British Teacher Reacts to 8 Ways British and American Education Systems Are Very Different

[@mededmoon6265]

In America a "test" is typically a weekly or bi-weekly assessment, where as an "exam" assesses your knowledge gained over an entire semester or even an entire school year.

[@dannyneeley344]

You mean quiz

[@mededmoon6265]

@@dannyneeley344 No I didn't mean quiz, but, a quiz can be end of day(pop quiz), or end of week. Usually not beyond that amount of time in my experience.

[@joannemiller8697]

My kid has a test every week in US schools. But it's also called a test when they do the standardized testing that lasts a bloody week and is more like a traditional "exam"

[@bl6252]

What to make sure you did not learn anything. Teacher are nothing but a waste of money. Most teachers could not even pass a GED test.

[@joshuatomlin6347]

We did not take sat’s we took the ACT which stands for American college testing a standardized test used for college admissions. You scored between a 1 and a perfect score of a 36. Consisted of English , math, reading, and science as well as an essay section.

[@jlpack62]

When Americans say that they attend college, they are mostly meaning that they are attending a university. There are colleges in the USA that aren't universities because they don't offer doctoral programs, but most of the 4 year higher education schools are universities. There are also junior colleges that offer 2 year programs, or are feeder schools to those who will eventually finish their bachelor's degree at another university or college. When I was in school, the times of finishing varied from after 3PM to as early as 2:30. The elementary schools tend to start and finish later, while the high schools started as early as 7:40 but finished by 2:30.

[@BuccarooRanch]

University's is where you earn a degree from a collage of knowledge. You may earn a B.S, Masters, PhD from that collage of knowledge. However, the word collage and university are interchangeable. i.e. Question: What collage did you attend? Answer: The University of Mississippi! We don't say the Collage of Mississippi

[@anndeecosita3586]

@@BuccarooRanch The word is college. Not all US colleges are universities. Furthermore there is an institution called Mississippi College in Clinton.

[@anndeecosita3586]

I don’t completely agree because I frequently hear people refer to junior and community colleges as college. Especially since these schools can also have on campus housing so some students relocate to attend them hence they “go off to college”.

[@stischer47]

@@anndeecosita3586 LOL...well I guess we should just change how we call them since you don't completely agree. I went to the top community college in the US, San Antonio College (founded 1925) when it was called a Junior College because it was for students who couldn't afford a university or wanted to get the first two years out of the way.

[@jlpack62]

@@anndeecosita3586 At the end of the day, college is a catch-all term used for a variety of post high school educational options. That was the entire point of my initial comment.

[@GeneBateman1970]

Colleges are generally smaller in size compared to universities. Due to their small size, colleges offer limited research options to students who want to pursue higher education. A university however could be home to several colleges that function on or off the campus. They are vast in size and offer a number of choices to its students. Universities may also have multiple schools within their campus, such as a School of Arts, a School of Music, and a School of Architecture among others.

[@jhouck1969]

I think American and British universities use a similar vernacular, where the university would consist of various colleges and schools. The name "university" suggests a wide range of topics to study, which are then broken down into the different schools. Conversely, "college" implies a focused area of study, as in all the students are studying the same field. I think one of the main differences is size, where many American universities are a bit larger than their British counterparts.

[@petenielsen6683]

@@jhouck1969 Basically a college can be a stand alone institution or within a university. The fine arts school within Syracuse University is called Crouse College. Whereas the community college in Syracuse is called Onondaga Community College even though it too has multiple disciplines and in some cases professors teach at both Syracuse University (private university) and OCC (public college.)

[@jeffburdick869]

@@petenielsen6683 I spent a year at OCC. Good memories. Time goes too fast.

[@ZebraGirl97]

Also while there are a few exceptions now, historically a college only offers associates or similar degrees, where a University offers bachelor's/4 year degrees. For example I attended Cascadia Community College while in highschool, but two years after I graduated, they began offering a handful of 4-year degrees, and changed their name to Cascadia University.

[@anndeecosita3586]

My university was made up of colleges. College of Liberal Arts, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Education and Human Services and so on. Each college has its own dean. Within that we have schools. I was a student in the School of Communication which was under the College of Liberal Arts.

[@georgeappleby6868]

When I was in school in the 1960's and 70's we went to elementary school k - 6th grade. Middle school was called Jr. High School 7th through 9th grade. High school was 10th through 12th. When i was in college my school was on quarters that was 12 weeks per grading period and after i left it went to semester's that were 16 week periods.

[@LancerX916]

Same here in California. I went to school in the 80s and 90s and mine was the exact same.

[@froggergypsy4596]

Same here in kansas

[@corinnepmorrison1854]

I was born in California, in 1946... Attended kindergarten in 1950... Graduated from high school, with honors, in January 1963...two weeks before my 17th birthday...

[@stanleymyrick4068]

Right. Middle school is a term that is used frequently in the town I live now, but it's because of school building size. They need to put grades that aren't Jr High level in buildings together with Jr High level, so instead of using Jr High / upper Elementary they just say Middle School. But by far the most common is Elementary, Jr High, and High School.

[@delco2023]

I was in school the same years as you and it was the same for me in Pennsylvania.

[@jdanon203]

What I learned from this video is the British system is confusing thanks to all the odd nomenclature. Sounds like your version of test is like our version of quiz.

[@LA_HA]

I dunno. Quizzes are mini tests. Exams seem to be major tests. So, you'd have a quiz to make sure you understand the work within a chapter. Then, have a test after completing the chapter. At the end of the semester, you'd have an exam that covers all the work done thus far. So, exams tend to be considered more of a major deal than tests. Still, test and exam can also be used interchangeably, while quiz generally isn't... maybe. haha

[@walkerlocker6126]

Yes this was also my experience in school, especially high school. We had the mid-term exams (sometimes called semi-final) and the end term or final exams, which we either called the exams or the finals. Quizzes were little things given once or twice a week, tests were more important and maybe once or twice a month. Exams were the most important and only twice a year

[@walkerlocker6126]

On that note, notice how I used the words "term" haha. I believe we used term and semester interchangeably.

[@ryanjustice2670]

As an American, I have watched many British shows and they have always referred to, what we would call private schools, public schools. Even when referencing schools such as Eton.🤷‍♂️

[@LA_HA]

It seemed that the wife's experience with attending school in Jersey was a bit different than what it's been in the past And in other places in England. It almost sounded like her schools used terminology that was more like the American terms than British. Hmm... Though, it was hard to figure out because the husband kept interrupting to correct her, only to state that he "may be wrong" at the end. It was very odd. I mean, he could've just let her explain Her educational experience instead of trying to do it for her, especially when he did something Completely different education-wise. haha

[@ryanjustice2670]

@@LA_HA I do appreciate your comment. However there's a couple things;1 They're not married, just recently engaged;2 They both have a weird dynamic of thinking themselves as "right". It worries me a little bit as to their future relationship(not that it matters) that they are both super competitive and both very prideful. But what the heck do I know? I'm 46 and single. So best wishes to them.

[@LA_HA]

@@ryanjustice2670 Thank you for the information. I'm very new to their channel and didn't know their relationship

[@ryanjustice2670]

@@LA_HA My pleasure.👍🇺🇸

[@sherisimms9213]

I believe there have been some changes in commonly used terminology, over the last few decades. Laurence is giving the most common usage 20 years ago, and it isn’t necessarily current. Still, “pupil” is rarely used in the USA, and is probably used more often in the UK. “Student” is the preferred term here, and is probably increasing in popularity over there. University has a fairly specific meaning in the USA: to be a university, an institution must offer graduate degrees - Master’s and Doctorate. Colleges generally offer only Bachelor’s degrees, and junior or community colleges might only offer Associate’s degrees, but there are very few of those around now. Associate’s degrees are becoming the exclusive province of technical colleges, which also offer diploma programs in trades (such as cosmetology or carpentry). Preschool is a non-specific term, that encompasses K3, K4, and K5. Pre-K typically indicates K4, but may also refer to K3; Kindergarten generally means K5, although the students may be 6 or even 7. Technically, all Preschool is optional, and First Grade is compulsory, but students can be held back by their parents for up to two years. In my state, Georgia, homeschooling is very common, since the state makes it extremely easy to register for it, and puts almost no paperwork burden on homeschooling parents. Basically, you fill out a short form (4-5 lines) on the state department of education website, tap submit, and do your thing. There is no paperwork, except that you have to participate in standardized testing every three years. As long as your homeschooled children perform at grade level on the tests, the state asks nothing else. Speaking of “test,” everything Millie said sounded exactly like how “test” and “exam” are used here. Exams are at midterm and end of course (final exam), and exams are weighted in the grading rubric. The final exam might be 1/4 of the total grade for the class. Tests are given at the end of each chapter or unit in the textbook, or just weekly. We also use the word “quiz” for short tests, generally one page, able to be completed in 5-10 minutes, that may be given daily or sprung unannounced on an unprepared class (“pop quiz”).

[@twenty3enigma]

I went to a university, but wasn't "at university" -- I was "in college". In addition, though not entirely consistent nationwide, most schools don't acquire university status until they offer post-graduate degrees (Masters &/or Doctorates). Related to that, many universities are composed of several colleges or schools -- each with its own curriculum and degree options.

[@JustMe-dc6ks]

And just for clarity, the various colleges or schools contained in a university are just different departments. They don’t normally have their own campuses or separate origins.

[@twenty3enigma]

@@JustMe-dc6ks True, though the term "College of" or "School of" is still used, our universities aren't like Oxford or Cambridge.

[@garycamara9955]

Not necessarily!

[@twenty3enigma]

@@garycamara9955 You clearly didn't notice where I wrote "though not entirely consistent nationwide" -- so I'd already included your "not necessarily" in my comment.

[@michaelh7394]

Colleges are a single school that may have more then one degree program. A university is 2 or more colleges in a single institution. Harvard University contains Harvard School of Medicine and Harvard Law School, both of which are colleges.

[@Wiley_Coyote]

This.

[@Stew2130]

This was really interesting! The college vs university can be even more confusing when the institutions are further divided into Junior/Community Colleges, Colleges, and Universities.

[@mermaid1717]

Though universities are the only institution where you can receive a bachelor's degree.

[@emmasmith1564]

You can earn a bachelor's and sometimes a master's degree at most colleges except for community colleges. Ususally you need at attend a university to earn a doctorial degree but that is also a generalization and I'm sure there are exceptions.

[@katannep7798]

I think in the US the difference between universities and colleges are the size? It seems all the colleges I’m familiar with in my state are a bit smaller, but one can still earn a bachelor’s degree. The exception being a community college, where you can only get an associate’s degree

[@Stew2130]

@@mermaid1717 I've run across at least two colleges that awarded bachelors degrees. One has since become a university. Colleges as distinguished from Community Colleges? Semantics or something more?

[@anndeecosita3586]

@@mermaid1717 That’s not true. There are colleges that give bachelors degrees. They tend to be private ones. For example some of my cousins went to Tougaloo College which has undergraduate and graduate programs.

[@poohbearsmom2964]

There is a middle ground for some American schools between uniforms and casual dress. Some schools have what they refer to as “standardized dress”. So, it’s what Laurence was referring to when he talked about khakis and polos. Some schools require students to wear khaki colored bottoms, slacks, shorts, jeans, skirts, skorts, etc. Those have to be paired with a polo style shirt in the school colors. (Or maybe a graphic t-shirt with the school logo) It’s less restrictive than an actual uniform.

[@jimpemberton]

We use both "test" and "exam" also. A test is any check on one's knowledge, aptitude, or skill level. So and "exam" is a test. But in the US, we typically reserve the use of "exam" to refer to big mid-term or final tests that carry particular weight toward your grade. Tests are often used as instructional tools for students to learn from their mistakes and for teachers to gauge the progress of the students. Exams are often used to see whether the students have sufficiently mastered the material to warrant passing them.

[@lindacarroll6896]

I live and worked in a school district that is partly in the city of Houston. Uniform requirements vary by school. Most don't require a uniform, but in schools with greatly varied economic levels they have made uniforms a requirement to level the field (and to prevent gangs from showing their colors). The shirts do look like golf shirts and are the school colors. In a school I worked in, they did a career dressing night for students who had no clue what it meant to dress to go to a job. A local clothing store closed to all but students whom they taught how to dress to go to an office (which is not like they dress in some offices today). As Lawrence said, everything varies from state to state, school district to school district and school to school, depending on a number of factors.

[@nikoknightpuppetproduction369]

Where I am from, Texas USA, many of the terminology is the same. Semester is more common, but I would hear some people say Term. Students and pupils are used but students more so. A test is a common assessment, an Exam is a very important assessment. My classes started at 7:30AM and ended at 3:45PM.

[@katannep7798]

When I was in school we had semesters (2 per year) but nowadays our school has trimesters (3 per year)

[@nikoknightpuppetproduction369]

@@katannep7798 that's true.

[@TheMusicgirl151]

The school district that I currently work for starts at 7:45 am and ends at 3:00 pm for the primary/elementary schools. The middle school and high school starts at 8:45 and ends at 4:00. Also, our primary school is pre-school through 1st grade and the elementary is 2nd grade through 5th grade.

[@jmcg6189]

I went to school in Illinois in the'60s. Primary/grade school was kindergarten through 6th grade. Jr. High was 8-9 grades. High school was 9-12 grades. Hours 8:30-3:15. Dismissal in high school may have been staggered. We didn't all catch the same bus. Hard to imagine 5,000 kids all leaving at the same time. They did encourage after school activities - special interest clubs and intra-murals.

[@okie-kan9240]

Woah, 5 yrs. old is kindergarten in the US. Middle school (7th-8th grade), used to be junior high (7th-9th grade). High school used to 10th -12th grade, now it is 9th-12th grade. We use the word exam, usually in higher education.

[@drchapman6501]

For me, last Bell rang at 3:15 pm. We started at 8:00 am. In first grade we had roughly 30 students in each of 5 classrooms. By the time we got to the 7th grade we had maybe 25 students in each of 4 home rooms.

[@jeffburdick869]

5:00 city schools tend to have uniform policies here more often than suburban schools. The school I taught at, the kids basically weren't allowed to wear black with red, yellow, or green as those were the colors of three different local(and rival) gangs.

[@tonygumbrell22]

Having been born in 1945, I have seen a lot of changes in education in the states in the course of my life. The terminology has changed considerably. Also, there are different breakdowns in the divisions of types of schools in different parts of the country, even from one school district to the next near-by sometimes. One thing hasn't changed the basic K-12 numbering of grades for students ages 5-17. Also, the naming of the grades in High School stays the same: Freshman-grade 9 age 14, Sophomore-grade 10 age 15, Junior- grade 11 age 16, Senior-grade 12 age 17. This nomenclature repeats for college/university: Freshman-1st year, Sophomore-2nd year, Junior-3rd year, Senior-4th year followed typically with a bachelor's degree. (I think most high schools are 4-year schools, but mine was only for 3 years, starting with the sophomore year or 10th grade age 15; the freshman year grade 9 having been part of a junior high school, grades 7-9.

[@stephaniebingman8990]

Was kindergarten commonplace where you lived? Neither of my parents attended kindergarten. My mom was born in 1970. And even my experience in the 90’s with kindergarten was that it was half day, so really not like it is today.

[@tonygumbrell22]

@@stephaniebingman8990 In Chicago when I started school age 5 in 1950 Kindergarten was mandatory; it was half a day, for the 1st half of the school year in the afternoon, in the 2nd half in the morning as best I remember. I don't have any children, so I don't know what has happened since then, but I expect kindergarten is mandatory in most if not all the country, and I don't whether it is a half day or all day.

[@toeknee713]

When I was in school, we finished at 3:00. Now it is 3:15. The extra 15 minutes allows them to go fewer days per year. They are changing it again this next year to switch to a 4-day week, but I don't recall the exact time changes.

[@caynidar6295]

So, after finishing high school in the USA, the student graduates with their high school diploma, with the requirements typically being determined by the state. Students wanting to go on to college, a.k.a. institutions of higher learning, would need to have their high school diploma or a GED diploma (obtained by passing a series of standardized tests designed to ensure a person possesses the knowledge equivalent to a student obtaining their high school diploma). More and more colleges have started programs allowing prospective students to enroll in remedial and introductory courses while they work on obtaining their GED, for those who were for whatever reason unable to obtain their high school diploma (failed to meet academic requirements by graduation deadline, dropped out, expelled, etc.). Also, the honors given to college graduates are typically cum laude (with honors, literally with praise), magna cum laude (with great honors) and some schools also give out summa cum laude (with highest honors).

[@thegibsonkid]

In highschool, we started and left depending on if we had “free periods” ie no scheduled class at that hour. sometimes I would be able to come in around 8:45 and some days I was able to leave around 1:00

[@calme-dx2dp]

There are some schools in the US that have two grade levels in one class. My first grade class contained grade 1-2, grade 5 had grade 4, and grades 7-8 were also together. However, this is much more common in high school.

[@TheBubbaClemson]

Kindergarten finished at noon, preschool at 1:30, elementary at 2:30, Jr. High (Middle school) 3:15 and Highschool at 3:45. College was erratic, even had night classes. Kindergarten is up to 3yrs old, then it's on to preschool. Another thing I find interesting is that James is an architect while here that usually requires 4-6yrs at a university and at least 1yr of internship. Tests are not as important to the overall grade as our exams are.. you usually will have several tests during the semester but will have a Midterm exam and a final exam each year. A University designation is only obtainable if there are around 70% of the professors have a PHD. (Doctorate) in that particular field they are instructing

[@justindemski9999]

It is very interesting when talking about what certain grades are called. As it seems with most, there are time period and state differences. I was in school in Maryland from the late 70's through the early 90's. For my area, preschool was called Nursery School. Then Kindergarten and 1st grade. Then, also I was in private Catholic school, grades 2 and 3 were Primary. Grades 4 and 5 were Intermediate. Grades 6 through 8 are Junior High and then grades 9 through 12 are High School. At the same time, those in public school in my area had Kindergarten, then grades 1 through 5 were Elementary School. Grades 6 through 8 are Middle School and lastly grades 9 through 12 are High School. It just seems things are unique to the when and where.

[@Boxacheeseballs]

7:30-3:15. Sometimes ended at 1:45 if I had the last period as a free period. Rarely started at 10:00 if I had first period free.

[@denisemusicnut]

In the US, what we call “college” is the same as University in England. My high school day began at 8:30 am, and ended at precisely 3:09 pm.

[@markhamstra1083]

Not quite. Technically, a college typically does not offer graduate degrees, but only Associates degrees (typically from two-year community colleges) and/or Bachelors degrees (four-year colleges). Universities will also offer Masters and Doctoral degrees of various kinds. Then there are also various post-graduate positions attached to universities. So, American universities and UK universities are broadly similar, but colleges are somewhat different. Colleges are most similar across the pond when talking about the atypical case in America where a university is divided into colleges that are similar to Hogwarts houses or to the colleges at Cambridge University or Oxford University, for instance.

[@beewyka819]

@@markhamstra1083 Technically yes there is a difference, but colloquially most Americans will use the term "college" to refer to both university and college. Very few Americans would ever say "I go to university" or ask "where do you go to uni?" We will almost always use the word college. The only time this is not the case is when we are explicitly talking about topics relating to the structure of the university (i.e. referring to the chair of the college of engineering).

[@markhamstra1083]

@@beewyka819 Yes, Americans saying “I’m going to college” mean essentially the same thing as Brits saying “I’m going to university,” but the actual definitions of the words are somewhat different from the colloquial usage, with “college” having several different meanings that have developed over the centuries.

[@mermaid1717]

@@markhamstra1083 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ she's saying our generic word for higher education is college... as a blanket word we call all our colleges & universities college. We only say university when we're speaking of specific schools.

[@strikethatreverseit9108]

Thanks!

[@beckycaughel7557]

From what I understand in the United States if a higher education school only offers bachelor degrees than it’s a college. But if it offers graduate degrees, masters PhD’s then it’s in University

[@pacmanc8103]

That is generally correct, I believe. Universities confer graduate degrees. Colleges don’t typically - Boston College is, of course, different.

[@adelamoon]

I work in a high school in NYC as a paraprofessional. Teens at our school can wear whatever they want, in the past we talked about a dress code, but no one ever follows through. Funny thing is that some of the teachers are very young, just out of college themselves and dress like the students, lol. School starts at 8 am, but there are classes that start at 7:15, like gym class and some of the college now classes. School ends at 2:20 in my school, some schools end after 3 pm. It really depends on the size of the school. My school is very small with about 600 students, so everyone knows everyone. We also share the building with a junior high and a charter school. I would never work in a junior high, teachers always seem to be yelling at the students. Usually there are around 30 kids per class, but early in the morning there are a lot of kids who are late.

[@Tiffanysdventures]

Our school starts at 8 and ends at 3:10. We have pre school or nursery school for age 3. Age four is pre k. But it also depends on when your birthday falls during the year as to if you start kindergarten at age 5 or 6.

[@kurooniyuri5715]

In America we typically refer to the act of obtaining a higher education as "going to college" but the institutions have different levels based on accreditation and offer different degree options. A College is usually an institution were you can get a one year degree or "Certificate" or a 2 year degree or an "Associate's." A University is one were you can get your 3 or 4 year "Bachelor's" and some Universities even offer "Master's" and "Doctoral" degrees. There are also Trade Schools that offer a more focused curriculum in areas such as Cosmetology or Auto Repair that are shorter and offer more hands on and on the job training but don't grant the same kind of degrees. As far as times of school day, when I was in school, in Elementary school the school day was from 8:15 to 3:15, but Middle school and High school was 7:15 to 2:45. But the Elementary school my girls attend is 8:20 to 2:40

[@TimSmith-uc4pk]

When I went to school 1 thru 6 was Elementary School, 7th, 8th and 9th grade were my Jr. High years and the 10th, 11th and 12th grades were my High School years.

[@katannep7798]

American here-I finished school at 3:00. In the small city I currently live in, they let out the high school students earlier , around 2:45, presumably so they can drive to the elementary schools to pick up any younger siblings, who get out around 3:15. This helps working parents quite a bit!

[@br7nf-n573]

The high school I went to is a public school and we started at 7:30, but my bus picked me up at 6:20! We ended at 2:45 but that’s assuming I didn’t have to leave for any away sports games, as sometimes we’d have to leave class at 12:30 to leave the school by 1

[@justKOZM]

When I was in school it varied. In elementary school it let out at 3:30. In middle school it let out at roughly 3:15. In high school a student could choose to take hours 1-6, 2-7, 1-7, or seniors could take concurrent (college classes off campus) classes instead of electives. 6th hour was over at 2:30 and 7th hour was over at 3:30. I am now a parent with a student starting 2nd grade and a student starting PreK. There is a national shortage of buss drivers and during Covid our district had some schools start at a later than normal time to help stagger the busses and allow time to “clean” them in between. Because of the driver shortage they have kept the start times staggered. My children attend a late start school. Meaning they will start the day at 9:00. However while most of the school lets out at 4:00, the PreK kids get out at 3:35.

[@josephharrison5639]

I went to schools in 5 different states(so they ended at different times, most elementary schools I went to ended at 3:30 with 1 of the 5 ending 3:50, middle school ended 3:30 in Colorado which also had the late elementary release so parents could grab kids from both and Washington middle school ended at 2:10, high school was only Washington so it ended at 1:50), never wore a uniform not even fancy dress code, the dress code was just basically don’t show your skin too much and nothing inappropriate in terms of words or images on the shirt. Closest thing we had to a mandatory dress code was wearing masks. Other than that many sports teams would have their members wear a team shirt game day out of tradition. I wore shorts and a tshirt almost everyday Preschool for me was 3 and 4, 5 is kindergarten for the most part I did my AP tests instead of SAT due to COVID, this allowed my to skip four Gen Ed classes In college

[@caretaker158]

Here where I live in VA, the schools just started staggering the start and finish times for the school days a few years ago, not for parent convenience so much but because of a critical shortage of bus drivers. They'd have to actually do two or even three separate runs to get all the kids home or to school. In this area, buses are critical because we're one of the largest counties in the state, a lot of rural and farm areas with only three high schools and our buses have a LOT of miles to cover. It's getting worse by the year too. The school system is literally begging for drivers and where kids and parents used to wonder about snow days, it's now "will our bus be running or not" days. A real nightmare for working parents! Our situation is not unique though, from what I've read, it's happening all over the country.

[@stephaniebingman8990]

When I was in elementary school, we went 8:15-2:30. Middle school was 8-3 and high school was 8:10-3. Now where I live, high school is 7:20-2:20, elementary is 8:20-3:20, and middle is 9:20-4:20. Apparently staggering times like this saves money because they can make more efficient bus routes.

[@william2085]

When I was in Elementary School, in the late 1960's in South Carolina, we had around 32 students per class. In the 5th Grade we had 35 students per class. This was due to the baby boom. And with the larger number of students, we still received a better education than the students do today. In the US, we graduate High School after the 12th Grade. If we choose to purse higher education, we then start college (small c, a catch all term). A University in the USA is a group of colleges. Colleges have focuses such as College of Liberal Arts, College of Art and Architecture, College of Engineering, College of Nursing, College of Business, etc. These are grouped into universities such as Clemson University, University of North Carolina, Harvard University, Howard University, etc. To confuse you more, there are stand-alone colleges such as Newberry College, Asheville-Buncombe Technical College, Presbyterian College, etc. When I graduated from Clemson University in 1981, there was still an apprenticeship system for Architects in the US. This was abolished in the early 1990's. Now you have to have a 5-year Bachelor's of Architecture Degree or a 6-year Master's of Architecture degree to apply to take the Architectural Exam. So, you are lucky, James.

[@LA_HA]

Don't forget there are private 4 Year colleges and universities, as well as public (usually State). So, the University of Southern California (USC) is a private university versus the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA or CSU Los Angeles). This doesn't include the 2 Year junior/community college system, including California Community College, Los Angeles (LA Community College). I think we have private 2 Year Colleges, but I can't think of one. That's because the idea of going to a junior college is to save money and get the core classes out of the way. Then transfer to a 4 Year University for the last two years and get the diploma from that school

[@Riomojo]

Ok Boomer

[@LA_HA]

Look who just discovered the internet. Hahaha

[@william2085]

@@LA_HA Laugh all you want. Without us Boomers, there would be no Gen-Xers, Millenials or Zoomers. Also, my father was a computer programmer in the early 1960's.

[@LA_HA]

@@william2085 Oh, I wasn't talking about older people. I was talking about that guy saying, "Ok boomer". Haha. How old is That? And he's saying it like it's still funny or cool. haha

[@jimwilcox2964]

Just to add to the confusion. I went to Grade School (aka Elementary) grades 1-6. Junior High grades 7-9. High School 10-12. But then they changed things. K-5. 6-8. 9-12. But hold on 9th graders. Freshman, sometimes had their own school building. Then to Iowa State University graduating in the College of Design. 1 of 8 colleges making up the university. No Grad School for a MA (Masters of Arts which would be the terminal degree) other Colleges have Masters. PhD, Dr. I forgot community college. Some did that after high school. Usually 2 year degrees vs 4. Sometimes also known as Trade School at one time because some their courses are construction, auto mechanics, accounting etc along with ge eral coursework. Some people did the AA (Associates Degree) there then College/ university and skipped over a lot of Freshman and Sophomore classes. We would have tests or quizzes, midterms and final exams. After graduating ISU switched from 4 quarters to 3 semesters, now they added a accelerated winter course (a semester's work during the month between fall and spring semester) and some of the semester classes can be done that way too.

[@christinabrock2893]

My students finish at 2:30. Actually I usually let them go around 2:20 so they can collect their bags and such before the buses and parents' cars start to show up around 2:45. Then we teachers are expected to stay until 3:30 to grade homework and prepare for the next day. Students are supposed to arrive between 7:45 and 8. Morning activities begin at 8. Again, teachers have longer hours. We're supposed to be there by 7:30.

[@jenp7818]

Elementary school starts (in Maryland) at 9 and get out at 3:30. Middle and high school are 7:30-2:15.

[@lone6718]

Our class sizes when I was in school were typically 30-35 students per class. But that was during the 80’s and 90’s in the US.

[@blakenewell9967]

I started my highschool at 7:30 and was released at 2:45 we also had an open campus for lunch so I could drive off and go to a fast food place if I wanted during lunch period

[@johnobrien2055]

In the US, a university is an institution that has multiple colleges. So you can have a college of arts and science, and a college of law, and a college of medicine. That's the difference.

[@michaelbraman4445]

correct

[@christophermckinney3924]

We sort of have degrees of testing to. An exam tends to be comprehensive like over all material for a year or a term. Whereas, a test is usually less comprehensive maybe over all the amterial from that week or that part of a term. We refer to the even less formal tests adn exams as "quizzes." These are usually given by surprise by teachers to see if people in class actually read the assignement or absorbed a previous lesson. It's more for the teacher's benefit than the students evaluation and often a quizz is merely for extra point on a final exam or other test. So you may get ten surprise questions, and if you get 5 right you get 5 extra points on your next test or exam. But tests and exams compose your score for the term.

[@quentinmichel7581]

Back in the Olden Days when I was in school we generally had "tests"...but could be subject to spontaneous small tests, "quizzes". The last big test of the school year that covered learning from the entire year was the "Final Exam" which we generally bludgeoned with by every class/subject (math, language-both English & foreign if applicable, science, history etc.) during the hellish last couple of weeks of the year generically called the dreaded "Finals", which usually constituted the largest part of your score for your grade points & equivalent letter grade (4.0=A, 3.5=B+, etc.) For much of my ancient life the higher education was both clear and muddy...lol. Generally, 2yr higher institutions where you would get a Associate's Degree were termed "Colleges" or "Junior Colleges". However, a 4yr institution where you would get a Bachelor's Degree could be termed either a College or University. I never did figure out the criteria.

[@heidifedor]

In Junior High I attended a Catholic school that didn’t require a uniform. But the dress code was so strict, it would have been easier to have had uniforms. That was one of many reasons my parents put me back in public school.

[@nochannel1q2321]

Eton, where many of the UK's leaders are schooled, is listed as a public school. It charges private tuition. In the US a private school is one that charges private tuition and famous ones similar to the end result, boarding status, instructional quality and so on include Exeter Academy and so on. When people deride the elitism they perceive amongst British officials they often remark about the "public school boys."

[@LA_HA]

Oooh, shots fired for using Exeter Academy instead of Andover. Ha

[@drewjsnyder3]

My first bell rang at 7:35am to start the day and my final bell rung at 2:20pm. Then most of my sport practices ran from 2:30pm to 6/7pm-ish, except for game days. Being a lifetime night owl I wish I could have started High School later. A 9am start sounds stunning.

[@ginny5764]

My high school started at 8:05 and ended at 2:42. My kids school started at 7:30 and finished at 2:30. We had tests in high school (except final exams), and midterm and final exams in college.

[@danielleporter1829]

While High school seniors do take the SAT in preparation for admission to university and most colleges, it's not mandatory to take it if they're going to community college. However, once enrolled, they do have take assessment tests to see where they might place in English and math classes

[@LA_HA]

Assessments are also what kids in elementary schools take to measure their learning. And don't forget the PSAT, and the ACT. haha

[@Super1abigail]

I’m in the states and use the term exam and tests the same way y’all do. I’m a nurse at an elementary school and the kids starts at 7:45 and are released at 2:40. My own children are in high school. My daughter is 10th grade and is released at 3:15. my son is a senior and has early release at noon.

[@l30penguin]

In the US we use the word quiz for the least grade effective, quick little lesson review kinda thing. Test is used for your end of unit kinda thing, worth more and covers more content than quizzes. And exams are usually refering to midterms (tests taken in the winter half way through the year) and then the final exams, (tests taken in the spring to test our knowledge of the second half of the year).

[@pho3nixinflight]

In the US in my case at least a test was something we took at certain points during a semester whereas an exam was a test at the end covering the whole that we learned. For example we might have a test on chapters 1&2 and then a test on chapters 3,4&5. Our exam would be for 1-5.

[@barryfletcher7136]

In the USA to be a "university" the institution has to offer advanced degrees (Master's and PhD programs). An institution of higher learning which offers only Associate's (2 year) or Bachelor's (4 year) degrees is a college. However, the term "college' can be used to refer in a general sense to any post-secondary school which offers degrees.

[@Bargle5]

My final (high) school started at 8:30 and finished at 3:30. But since I moved a lot as a kid, it was different depending on where I lived at that time. Many of our Primary schools have staggered end times depending on the grade. The older you get, the longer you stay. Something else that's changed now. It used to be that Middle school was often called Junior High. This is less common now, I think.

[@sandragresham1134]

When I went to school my elementary was k-7th grade. From 7:30 to 2:30. Then straight to high school 8th through 12th. 8:15 to 3:00

[@JustMe-dc6ks]

We use test and exam similarly. An exam is usually an especially big or important test, like final exams.

[@GeraldWalling]

In Birmingham, Al (not to be confused with Birmingham, England) I started 1st grade in 1958. 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade we went from 8:00 to 2:00. Starting with 4th grade through grade 12 (Senior Year) we went from 8:00 to 3:00. Graduated in 1970. We had no Middle school. Elementary school was 1st through 8th and High School was 9th through 12th grades.

[@tabrabeverly7748]

Love all the conversation and explanations! Very interesting!

[@MrAvfc14]

School started at 8am and ended at 3:25PM in grades 10 thru 12. also colleges are usually 2 year degrees( associates degree ) and are used to get your foundation studies for a 4 year degree.

[@JustMe-gn6yf]

It wasn't called middle school when I went it was called Jr high school and was 7th & 8th grade this was in the 70s and our highschool was 90 minute classes and trimesters instead of semesters , what's even crazier is one of the highschools in my city had a indoor gun range

[@jeffburdick869]

13:45 I like middle school is the most common name for it here. My middle school were grades 7-8 so (so most kids would start at 12 and end at 14). Some school districts call their middle school junior high...I think most did during my parents' generation, but most say middle school now. Tho some districts have both middle school and jr. high.

[@danielleporter1829]

We have community colleges/Jr.Colleges here stateside. Some of the benefits of community college are 1), students get the first two years of general education courses ( classes such English 101, Speech, math up to algebra 2 ( combo of Algebra and trigonometry) American History, etc) that they would normally have to take as incoming freshman at an university, 2) Community colleges also offer courses in nursing, cosmetology, GED prep (General Education Diploma also know as General Equivalency. The GED is the equivalent of a high school diploma, so if a person couldn't graduate from high school for whatever reason, they can go back to school and get their GED which in turn can be used as their diploma when applying for college or a job since most minimum wage jobs require at a minimum a high school diploma or GED if the applicant is 18 and over ), dental hygine , plumbing, welding , Airplane mechanics , etc , 3), Community colleges also typically have programs for low income working students, students with disabilities and Veterans. And 4) community college fees are typically cheaper than university fees and whilr it's a necessity to take out student loans to attend a four year university, if a student goes to a community college straight out 9f highschool ( while many students have the grades and are a bit better off financially to go to an university straight out of hs, many don't and after two years or more because life happens, students can transfer to a 4 yr from a CC. Over the last 7 or 8 years, there's been a push for community colleges to offer bachelor degrees to help students offset the cost of student loans 5) CCs atd open to anyone of all ages , all academic backgrounds, employment types etc. Universities are institutions with schools/colleges within them such as the College of Liberal Arts or depending on the institution, the school or college of Arts and Letters, school/college of Business, Communications/Journalism, Engineering /applied Sciences , Theatre 🎭 ( Universities such as Harvard, Yale, NYU, Columbia, Howard ( Historically Black College/University in Washington DC, Alma Mater of Vice President Kamala Harris, University of Southern California etc all have schools of Theatre within their universities that can be stand alone depts from the fine arts department . Some four year institutions do have college in their names such as Wellesley College, Alma Mater of Former First Lady and New York Senator Hillary Clinton , Amherst College ( not to be confused eith the Uni of Massachusetts at Amherst), Radcliffe College, Vassar College, Alma Mater of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis , JFKs widow, Dartmouth College etc. Colleges such as these offer the same courses as any university, however these schools can be smaller in student population than the Georgetowns, UCLAs, UT Dallas' UT Austin's ( UT: Uni of Texas Gramblings( HBCU in Louisiana). It's not unusual to refer to a university by the it's acronym ( USC/SC, LMU ( Loyola Marymount Uni my Alma Mater), or by rhe team's name, Trojans (USC), Bruins ( UCLA) Aggies ( Texas A&M) Longhorns ( UT Austin), Sooners (Uni of Oklahoma) Joyas ( Georgetown) , Crimson Tide ( Uni of Alabama) Ducks ( Uni or Oregon), Gators ( Florida State) etc. Note: USC and UCLA have one of the longest cross town rivalries in College football and are cross town rivals in Los Angeles. So whenever they play each other , the city of L.A is split down the middle, iI know because L.A's my hometown and i know people who have gone to both schools. When. I was in elementary school, I went to the same school (public} from kindergarten to 6th grade , Middle school ( Catholic) 7-8th grade and high school ( all Girls' Catholic) 9-12th grade. We also have elementary schools, both public and private that are K-8 and K-12. Usually if schools are K-12, all three ( elementary, Jr.High and high school) are on the same property or the high school is a a short walk away from the other two.Until 2018, I worked at a small Christian preschool ( now closed) with 54 students and the age range of the students was 2-5 . Some preschools/child Development center enroll children from a few months old to they're ready for elementary school. It's not unusual for Universities and community colleges to either have child development Centers on or a few blocks off campus. Also people can run licensed preschools/ day cares our of theit homrs that they charge for their services. Of course they take as does anyone who works at any other kind of preschool at a bare minimum, Child Development/Early Childhood Education classes at a local Community college or part of their course work in education in Uni. In Cal where I live, to work in a preschool/day-care, you need at least 6 units of CD/ECE be credits , which i had 12 and was taking a child development class the same month I got hired at my old job ( I had previous experience working with children both in a preschool setting and as a volunteer at a local science museum) .

[@biggee8111]

In New York City where I went to school typically the hours are 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. If you had a club or a team membership you may go to school at 8 AM, and finish at 3:00 PM.possibly later if your club or team meets after three , the normal closing time for school .

[@HaleThePanda]

At my elementary school in the US, it was called an elementary school. However the school was split into two sides, the primary and the secondary. The primary was for kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade. The secondary side was for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade.

[@brieanna7183]

I Ohio when I was in school my local district had: Primary (k-2 8am-3:15) Elementary (3-5 8am-3:15) Middle School (6-8 7:42am-2:43) and High school (9-12 7:42am-2:30). Now that same district is still my local district with my buildings no longer in existence and new buildings built they now have Elementary (k-6) Junior High (7-8) and High School (9-12). It really just depends on the district and how many buildings they have to use.

[@NahIdontthinksoatall]

In Springfield Massachusetts (#1 in public schools, the state is not the city) we had a dress code for the middle school and highschool I went to, and they were public. But the middle school had ranked best in the city and the highschool was almost like a mall, where you had barbers, restaurants, shops, car repair shops etc. It was a great vocational highschool for people who wanted to start working right out of highschool, but to get in you needed a certain amount of Putnam points and credits to even apply which was mostly just "don't have super abysmal grades, don't get in trouble". It was a very nice school.

[@ExperimentsOfThought]

We have pre-K 3 and 4 and then kindergarten at age 5 1st at age 6 etc

[@ElainetheGARugrat8815]

I grew up in NYC. I went to kindergarten at 4 - because my birthday was in Nov - and turned 5 during the school year. Elementary school was 1st grade through 6th grade. Then, moved to Junior High School - but a little differently - I went to a special progress class and the entire class skipped 8th grade together and completed 3 yrs in 2. Then, I went on to High School at age 13/14 and completed 10 - 12th grade. Next was College "University" at 16. but really 17 a couple of months into the year. Pointing this out as it all depended on the month you were born in the US - at least when I was going to school.

[@marydavis5234]

When I was 5, the schools in Vermont did not have pre-school or Kindergarden, I had to start 1st grade one year later b/c my birthdate is in October and you have to be 6 yrs old by the last weekend in August, We had an elementary school was grade 1 to 6, there was no high school , so We had to take a bus to the closest school, which was a school with grade 7th to 12th, this was during the 1960's, and my hometown still has no high school , so they go to the same high school I did

[@mystic37]

A College is usually for a particular field of study, and a University is a collection of Colleges, but in the US University is still referred to as College. So is you ask what College someone attends, they will usually answer with the school name, even if it's a University or trade school.

[@pushpak]

I'm an American. We were told that your public school was our private school and vice versa. In old British films they were referred to as Public schools as in a Public school boy. This might be a generational thing where the Brits are reflecting American influence.

[@mocrg]

Public schools in Britain were open to the public. Which meant you didn’t have to be a resident of that area to attend.

[@pghrpg4065]

I went to a K-8 Catholic school; the schedule was 8:30-3:00. My public high school (in Pittsburgh) was 7:35-2:10 but was extended to 2:20 my senior year.

[@billwood7408]

As a former teacher, I really enjoyed this video. The college vs. university in the US can be confusing to people who are not from the US. College is a technical term that refers to a school of higher learning that is focused on a small set of degrees. There are classes in other areas, but the degrees are not available in these areas. For example a college may offer a BA in Liberal Arts or Social Sciences, but does not offer a degree in Mathematics. That doesn't mean they don't teach math classes, it is just that you can't get a degree in that area. A university is much larger and offers a wider set of degrees. Often times a university will be made up of smaller colleges (college of liberal arts, college of engineering, etc.) and you may take the bulk of your courses through this college, but it is still part of the larger university. The really difficult thing is that many people in the US refer to all higher education as "college" even when referring to a university. Maybe it's because college has 2 syllables and university has 5 (the term uni isn't really used in the US), or maybe it was because there used to be a lot more colleges than universities and over time it has just become normal to refer to it as college. Whatever the reason, when someone says they are going to college, it is very possible they are attending a university that may have 30000 students.

[@raze4789]

In my state there are basically 3 versions of higher education. Trade Schools (self explanatory), College (limited study usually smaller and usually county run. Often referred to as a "community college"), University ( state run, most variety of study). I never made it though, I dropped out 11th grade and went to work. Got my GED at age 29. When I was a kid school usually started around 8-8:15 am and went to 4-4:15 pm.

[@Locke99GS]

Note that in higher education in the US, a School will offer specialized education, a college is typically a Collection of Schools focused on a common field, and a University is a collection of Colleges covering many fields. For instance, a School of Radiology may be a part of a College of Medicine, which itself may or may not be a part of some larger University. Going to University in the US often including some combination of classes from many colleges and schools, of course all being related with your degree program. The calculus you took may have been offered by the College of Arts and Sciences, even though the medical degree that required that class was offered by Purdue University. Drop this into a spreadsheet: US School,US Grade,Mandatory,Age,UK School,UK Year,Mandatory Pre-school,Pre-school,N,3-4,Pre-school,Nursery,N Pre-school,Pre-Kindergarten,N,4-5,Pre-school,Reception,N Kindergarten,Kindergarten,Y,5-6,Primary,1,Y Elementary,1,Y,6-7,Primary,2,Y Elementary,2,Y,7-8,Primary,3,Y Elementary,3,Y,8-9,Primary,4,Y Elementary,4,Y,9-10,Primary,5,Y Elementary,5,Y,10-11,Primary,6,Y Elementary/Middle,6,Y,11-12,Secondary,7,Y Middle,7,Y,12-13,Secondary,8,Y Middle,8,Y,13-14,Secondary,9,Y High,9 (freshman),Y,14-15,Secondary (GCSE),10,Y High,10 (sophomore),Y,15-16,Secondary (GCSE),11,Y High,11 (junior),Y,16-17,College/6th Form,12,N High,12 (senior),Y,17-18,College/6th Form,13,N College/University,Freshman (undergrad),N,,University,1st Year (undergrad),N College/University,Sophomore (undergrad),N,,University,2nd Year (undergrad),N College/University,Junior (undergrad),N,,University,3rd Year (undergrad),N College/University,Senior (undergrad),N,,University,4th Year (undergrad),N University,1st Year (graduate),N,,University,1st Year (graduate),N University,2nd Year (graduate),N,,University,2nd Year (graduate),N University,3rd Year (graduate),N,,University,3rd Year (graduate),N University,4th Year (graduate),N,,University,4th Year (graduate),N

[@dennisstafford1749]

Most High Schools, not all, finish about 3:30 pm. However there are many extra-curiccular activities (e.g. Chess, Glee Club, Band, Sports Teams, School Papers, Debate, Theater, etc.) are after school and require the student Voluntarily staying after school. Detention is non-voluntary and may require attendance after school. School Districts vary as to length of the school year and most states require a certain number of days of instruction so calling school off because of inclement weather (snow, ice, floods, hurricanes etc.), means those missed school days must be made up by lengthening the school term. College and University are used now interchangeably but originally a College like that of Arts and Sciences was a liberal arts facility and a University might have several 'Colleges' within it. (Business, Education, Agricuture and Agronomy, etc. ).

[@cyndialver2130]

When I was three I went to Head Start. At four it was Preschool and kindergarten at five. First grade through seventh was elementary, eighth and ninth was Jr High and High School was tenth through twelfth. I recently became aware that the school district where I grew up has changed and elementary school is now K-fifth grade, middle school is 6-8 and high school is 9-12. School started around 7:50 and let out at 3:10

[@FJA---]

In the US every state is different. And in most, if not all, states every school district can be different from the rest of them as long as they fulfill the minimum requirements for the state. A lot of schools somewhat follow the program of: Pre-K (Kindergarten) K School Grade/Grammar/Elementary School which usually consists of 1st thru 6th or 5th grades Junior High which can be 6th/7th/8th, 7th/8th, 7th/8th/9th grades High School/Senior High which can be 9th/10/11th/12th or 10th/11th/12th. The Grades are generally referred to as Freshman (9th), Sophomore (10th), Junior (11th), Senior (12th).

[@theAndromedaStrainiscoming]

The times my school day started and ended changed every year. High School started between 7:15-7:30 and got out between 1:30-1:50 or so. This is due to high schools having more after school activities and sports practices. Elementary school (grades kindergarten-6) and Intermediate school (grades 7&8) had to be different so the school buses could service all the schools. This was in NEW Jersey, though.

[@mermaid1717]

Our schools in North Carolina do the same due to shared buses. Though elementary is usually 7:45-2:30 while middle & high school are 8:30-3:30. Though my high school got out at 2:47pm. I graduated in 2000.

[@TeacherTonya74]

Uniforms: In my area, some schools in low income areas require kids to wear uniforms. US kids are not required to attend Kindergarten, thus the reason our 1st grade is your level 2. In my state, the max for K-3 is 18 students and 22 students for grades 4-8 and 25 students grades 9-12. High school is when grades start to count (Grade Point Average) toward admission to college. You are required by law to go to school through your 16th birthday, but it is looked down upon if you don't graduate through 12th grade, and very hard to get a job. The alternate it to take the GED test which is equal to graduating. Thanks for reacting to this! I love Lawrence too! Our elementary school starts at 8:45am and ends at 3:00pm with 25 minutes for lunch and 20 minutes of recess.

[@CollarCityGuy]

Here in Troy, NY in the 1970's, at elementary school we attended classes from 8am 1ill t 2:15pm, middle school at 9am till 3:30pm and high school in the 1980's from 8am till 2:15pm

[@michaelmcgowen8780]

Here in the U.S., we refer to education following high school as college, regardless if the school is called a college or a university. It's just the term we use for that level of education. Not every school district has middle school. My grandson attends a school that is Kindergarten through 8th grade, then he will go to high school for four years. That's how it was when I went to school. We had a dress code in grade school, but not in high school. However, we never wore uniforms.

[@1957es]

Example: “I’m going to college.” “Where?” “University of Virginia.” Or some fancy pants schools or wanna be fancy pants schools will call themselves The Ohio Stare University or The University of Texas.

[@cinb3448]

When we lived in Malta, we wore uniforms. We had two, one for cooler seasons and a dress for warmer season. I did learn to tie a tie. Lol

[@markbrown2640]

You mentioned completing your teaching degree in three years. In the U.S. many education major programs are five years long. Often, those programs include a specialty where the students degree is in mathematics education or music education.

[@PerthTowne]

Whether or not there are uniforms depends on the school district. Can't generalize on that, because uniforms can be worn in public or private schools, just depending on their rules. In the town I live in, public school kids wear uniforms now. But that wasn't always the case. In the US, college and university are used interchangeably. But most people refer to a university as "college." If you go to Harvard University, you would say, "I went to college at Harvard." In elementary school, we finished at 3:15 pm. In junior high ( middle school) and high school I think it was 3:-00pm

[@fawnmccleavefrancis7808]

Vicksburg Ms we have uniforms in public schools till junior high. Kaki and polo that is all the school colors and you have to pay to wear regular clothes. My son wore wear a red and white shirt in elementary school, and blue or white in junior high. You do still know who has money from the brand. In high school, you can take college classes. My son got his Associate's degree in his last two years of high school. Also, he took the ACT, not the SAT. Also, we use test informal and Exam formal in this area.

[@amybrock2592]

My High School ended at 1:50pm. Can't remember Middle School- 2:30 maybe? Elementary was about 3pm. This was back in the 1970's and 80's in the US. My daughter went to a private Montessori School until about 7th grade, then a private Catholic school for Middle School/Junior High and then a private Catholic High School in another state when we moved. The private schools generally started a bit later and ended later than the Public Schools in the same area. Given we lived in a pretty congested, urban area until she was in High School, this was likely intentional to keep pickup and drop-off from being a complete nightmare.

[@moose.613]

When I was in high school, we were in class from 7:35-2:35. We had 8 class periods a day (one or rarely two periods were study hall) and 4 minutes between classes for stopping at lockers/ using the restroom and running from end to end of the school. We had elementary school k- 4th grade, middle school 5th-7th grade, and high school 8th-12th grade. In my 10th grade year they took 7th grade from the middle school and 8th grade from the high school to form the Jr High.

[@johnlewis7092]

In general US schools are setup as follows: Pre-Kindergarten (usually optional) Elementary School - Kindergarten through 5th grade Middle School (also known as Jr. High School) - 6th through 8th grade High School - 9th through 12th grade College Undergraduate - Bachelor's Degree (optional)

[@babykots]

In America, we use both test and exam. Tests are usually weekly to see where a student is at and an exam is done at the end of the term.

[@hannahfindley7739]

For me, elementary let out at 3:15pm, and middle and high school let out at 4pm. For all three you had to be in your seat at 8am for final morning bell to be counted for attendance. Also, all but two middle schools in my city required uniforms. My middle school you could wear either a button-down shirt or a polo shirt in white, navy, or yellow/gold, and either navy or kakhi trousers, skirts, or shorts. Skirts and shorts couldn't be shorter than 5inches above the knee.

[@Texbec]

Also tests are taken throughout the year and exams are the bigger more important test at the end of the semester and counts for more points toward your final grade.

[@patrickchambers5999]

When I was stationed in Thailand from 1972 to 1973 I knew some Thai children who had to wear a uniform to school. They owned two uniforms and when they got home from school changed clothes and washed the uniform they just took off, and wear the other one the next day. The next day they came home repeated changing and washing the uniform they just wore and ironed the now dry one. Repeated this cycle every school day

[@hannelinorrgard2403]

Uniforms can be a very touchy topic here. The state where I grew up in actually has it so that if a school requires a uniform of any sort, parents have to be able to opt their children out of it or have a way to get the uniform for free. This also applies to if just certain colors are required or stringent clothing type requirements (such as polos or khakis being required). This is because absolutely nothing that is required for a public education can be "charged" for. However, this also covers non-required things. Sports cannot be charged for (schools typically don't advertise this), classes (even electives) cannot be charged for, materials cannot be charged for, buses cannot be charged for, etc. Yes, schools can request payment for these, but there has to be a way for them to be received without charge, as well. I went to low income high schools, and one school requested $5 per student for supplies for the year. However, they couldn't require it, and most students didn't pay it. My softball team freshman year got all new uniforms with names on them, so we students kept them, and the school couldn't make players pay for them despite the cost. Uniforms work the same way there.

[@rukia9858]

Your comment was very interesting!!! I’ve never heard of this before so I am just curious which state? I went to school in 3 states: California- public school- NO uniforms- 1 story high and we are outside for lunch and had PE outside also: Preschool, 1/2 day kindergarten, then grades 1-5 (with option for gifted classes if skipping a grade was not an option), middle school 6-8, high school 9-12 . All separate schools. (NO lockers ANYwhere, backpacks ok in some schools. Others mesh backpacks or see through.) North Dakota- public school- NO uniforms (just don’t freeze!)-4 stories high and everything inside for most of the year and in gym): Preschool, kindergarten, then 1st -12 grade. 7-12 were just on the other side of the building and little kids classes were not upstairs. Lockers allowed & Farm kids can leave early) Louisiana - parochial private school- EXTREMELY strict dress code but no uniforms- 1 story high- (everything inside): Pre-k3, pre-k, kindergarten, 1-5 elementary, 6-8 (middle school), plus: 8”s” (as in we could put you in 9th but let’s hold you back with fluff classes so you will be bigger to play football next year--I’m not kidding🤦🏼‍♀️), then 9-12 (high school)- everything in one building. (Lockers allowed)

[@rukia9858]

Sorry that was long!!! THIS IS long TOO🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️ Another thing- when my son was in 4th grade (in Mississippi by the gulf) our county started requiring everyone to wear uniforms. It was a huge deal. A gigantic deal. The list of supplies to bring was huge too!! I didn’t mind getting extra supplies but the ones he “wanted” I would put his name on the very back or inside so the teacher couldn’t give out the ones he personally picked out. When we gave supplies it was off a list- and so tried to give a bit more than needed for class as the teacher had to make up the difference for kids and who couldn’t or didn’t bring supplies. I voted AGAINST uniforms bc I thought the logic was stupid. Their point was that it would make it easier on kids and parents in the morning, cheaper in the long run and no one would be stigmatized for not wearing the “cool thing”. Well. Uniforms won out. And it was so unfair to so many kids:( thankfully there WAS always a way to get uniforms as you could turn in your clean used clothes at the end of the year for another child to use if needed (or u could just donate some)-- But it really was not fair- there are ways to tell a brand without their even being a logo anywear. Kids could only wear certain color shoes but u could see who had expensive shoes and not: you could see blatantly the kids whose parents couldn’t or didn’t wash their clothes or keep them tidy. Etc etc. It wasn’t fair: I think they should have just stayed with no uniforms- at least then if u didn’t have the money for “the best” stuff you could express yourself at least a little bit. --/// In private school I would require uniforms regardless tho- enough money to pay for private then enough money to pay for uniforms. Kids will make them cool however: do away with extremely struck dress codes and just stick to the uniforms. (Btw the private school I went to still has the same dress code😳and they still are not allowed to “dance”🫣🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️.

[@rukia9858]

Sorry for all grammatical errors and typos I’m on my phone and it’s a heated subject for me and late lol

[@hannelinorrgard2403]

This is CA. It's an actual thing, but, again, lots of schools don't publicize the fact that there has to be a way to opt out of charges for basically anything. Schools were even told that they can't require athletes to join ASB (usually around $20 when I was in school) because it goes against that rule. I went to four high schools in three different districts in the state, and they were all vastly different, but the charging for things is a state thing. The first time I heard about the charging or opting out thing was in the early 90s when my sister's elementary school was considering implementing uniforms. They did come out and say that they had to provide the opt out option if the school weren't going to provide uniforms if the parent requested them. At least when I was in school, it was a big thing with cheerleading. It wasn't considered an official sport, so it could require participants to pay for uniforms, which were very expensive. Most of my schooling was done at very low income schools, and they were the only schools that flat out said they weren't requiring the payments for things since they knew that many families couldn't even afford to pay $5 for art materials for the year. I think two of us on the softball teamed paid for the uniforms we got that season, and no one cared that the others didn't. Once I transferred to middle class schools, they just conveniently ignored the option unless flat out asked.

[@hannelinorrgard2403]

My main district was K-6 in elementary, 7-8 in junior high, and 9-12 in high school. My junior high had boarded up lockers, and two high schools had usable lockers. My last two were newer builds and were not built with lockers. In junior high we were told that the lockers were boarded up because too many people stored drugs or weapons in them, which we all thought was stupid because kids just had them in their backpacks instead.

[@BIGJOHN866]

I remember the time I started school & when I finish for all four years. Freshman & Junior starting school at 8:00 1st period and ending school at 2:30 after 9th period. Sophomore year start school around 2nd period at 8:45 getting out school at 10th period 3:30. My Senior year started school at 8:00 and end at 2:20, only 8 periods with the last two periods being a double period because of the class I was taking advanced auto body ll.

[@Raees-Divitiae]

There are also "weighted" systems here in the US at some schools. My 3.8 GPA came out to ~4.7 GPA when applying for college. It's a pretty confusing system, as most schools are "unweighted", which means all classes are treated equally. In that situation, the highest you can reach when applying for college is a 4.0 GPA. Our "general classes" which are the lowest tier, were the equivalent of "academic classes" in other schools. Our "academic classes" were the equivalent of "AP classes" in other schools. Our "AP classes" were the equivalent of "college prep", which some schools don't even have. Like I stated, it's odd.

[@maemarie3926]

When I went to high school, in NY and graduated in 2007, school began at 7:20 and we ended at 1:56

[@buffone2299]

In the US college and university are used interchangeably. For example, Dartmouth College is an Ivy League University. The same is true for exam and test. After high school, students can go to university, trade schools, technical schools, community colleges or junior college. For schools other that universities, the length of time to complete a certificate, diploma, or course of study depends on the course of study itself. A program may take three months or two years to complete. In many cases for junior colleges, the credit hours earned there can be transferred to a four year university. Many students will complete as many courses (hours) at a community or junior college, and then, transfer those hours to a four year university. In general, community or junior college hours cost less than tuition at a four university.