TOFEL introduction.doc

US education system: One of the most distinctive feature of US education system is that, US didn’t have no country-level education system or curriculum ,because in US ,The federal government doesnt have the executive power, not direct interference with educational activities, but is of instructive and of service.The one that does have the direct power is state government and local Board of Education, and also local municipal government and District Board of Education. The system has greatly encouraged local initiative on education, but as its name suggests, is lack of unity. The want of non-unified policy, plan and objective leads to the great unbalance of the educational development. Much of the control of American public schools lies in the hands of each local school district. Each school district is governed by a school board; a small committee of people elected by the local community or appointed by the local government. The school board sets general policies for the school district and insures that state guidelines are met. age Generally, school districts are divided into elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools. Elementary schools are composed of students in kindergarten and grades 1-5. Most children attend kindergarten when they are five-years-old. Children begin 1st grade at age six. Middle school is composed of students in grades 6-8 and high school contains grades 9-12. In the United States, a student who has finished high school may want to continue in higher education. There are several ways to continue in higher education in the United States. There are universities, colleges, community colleges, and technical and vocational schools. Each of these kinds of higher education will be described below. Admission to a University Although admission policies vary from one university to the next, most determine admission based on several criteria, including a students high school course of study, high school