Schools in the United States consist of public and private, elementary and secondary, state universities and private colleges which can be found everywhere. The United States continues to operate one of the largest universal education systems in the world. School attendance is compulsory for students through age 16 in most states. Children generally begin elementary school with kindergarten at age five and continue through secondary school to age 18. Typically, the elementary school years include kindergarten through grades five or six, and at some schools through grade eight. Secondary schools, also known as high schools, generally include grades nine through 12. There is no national structure, curriculum or governing law; all laws and policies are set and enforced by the 50 state governments and over 14,000 local school districts. All states and school districts have set the secondary school graduation level as the completion of 12th grade.
Private school choice policies like vouchers, scholarships, or education tax credits help parents to enroll their children in a private school of choice. Public School Choice allows parents more opportunity to choose the best public school for their children by offering open enrollment within the public education system. Charter Schools are publicly funded schools that meet certain performance standards set by the government but are otherwise free from the traditional public school system. Online Learning allows students to learn on the computer instead of in a classroom. Nine percent of all public schools nationwide offer some distance learning.
No Child Left Behind is the latest federal legislation that enacts the theories of standards-based education reform, which is based on the belief that setting high standards and establishing measurable goals can improve individual outcomes in education. The Act requires states to develop assessments in basic skills to be given to all students in certain grades, if those states are to receive federal funding for schools. The Act does not assert a national achievement standard; standards are set by each individual state.
Statistics:
3.7 million full-time-equivalent elementary and secondary school teachers were engaged in classroom instruction in fall 2008; This includes 3.2 million public school teachers and 0.5 million private school teachers.
The number of public school teachers has risen faster than the number of public school students over the past 10 years, resulting in declines in the pupil/teacher ratio.
In the fall of 2008, there were a projected 15.3 public school pupils per teacher, compared with 16.4 public school pupils per teacher 10 years earlier.
The average salary for public school teachers in 2006–07 was $50,816, about 3 percent higher than in 1996–97, after adjustment for inflation.
Nearly 6.2 million students in the United States between the ages of 16 and 24 in 2007 dropped out of high school, fueling a persistent high school dropout crisis. The total represents 16 percent of all people in the United States in that age range in 2007.
Nearly one in five U.S. men between the ages of 16 and 24 (18.9 percent) were dropouts in 2007.
Private School Statistics at a Glance
PK-12 Enrollment (2009) - 6,049,000; (11% of all US students)
# of Schools (2007-08) - 33,740; (25% of all US schools)
Average Private School Tuition: 2003-04
Elementary - $6.600
Secondary - $5,049
K-12 Schools - $8,412
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