The System of Education in the USA

Americans have always valued education. The Puritans viewed education as an important means of passing on religious teaching. The US public school system is highly decentralized, with local and state governments having the most control. Local school districts, supervised by a superintendent, determine programmes of study, select books, hire teachers. A school board, usually selected by the people, makes budget and policy decisions. A school district may en­compass an entire county or city or just a small geographical segment of a community. State governments commonly distribute state funds to local schools, set accreditation standards, cer­tify teachers and provide other guidelines for public schools.

Traditionally, school districts have been funded by a combination of state and local funds, with a majority of the money coming from the community real estate taxes (the federal gov­ernment generally contributes only 7 to 8 percent of school revenue).

American children attend school for 12 years. They start the 1^st grade at the age of 7, where they learn English, Math, Music and Art. There is a special program named 'Accele­rated Reader' (AR) which helps to evaluate smart kids. They read books and then take tests on them. Each book is worth from 1 to 10 AR points depending on its difficulty. It's possible to get up to 250 AR pts. per year. Children do accelerating reading until they enter High School.

Ninth-graders or freshmen enrol into Junior High School. They take English 1, Math, Biology, State Studies or World Geography, Technical Discovery and 2 electives. 4 units earned are required to transfer to the 10ⁿ grade. Sophomores (10^th-graders) take English 2, Math, Science, World History and 3 electives. Juniors or eleventh-graders take English 3, Math, US History and 4 electives. And seniors or twelfth-graders take English 4, US Govern­ment and Electives that are worth 5 ½credits. In order to meet the University Admission Requirements the graduating student should earn:

• 4 credits in English;

• 3 credits in Math (required: Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry);

• 3 credits in Science (any choosing from Biology, Physics, Chemistry, AP Chemistry, AP Biology);

• 3 credits in Social Sciences (US History, World History, US Government and Eco­nomics, Geography);

• 2 credits in Advanced Electives (Advanced World Geography, Foreign Language, 4^th year lab-based Science

or 4^th year Math);

• ½credits in Computer Applications.

Smart students usually take Advanced Placement (AP) courses. The AP program gives students the opportunity to pursue college-level studies while still in high school and receive course credit and placement upon entering college. Over 1200 colleges in the country offer course credit to AP students who score at a certain level on the AP examinations. Academic rank in the class is determined by a 4 pts scale.

The school year is divided into two semesters. Each semester is divided into 2 Nine Weeks Periods. Exams are taken after each period. Progress reports are issued in the middle and the end of the period. There is a 2-weeks break for Christmas and one week for a spring break. Labour Day and Thanksgiving are also observed.

During their junior and senior year students take SAT and ACT tests. The sum of college scholarship money depends on the results of these tests. The maximum SAT score is 1600, ACT - 36. One can be admitted to several colleges at the same time. America's best national universities are Princeton (New Jersey), Harvard (Massachusetts), Yale (Connect­icut).

There are 228 national universities in the USA (147 public and 81 private) which offer a full range of undergraduate majors and strongly emphasize research. Students attend col­lege/university for 4 years and if they wish to continue education and research, they go to grad­uate school to get Ph.D. degree.

III. Answer the questions for discussion:

1. How does the US public school system operate?

2. Who traditionally funds school districts in the US?

3. What are the University Admission Requirements?

4. What are America's best national universities?

5. Can American school leavers be admitted to several colleges at the same time?

6. How long does the university education last?

7. Is there any postgraduate education in the US?

IV. Read the text. Consult the dictionary where necessary. Write out the new words and learn them.