EducationintheUnitedStatesofAmerica美国教育体系I.Thegoalofeducation•“Giveamanafishandhewilleatforaday.Teachamanhowtofishandhewilleatfortherestofhislife.”---ChineseProverbThegoalofeducationistoachieveuniversalliteracyandtoprovideindividualswitheducationalopportunities.EducationintheUnitedStatesisprovidedmainlybygovernment,withcontrolandfundingcomingfromthreelevels:federal,state,andlocal.Eachof50statesintheUnitedStateshasitsownlawsregulatingeducation.Fromstatetostate,somelawsaresimilar;othersarenot.II.Education–alocalmatterIII.ExpenditureofEducationEducationalfundsarefromseveralsources.Fundsforelementaryandsecondaryschoolscomefrom3sources:1.about50%fromlocalpropertytaxes,2.40-50%fromthestates,3.8%-9%fromthefederalgovernment.LevelsofschoolingHigherEducationSecondaryEducationElementaryEducationElementaryschoolandsecondaryschoolInmostareas,freepublicschooleducationbeginswithkindergartenclassesfor5yearsold.Almostallthe50stateshavelawsthatrequire12yearsofcompulsoryattendanceatschoolforchildren.Insomeschoolsystem,the12gradesaredividedintotwostages,thefirst6gradesforelementaryschoolandthenext6gradesforsecondaryschool.Inotherschoolsystem,therearethreedivisions:elementaryschool(grades1—6),juniorhighschool(7—9),andseniorhighschool(10—12).EducationintheUnitedStatesGradeAgePreschoolKindergarten5-6ElementarySchool1stGrade2ndGrade3rdGrade4thGrade5thGrade6-77-88-912-1310-116thGrade7thGrade8thGrade11-129-1013-14MiddleSchool9thGrade14-1510thGrade11thGrade12thGrade15-1616-1717-18HighSchoolIV.CurriculaforStudents1.ElementarySchoolAlthoughthefederalgovernmenthasnonationalcurriculumforeducation,almosteveryelementaryschoolprovidesinstructioninthesesubjects:languagearts;math;penmanship;science;socialstudies;music;art;andphysicaleducation.PhysicalEducation2.SecondarySchoolSecondaryschoolsofferthesesubjects:English,mathematics,science,socialstudiesandphysicaleducation.Mostschoolsofferforeignlanguages.SpanishisthemostpopularforeignlanguageforAmericans.ClassatmosphereisusuallyrelaxedinAmericanschools.Americaneducatorbelievethatchildrenlearnbetterwhentheyarehappyandinterested,soeveryefforthasbeenmadetoarousetheinterestsoftheindividual.PublicSchoolsPublicschoolsarelocallycontrolled.Firstly,publicschoolsaresupportedbytaxespaidbyallpeoplewhetherornottheyhavechildrenattendingschools.Secondly,theyarefreefromreligiousinfluence.Publicschoolseducateabout88%ofallAmericanchildren.PrivateSchoolsMostprivateschoolsarerelatedtoreligiousgroups.Intheseschools,religiousinstructionispartofthecurriculumToday,about12%ofallAmericanchildrengotoprivateschoolsfortheirelementaryandsecondaryeducation.MiddleSchoolinU.S.AStandardizedTestsInthelastyearofhighschool,studentswhowanttogoontoreceivehighereducationhavetotakesomekindofstandardizedtests.ThemostpopulartestsareScholasticAssessmentTests(SAT)andtheAmericanCollegeTesting(ACT)SATTheSATisathree-hour,multiple-choiceexammeasuringverbal,math,andreasoningskills.ItisrequiredbymosthighereducationinstitutionsintheUnitedStatesfortheadmissiontoundergraduatedegreeprograms.EntranceRequirementofaUniversityoraCollegeSuccessfulapplicantsatsuchcollegesareusuallychosenonthebasisof:1.Theirhighschoolacademicperformance2.Lettersofrecommendationfromtheirhighschoolteachers3.Theimpressiontheymakeduringtheinterviewsattheuniversity4.TheirscoresonSATTheComplexSystemofHigherEducationItcomprisesfourcategoriesofinstitutions:TheuniversityThefour-yearundergraduateinstitution—thecollegeThetechnicaltraininginstitutionThetwo-year,orcommunitycollegeTheMilitaryAcademyTheonlyinstitutionsofhighereducationfundedbythefederalgovernmentarerelatedtotheMilitary.TheyaretheUnitedStatesMilitaryAcademy(陆军学校)atWestPoint,NewYork;theUnitedStatesNavalAcademy(海军学校)inAnnapolis,Maryland;andtheUnitedStatesAirForceAcademy(空军军官学校)inColoradoSprings,Colorado.CreditOneofthemeasurementsforanundergraduateinacademicprogressiscreditor“point”.Typically,anundergraduatestudenthastoearnacertainnumberofcredits(about120)inordertoreceivethebachelor’sdegreeattheendoffouryearsofcollege.Creditsareearnedbyattendinglectures(orlabclasses)andbysuccessfullycompletingassignmentsandexaminations.Studentswhowanttopursuegraduatestudyhavetotake1.theGraduateRecordExamination(GRE),2.ortheLawSchoolAdmissionsTest(LSAT)forlawschool,3.ortheMedicalCollegeAdmissionsTest(MCAT)ifonewantstogotoamedicalschool.TableofAcademicDegrees18(age)UndergraduatefortheBachelor’sdegree(4years)1(grade)19220321422GraduateSchoolfortheMaster’s(1-2)523624GraduateSchoolfortheDoctorate(2,3ormore)7258PostdoctoralStudyandResearchPublicUniversitiesPublicuniversitiesareoperatedbyastateorlocalgovernmentSomefamouspublicuniversities:1.UniversityofCaliforniaatBerkley2.UniversityofCaliforniaatLosAngles(UCLA)3.UniversityofVirginiaPrivateUniversitiesAbout25percentofhighereducationintheUnitedStatesareprivatelyoperatedbyreligiousorganization.ThemostprestigiousuniversitiesinAmericaaretheolderprivateuniversities,suchasHarvardUniversity(1636),YaleUniversity(1701),PrincetonUniversity(1746),ColumbiaUniversity(1754