively. B.A.´s are usually more theory oriented whereas B.S´s are considered to be more technical. These undergraduate programs usually have a duration of four years and are often called Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior, just like in high school.

After completion, students may specialize in different areas of their choice called Majors. So you may get a B.A. in Business Administration and then go on to get a Major in, let´s say, Digital Marketing. Of course, in case you wish to keep on studying, you may aslo want to get a Master´s degree or even a Doctorate degree.

And after graduating from college, off they go to try to get a job and start a professional career.

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