Living In USA

Public Schools
The great majority of American children attend public schools, that is, schools that are tax-supported and free. It is often confusing to newcomers to find that there is no national standardized system for all fifty states. Each state has been free to develop its own model. These vary so widely in quality, facilities, disciplines, and academic standards that people often move in to (or out of) a state because of the quality of available schooling.

To make matters even more confusing, local school districts have considerable decision-making authority within each state framework. City, township, and district schools have their own curricula, boards, budgets, and standards, even though these must follow certain broad guidelines outlined by their states.

School support comes primarily from taxes at state and local levels, rather than from national funds. When the federal government does contribute to education, it does so primarily in the poorer states, where local funds are inadequate. National funds tend to be channeled for buildings, transportation, or other projects that do not affect the curriculum. As previously noted, Americans jealously guard their independence from their own national government. If there is a chance that, as a result of accepting national funds, the government may be able to exert some kind of control, such funds are often turned down by community school boards (elected citizens). There have been heated arguments — even riots and demonstrations at the college level — when citizens have felt that the federal government was exerting too strong an influence on curriculum through support of scientific research programs, for example, or military training, or other specific projects. Since many of our ancestors and many of today's new citizens have come to this country for the express purpose of escaping too much government control, this feeling still runs deep.

In line with this emphasis on local control over education, there are no national examinations at either school or college level as there are, for example, in France, England, or Japan. College Board examinations, which are taken across the country for entrance to colleges and universities, are administered by a private organization, not by the federal government, and no college is compelled to use them. This state and local independence results in substantial variation in the quality of public education, even from one town to the next. In our fast-growing cities, elementary and high schools are nearly all badly overcrowded. In recent years many have been troubled with violence, teacher strikes, and other problems. In suburban areas and small towns, public schools tend to be more settled, with adequate facilities, reasonable ratios between teachers and pupils, and good academic standards.

The pendulum (between state and federal control on one side and local control on the other) does swing, however. There is a national law that requires school districts to implement standardized tests and it requires them all to use the same test. Several states have had a standardized testing program for a number of years.

As a newcomer, you may raise questions and talk as freely as you like about schooling with any Americans you meet. Many people here are deeply concerned about education. They constantly discuss the subject among themselves, and they will be delighted to talk with you about it also. Much is good and much is bad in our current educational establishment. We are in the process of reevaluating and restructuring the whole educational system of this country in order to meet our current needs and the urgent needs of the twenty-first century, including many new pressures from our vast and rapidly changing population.

Vocational Schools
Many school districts offer a distinct curriculum for those students who are not preparing to go on to higher education. In the last two years of high school, they may take courses in cosmetology, automobile or computer repair, or other fields. Vocational schools are aimed at moving their graduates quickly into skilled and semiskilled occupations. Because nearly half the eighteen-year-olds do not attend college or university, vocational education is an important part of the educational system.

Magnet Schools
Many school districts offer schools with specialized curricula, such as an emphasis on arts, science, or foreign languages. Students are admitted to the programs competitively, and unlike other public schools, enrollment is not assigned by the student's address. If your city or school district offers magnet schools, it is worth the effort to learn more about them. Magnet Schools of America (www.magnet.edu/) is a good place to start.

Charter Schools
Somewhere between public and private schools are charter schools, so called because they receive a charter from the state in order to operate. These are publicly funded, privately operated schools that receive extremely high levels of autonomy from state or local regulations governing public schools. In the 1990s, there was a dramatic increase in charter schools, especially in large cities. These schools are funded based on the number of students they enroll. Freed from the burdens of teacher unions and the obligation to educate every student, charter schools evoke heated passions from both supporters and detractors. On the one hand, they generally provide a superior education and attract the brightest and most capable students. On the other hand, they drain limited funding from the larger urban schools, as well as leaving behind those who are most difficult to teach. Some of these schools have curricular emphases such as science or foreign languages. Charter schools offer many of the benefits of private schools without charging high tuition. You can find more information at www.uscharterschools.org/.