Education in The United States of America
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Overview
The United States of America, located in North America, has a decentralized public education system that provides free, compulsory education to all elementary and secondary students.
Most Americans attend 13 years of primary and secondary school (K-12). Students first attend kindergarten, followed by "elementary" school. Next they go to "middle school" or "junior high school," and then "senior high school" (often called "high school").
Eighty-four percent of American adults ages 25 and over have completed high school.
At present, more women attend college than men. The college completion rates for young women (ages 25 to 29) exceed those for young men, 30% to 28%, and more American women than men have received bachelor's degrees every year since 1982.
The federal government has a leadership role in education, although most of the funds allocated for education are spent by the states. State and local authorities make most of the decisions about education in the United States.
Primary and Secondary education
Nearly 90 percent of American students below the college level attend public elementary and secondary schools, which do not charge tuition but rely on local and state taxes for funding. Most of the students who do not attend public elementary and secondary schools attend private schools, for which their families pay tuition. Four out of five private schools are run by religious groups. In these schools religious instruction is part of the curriculum, which also includes the traditional academic courses.
All states require young people to attend school. The age limit varies, however. Most states require attendance up to age 16, some up to 18. Thus, every child in America receives at least 11 years of education. This is true regardless of a child's sex, race, religion, learning problems, physical handicaps, ability to speak English, citizenship, or status as an immigrant. (Although some members of Congress have advocated permitting the states to deny public education to children of illegal immigrants, such a proposal has not become law.)
Every day, the school bell rings for 47 million students in America's public elementary, middle and high schools. An additional 5 million students go to private schools. About 3 million teachers in about 120,000 schools teach these students. Just under 1 million students are "home-schooled." Schools can be large and are located small, in cities, suburbs, and small towns.
Higher education
After finishing high school, many U.S. students go on to a four-year college or university or a two-year community college. College or university study is known as "higher education." Twenty-six percent of adults over ages 25 and over have completed a bachelor's degree or more.
According to the 2004-2005 U.S. Census Bureau abstract, a projected 15.9 million students attended community colleges, four-year colleges, or universities in 2004 and an estimated that in 2009 17.9 million would attend these institutions. The most popular college major is business. Male and female college graduates earned 60 and 95 percent more, respectively, than people who only graduated from high school.
Earnings as based on education
The economic impact of increased education for individuals is reflected in the data on average earnings in the United States. A study published in 2009, found that students who demonstrated greater math achievement at the end of high school had 12 percent higher earnings. A census report from 2007 displayed median annual earnings for workers aged 25 and over. "The median earnings ranged from about $19,000 for those with less than a high school diploma to over $60,000 for those with an advanced degree. High school graduates earned about $27,000, while those with a bachelor's degree earned about $47,000".Thus workers with a bachelor's degree received earnings that were "74 percent higher than median earnings for a worker with a high school diploma alone". Workers with an advanced degree had median earnings 31 percent higher than those with a bachelor's degree (Census.gov).
Researchers argue that if the United States followed the trend of increased education leading to higher earnings, as shown in a study released in 2009, by raising "...students' math and science skills to globally competitive levels over the next two decades, its GDP would be an additional 36 percent higher 75 years from now" (NGA).
For more information please visit:
- World Data on Education Database
- United States Department of Education
- An Overview of Education in the United States.doc
- No Child Left Behind
- Organization for Economic Co-Operation & Development (OECD)
- http://www.learnapec.org
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