Your experience with US schools vs. UK schools
Nov 13th 2013, 5:18 pm
#31
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Re: Your experience with US schools vs. UK schools
Not just state to state. Within many states, the individual counties actually run the schools. So there can be differences between one county school system and the next even within the same state (e.g. start/end times can differ within different counties in the same state) although each has to enforce state standards
The difference locally for us at least involves snow days and make up days, how hard or not the age cut off is applied, availability of full day kindergarten and if there is a cost or not, distance from school for school bus eligibility, whether special needs education gets included with everything or as a separate rating.
And these are the difference between schools that are only a few miles apart.
Nov 13th 2013, 6:40 pm
#32
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Re: Your experience with US schools vs. UK schools
I have had the same experience as Bob regarding differences between districts, never mind states. Picking the wrong side of the street to live on can bite you on the behind.
Nov 13th 2013, 7:09 pm
#33
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Re: Your experience with US schools vs. UK schools
I have found the opposite to be true. Because marks are awarded for every assignment and piece of homework, students who are not academic (or who don't test well) can receive a large percentage of their final grade from stuff done in the classroom or at home (where they can obtain help from parents and siblings). At middle school, my son finished one year with an overall "A" in Algebra 1 even though he obtained a "D" in the final exam! I went to the teacher and asked if he seriously thought my son understood Algebra 1 and was ready to take on Geometry! In the end I had him repeat Algebra 1 the following year. This time he was bored by the homework assignments so didn't score as well there but did much better on the final exam. He got a "B" on the final exam and an overall "B" for the year. So he understood much more but ended up with a lower overall grade!
Nov 13th 2013, 11:22 pm
#34
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Re: Your experience with US schools vs. UK schools
My experiences US v's UK schools (sorry if its a bit long winded)
My eldest is now in 11th grade in the US, she started school in the UK at a tiny village school with a total of around 200 kids in the whole school reception to year 6.
She was reading and writing, knew her 2, 3, 5, and 10 times table, basic addition and subtraction at the end of her reception year. We moved to the US at the end of this year and she was age ready for kindergarten here, she was tested by the school and asked to recite the alphabet, count to 20 and pick out colours and shapes - we were told she had passed and was ready for kindergarten!
After a discussion with my daughter, the principle, the teacher and the school district it was decided to move her up to 1st grade.
She completed 1st and 2nd grade at the large local elementary school in a school district considered very good with consistently excellent results. There were 650+ kids in grades 1-5.
We then returned to the UK where she went back into her old class at the local village school, she had fallen behind her peer group from her reception class but caught up fairly quickly. She did year 3 and year 4 in the UK then we came back to the US - again same school she did 1st and 2nd grade.
She was tested AGAIN, math and english as they wanted to put her into 4th grade because of her age (April birthday), she actually tested at a 7th grade math level so went back into 5th grade with the friends she made in 1st and 2nd grade to help with the transition.
I've found the early years elementary education in her UK school was far superior to what she got here in the US. However as she has moved through middle school and onto high school the education here in the US seems to be more comprehensive (maybe as she is in honours and AP classes ?) She keeps in touch with her friends in the UK and her best friend was here two weeks ago, they were comparing what they were both doing. It seems that my daughters calculus class is more on a par with an A level syllabus than the year 11 course that her friend was currently doing in the UK. Also here in the US she has more options as far as subject choices and electives compared to her friends in the UK.
My eldest is now in 11th grade in the US, she started school in the UK at a tiny village school with a total of around 200 kids in the whole school reception to year 6.
She was reading and writing, knew her 2, 3, 5, and 10 times table, basic addition and subtraction at the end of her reception year. We moved to the US at the end of this year and she was age ready for kindergarten here, she was tested by the school and asked to recite the alphabet, count to 20 and pick out colours and shapes - we were told she had passed and was ready for kindergarten!
After a discussion with my daughter, the principle, the teacher and the school district it was decided to move her up to 1st grade.
She completed 1st and 2nd grade at the large local elementary school in a school district considered very good with consistently excellent results. There were 650+ kids in grades 1-5.
We then returned to the UK where she went back into her old class at the local village school, she had fallen behind her peer group from her reception class but caught up fairly quickly. She did year 3 and year 4 in the UK then we came back to the US - again same school she did 1st and 2nd grade.
She was tested AGAIN, math and english as they wanted to put her into 4th grade because of her age (April birthday), she actually tested at a 7th grade math level so went back into 5th grade with the friends she made in 1st and 2nd grade to help with the transition.
I've found the early years elementary education in her UK school was far superior to what she got here in the US. However as she has moved through middle school and onto high school the education here in the US seems to be more comprehensive (maybe as she is in honours and AP classes ?) She keeps in touch with her friends in the UK and her best friend was here two weeks ago, they were comparing what they were both doing. It seems that my daughters calculus class is more on a par with an A level syllabus than the year 11 course that her friend was currently doing in the UK. Also here in the US she has more options as far as subject choices and electives compared to her friends in the UK.
We moved back to the US before our daughter started school, so I really can't compare the two, with exception to both of my granddaughters (one is currently in reception, the other year 4) and I don't recall my older daughter (will ask tomorrow when she's up) saying the girls were given that kind of curriculum. My youngest granddaughter got an award this week for eagerness to learn and she wrote her first and last name when asked to do so. Maybe they will teach them more later on in the school year.
My younger daughter had the advantage of going to a full day kindergarten, and the class was eager to learn. By the end they were all reading and doing simple maths. It's unfortunate (or fortunate) that the teacher has to teach the whole class and they all aren't always ready to move on to higher learning at such a young age.
We have found that my younger daughter is actually a gifted learner and while she chose not to attend a special class in elementary, she is now in special classes in junior high and doing very well.
Nov 14th 2013, 2:31 am
#35
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Re: Your experience with US schools vs. UK schools
I don't know what "behind" means because none of his classes contain only kids of his grade. For example, many kids take high school Physics, Chemistry and Biology at some point but they are one year courses and they don't have to be taken in any specific order - so the order in which they are taken differs from kid to kid.
Although I would say that most kids in his classes are juniors like him, he also has some sophomores and some seniors in all of his classes. Math is more progressive (meaning you take multiple math courses in a specific order) and I would say that most of his grade are currently doing Pre-Calc like him. Some juniors are still doing Algebra 2 (a class behind) and some are doing Calculus (a class ahead). He's a bright kid but not that interested in math so I didn't see any point in him going beyond Calculus at high school. I would rather he found the correct level to obtain the highest possible level of understanding instead of just trying to race his peers. If he wants to go beyond Calculus (e.g. Statistics), he can do that at college.
Nov 14th 2013, 2:38 am
#36
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Re: Your experience with US schools vs. UK schools
Not just counties, but individual school districts.
The difference locally for us at least involves snow days and make up days, how hard or not the age cut off is applied, availability of full day kindergarten and if there is a cost or not, distance from school for school bus eligibility, whether special needs education gets included with everything or as a separate rating.
And these are the difference between schools that are only a few miles apart.
The difference locally for us at least involves snow days and make up days, how hard or not the age cut off is applied, availability of full day kindergarten and if there is a cost or not, distance from school for school bus eligibility, whether special needs education gets included with everything or as a separate rating.
And these are the difference between schools that are only a few miles apart.
A school "district" for us is really a cluster consisting of multiple elementary and middle schools that feed into a single high school. The high school name is also used to name the cluster. But the clusters are all governed by the single county public school board.
Last edited by MarylandNed; Nov 14th 2013 at 2:42 am.
Nov 14th 2013, 2:58 am
#37
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Re: Your experience with US schools vs. UK schools
Then the school she attended split the reception class into groups based on ability when doing math and reading, getting harder books to read and more complex work sheets. I'd say about half the class did what she did and the other half did different things.
One thing I did notice was a huge difference in the UK was every child in the reception class had one on one reading time at least 3 times a week with the teacher. My daughter NEVER got this here in the US infact she never sat and read with a teacher other than the reading test all the kids do here in NY during the first few weeks of school to check reading speed and vocabulary.
Nov 14th 2013, 3:20 am
#38
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Re: Your experience with US schools vs. UK schools
I don't think it was that she was particularly gifted at an early age it was because she went to a very progressive nursery from the age of 9mths till she started school as we both worked. They started teaching the kids that were ready from an early age.
Then the school she attended split the reception class into groups based on ability when doing math and reading, getting harder books to read and more complex work sheets. I'd say about half the class did what she did and the other half did different things.
One thing I did notice was a huge difference in the UK was every child in the reception class had one on one reading time at least 3 times a week with the teacher. My daughter NEVER got this here in the US infact she never sat and read with a teacher other than the reading test all the kids do here in NY during the first few weeks of school to check reading speed and vocabulary.
Then the school she attended split the reception class into groups based on ability when doing math and reading, getting harder books to read and more complex work sheets. I'd say about half the class did what she did and the other half did different things.
One thing I did notice was a huge difference in the UK was every child in the reception class had one on one reading time at least 3 times a week with the teacher. My daughter NEVER got this here in the US infact she never sat and read with a teacher other than the reading test all the kids do here in NY during the first few weeks of school to check reading speed and vocabulary.
In the end, schools are all so different, whether it be curriculum or even the teachers that teach it.
Nov 14th 2013, 3:37 pm
#39
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Re: Your experience with US schools vs. UK schools
We don't have those same differences. Our county has a single public school board. Our snow days and make up days are county wide. Either the whole county school system shuts down or it doesn't when there are weather issues. All policies (including the others you mentioned) are county wide.
A school "district" for us is really a cluster consisting of multiple elementary and middle schools that feed into a single high school. The high school name is also used to name the cluster. But the clusters are all governed by the single county public school board.
A school "district" for us is really a cluster consisting of multiple elementary and middle schools that feed into a single high school. The high school name is also used to name the cluster. But the clusters are all governed by the single county public school board.
Nov 14th 2013, 7:41 pm
#40
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Re: Your experience with US schools vs. UK schools
After repeating Algebra 1 in 8th grade, he successfully completed Geometry and Algebra 2 during the first 2 years of high school. He's doing Pre-Calc this year (junior year) and will do Calculus next year (his senior year at high school).
I don't know what "behind" means because none of his classes contain only kids of his grade. For example, many kids take high school Physics, Chemistry and Biology at some point but they are one year courses and they don't have to be taken in any specific order - so the order in which they are taken differs from kid to kid.
Although I would say that most kids in his classes are juniors like him, he also has some sophomores and some seniors in all of his classes. Math is more progressive (meaning you take multiple math courses in a specific order) and I would say that most of his grade are currently doing Pre-Calc like him. Some juniors are still doing Algebra 2 (a class behind) and some are doing Calculus (a class ahead). He's a bright kid but not that interested in math so I didn't see any point in him going beyond Calculus at high school. I would rather he found the correct level to obtain the highest possible level of understanding instead of just trying to race his peers. If he wants to go beyond Calculus (e.g. Statistics), he can do that at college.
I don't know what "behind" means because none of his classes contain only kids of his grade. For example, many kids take high school Physics, Chemistry and Biology at some point but they are one year courses and they don't have to be taken in any specific order - so the order in which they are taken differs from kid to kid.
Although I would say that most kids in his classes are juniors like him, he also has some sophomores and some seniors in all of his classes. Math is more progressive (meaning you take multiple math courses in a specific order) and I would say that most of his grade are currently doing Pre-Calc like him. Some juniors are still doing Algebra 2 (a class behind) and some are doing Calculus (a class ahead). He's a bright kid but not that interested in math so I didn't see any point in him going beyond Calculus at high school. I would rather he found the correct level to obtain the highest possible level of understanding instead of just trying to race his peers. If he wants to go beyond Calculus (e.g. Statistics), he can do that at college.
. It's unusual in the UK to have children from different year groups (grades) learning together, rather children are split by ability within their year group, but essentially learning the same thing. My daughter started grade 7 in September (coming from the UK) and has initially struggled with pre-algebra - mainly because has had to learn everything covered in grade 6 along with the new topics they are doing now. However, she seems to be making some progress and has gone from scoring D and F on her first tests, to A- on the most recent. She also sounds very much like your son - she's not that interested in Maths and I completely agree with your point on finding her correct level and ensuring that her understanding is solid rather than moving up to the next topic. We are due to return to the UK in 2015 so she will have to slot back into the UK system which will no doubt be interesting.
Nov 14th 2013, 8:04 pm
#41
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Re: Your experience with US schools vs. UK schools
Where we are in the high school certain subjects are grade specific ie English 9, 9H, 10, 10H, 11, 11H or 12 however Math, Science and Language can have a mixture of grades in each class. My daughters Latin class last year had kids from all four grades in the same class. Gym, the Arts subjects (incl. music/band/chorus) are all mixed grades.
Took me till she was in 7th grade to get my head around how things worked in the school system here, now struggling with the whole college application process which seems even more complicated! The idiots guide for expats doesn't seem to have been published yet
Took me till she was in 7th grade to get my head around how things worked in the school system here, now struggling with the whole college application process which seems even more complicated! The idiots guide for expats doesn't seem to have been published yet
Nov 14th 2013, 9:04 pm
#42
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Re: Your experience with US schools vs. UK schools
Where we are in the high school certain subjects are grade specific ie English 9, 9H, 10, 10H, 11, 11H or 12 however Math, Science and Language can have a mixture of grades in each class. My daughters Latin class last year had kids from all four grades in the same class. Gym, the Arts subjects (incl. music/band/chorus) are all mixed grades.
Took me till she was in 7th grade to get my head around how things worked in the school system here, now struggling with the whole college application process which seems even more complicated! The idiots guide for expats doesn't seem to have been published yet
Took me till she was in 7th grade to get my head around how things worked in the school system here, now struggling with the whole college application process which seems even more complicated! The idiots guide for expats doesn't seem to have been published yet
Dd has come home all excited today as they will not be doing PE next term - it's being replaced with art.
Last edited by HartleyHare; Nov 14th 2013 at 9:05 pm. Reason: Blooming auto spell
Nov 14th 2013, 9:43 pm
#43
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Re: Your experience with US schools vs. UK schools
I have very little idea of how the schools work here and I've not met any other mums either to enlighten me. We met the Principal when we enrolled Dd, but it was a quick chat at the reception desk. Parent's day is next week, so should give us the chance to find out more. However, I return from Seattle around 11pm the night before after having my dental work - hopefully I won't look like a chipmunk and drool when asking questions! Dd has come home all excited today as they will not be doing PE next term - it's being replaced with art.
Dd has come home all excited today as they will not be doing PE next term - it's being replaced with art.
Nov 14th 2013, 10:38 pm
#44
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Re: Your experience with US schools vs. UK schools
After grade 9 you'll see quite a few mixed classes with children from different years. You'll even see a bit of that in grade 9 (the 'Freshman' year).
In many schools in the US you'll see a course like Trigonometry in grade 10, followed by Calculus in grade 11 and then say Statistics in grade 12. This is contrasted to some schools in the UK that will teach a little bit of trig, a little bit of calculus, and a little bit of statistics in grade 10, then a little more in grade 11, and a little more in grade 12.
In many schools in the US you'll see a course like Trigonometry in grade 10, followed by Calculus in grade 11 and then say Statistics in grade 12. This is contrasted to some schools in the UK that will teach a little bit of trig, a little bit of calculus, and a little bit of statistics in grade 10, then a little more in grade 11, and a little more in grade 12.