Schools in the USA

[Beata]

Hello there,
Now, I have a question about education in the USA. So, could you please give me a brief description of the successive stages of school in the USA?
For example, do they start with a nursery school or a kindergarten? At what age do they start the elementary school, and what school is next?
I'm waiting for your reply.

[xeo]

it is a little bit complicated but I will try

Elementary education:

Nursery School - age: 3 to 4

then:

Kindergarten - age: 4 to 5

then:

Elementry School - age: 6 to 12 or 14; grade 6 or 8


Secondary education:

Junior High School - age: 12 to 17; grade 6 to 12

or:

Senior High School - the same as above

or:

4-year High School - age: 14 to 17; grade 9 to 12 ("liceum" in Poland)


Higher education:

age: 18 to 21

Technical Institute - Bechelor's Degree (B.A, B.S)

or:

Private Career School - individual, e.g. ballet (an artistic school)

or:

Junior College - prepares for studies

or:

Undergraduate Studies - Bechelor's Degree ("licencjat" in Poland)

after these schools:

age: 21 to 24

Graduate Studies - Master's Degree (M.A, M.S)

after this one:

Postgraduate Studies - Doctor's Degree (Ph.D.)

[Beata]

Xeo, thanks for your reply.
However, do American kids go to some kind of Polish "gimnazjum"? - I mean, is there something between elementary and high schools? I heard that they go to middle school but is it really like that?
Or, in other words - How would you translate the sentence into English: "Chodze do gimnazjum."

Still waiting for reply

[Jacek]

I'd say:

I attend elementary school or I go to elementary school.

[KenWalsh]

Having gone through the entire American system (and having 5 nephews and a niece in the system now), I'd like to offer a different chart for the current system:

Preschool- ages 3-5
Kindergarten-approximately age 5
Elementary school- Grades 1 through 5
Middle school-Grades 6 through 8
High school- Grades 9 through 12

Middle and high schools are collectively referred to as secondary schools (and "segundary" in Mexico). Kindergarten is generally held at the same location as elementary schools. Catholic schools often have kindergarten and Grades 1-8 in a single school. Some private schools run K-12 in the same school.

This system supplants the nomenclature used when I was growing up:

Kindergarten-approximately age 5
Elementary school- Grades 1 through 6
Junior high school-Grades 7 through 9
Senior high school- Grades 10 through 12

Note that these changes happened twenty years ago.

If you have questions about post-secondary school education (e.g., college, vocational, or post-graduate studies), I can answer them in a separate post.

[Andrzej]

Beata, to answer your question directly (you may have already figured it our from Ken's answer):
"Chodze do gimnazjum" would translate "I go to middle school / I attend middle school".
Greetings.

[xeo]

gimnazjum - junior high school

just look... in Poland we have elementry school and junior high school is next... so we have "szkola podstawowa" and then "gimnazjum"

I think "middle school" refers only to "szko³a œrednia" in Poland, as you can see, they (Americans) have their "junior high school" as the secondary (middle) education and people in Poland have it as primary (elementary) school...

[KenWalsh]

If you are speaking to anyone under 25 years old in the USA, they are usually unfamiliar with the term "junior high school."

[Andrzej]

Xeo - the system here needs some revamping. We will recommend you to the authorities
Thanks for trying!

[Beata]

Thank you for all your replies.

However, as I primarily thought, "middle school" is what I meant taking into account grades 7-9 in Poland.

Greetings for all helpers!!!

[xeo]

Beata but "gimnazjum" is not in the middle of Polish education, it is below middle school...so I assume that you meant middle school in the USA because if somebody, in Poland, says something about middle school he/she definitely thinks about "szko³a œrednia" not "gimnazjum" and it is definitely called junior high school in Poland... and I'm definitely ,in 100%, sure

Andrzej - your suggestion sounds nice I will keep you at your word...

so my first decision: down with school!

[danka23]

XEO Thanks for straightening out the misunderstanding.
I really apprecieate it. You rock What would we do without you, man. It is a blessing of God that we have you here on this Forum. Keep up the good work!

[Andrzej]

It is always confusing to apply foreign nomenclature to Polish reality. I believe the discussion was about what the equivalent of "middle school" is in Poland. We have determined, which for some of us was very easy, since we live in the US, that "middle school" is in fact "gimnazjum". There is no need to further confuse the issue. Remember, that both in Poland and in the USA college is not mandatory, elementary, middle and high shool pretty much is. Perhaps, that's why it's called "middle school".

[xeo]

I've spotted one more thing... Beata took into account grades 7-9 in Poland... and it's a little bit confusing again... grades 7-9 in the USA mean that somebody attends elementary school (elementary education) or junior high school or senior high school (secondary education)...
it means age: 6-17 in the USA, Polish kids graduate elementary school when they're 15 years old... so Beata you can't say (thinking about grades 7-9) that you thought about middle school in Poland because it's not middle school in Poland...if you think about middle school in Poland you think about people who are 15-20 years old, besides in the USA those people can already be during their studies,
if it comes to Poland it is even hard to match grades up with age, Poles have difficulty with comprehension if someone uses "grades" because they've never run accross such a term in Polish education, so it proves that we can't link our systems... because they are not reflecting each other...

uff...