American schooling system

[Childish Giggle]

OKay so I am confused. Each time I read a novel and they mention sophomore,freshman and all my heard starts spinning.
I guess
9th-Freshman
10th-Sophomore
11th-Junior
12th-Senior

Am I right?
And what exactly is sixth form?
And what exactly are the SAT's? I guess they are vocabulary tests. And what all colleges consider them?

[david2357]

Hi there pisces.

and 6th form is a england thing, they dont have that here in the states. idk what it is.

yes, the freshman sophmore,etc. thing is confusing
but u have it right. 9th is freshman, etc.

and the 4 years of colleges are given the same names and in the same order.

SATs arent vocab tests, although some sections of the SAT depend on vocabulary. They are tests that test a variety of academic skills. There is a math section, sciences,etc. Alternatively, the ACT test can be taken, which is a similar but different test. Colleges put a lot of emphasis into SATs and ACTs , they are about as important as the grade point average. Colleges put a lot of emphasis in them, but almost all allow you to take either the SAT or ACT. You can repeat the tests as many times as you want (a different version though each time) to get better scores. In the SAT there is a math, reading , and writing section , each worth 800 points , so a perfect is 2400 (used to be 1600 before they added the writing section). The perfect for the ACT is a 36 .

SAT and ACT dont really measure anything in particular. I would say that they are a mixture of an iq test and a regular school test . (ive taken a real iq test before (in order to demonstrate i qualify for disability accomodation for testing)) . Basically i think colleges are trying to measure the combination of how smart an applicant is with their knowledge acquired in school Its a flawed system, people have panic attacks and fail the SAT many times. also many people run out of time (for most people, i got extended time because that iq test showed i needed extended time).

Basically, colleges place just as much emphasis on the results of that few hour test as they do your entire highschool grade transcript. its ridiculous , i know. SAT is highly overrated. Its not important to "confirm " that you have knowledge when graduating highschool because you could conceivably transfer from middle school to college (they have basic classes like college algebra (another name for algebra 2) , etc. that are essentially highschool classes.

[Kate*]

You have it right with the grade names. I have no idea what 6th form is either it's a UK thing. The SAT's are what we call standardized tests, they're used so that everyone who takes them is measured the same way and they can compare people. I'm against them, but that's another story, basically because they don't measure anything except your ability to take tests. I've heard that colleges are actually reconsidering using them and some place more emphasis on them than others because they are starting to understand that.

[Childish Giggle]

I was going to ask something else too. But then I forgot! :O

OKay, What are the school timings? How come everyone gets sooo much time to eat breakfast? :P

[Kate*]

We don't, but it depends how early you want to get up. In high school I had 30 minutes from the time I got up until I literally ran for the bus, I'm not a morning person. Specific times vary a lot, but my high school was from 7:20-2:25, why the bus came at 6:40 I have NO idea.

[semiunbalanced]

My High School's first period (zero period) started at 7am but otherwise the school day started at 8am. I had friends who woke up 10 minutes before 8 and got there just in time and I had friends who got up hours before to get ready. It depends on how much time you allow yourself to eat it.

[jenpiglet17]

When I was in HS, we had to be in our first class by 7:50, and got out at 2:50, 9 periods in a day, one for lunch unless you opted to not get a lunch and put a class there instead. I woke up normally at 6:30, out the door at 7, and at school by 7:20.

[Peppermint Tea.♥]

Thought I'd add sixth form is the last two years in British schooling (year 12 and year 13), where you study As and A levels. It's not compulsory (yet) and you can either not do it at all or go to a college instead. I'm currently in sixth form, it's post 16 education, so ages 16 through to 18.

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

Just to add some confusion into the mix, Canada used to have a grade 13, otherwise known as the Ontario Academic Credit (OAC). It was an optional grade, so if you passed grade 12, you could go to college, university or wherever. Grade 13 served as an exclusion to first-year university, so you could enter second-year university. The beauty of it was it was taught by high-school teachers, not university professors. Statistically, it showed Ontario students were geniuses compared to the rest of Canada and the USA. Universities were happy to take students with high marks (which were often inflated), schools insisted on keeping grade 13 because it attracted large waves of students, and governments wanted to keep it so they could gloat how amazing their province is. However, grade 13 no longer exists.

If you're in Canada and want to apply to a Canadian university, SAT tests are not needed. They're only needed if you want to apply from Canada to an American university. However, in Canada graduate schools (i.e. to get a Master's degree, law degree or M.D.) require specific standardized tests. I believe the same is true for the US.

In high-school, we started around 8:15 am and left at around 3:45-4:00 pm. I lived roughly a 20-minute car drive from school, so I had to leave by at least 7:40 am, meaning I had to wake up around 7:00-7:10 am.

[Sincerely Yours ♥]

My high schools started at different times every day, at either 7:42am or 8:02am. I used to get up at 6 so I would have time to eat & I didn't need to rush to school, although I was alwaysss late as a senior. Haha! But it always ended around 2:43. But then again, I went to a second high school in the afternoon, which went until 3:30. So while other students at my regular high school were there from the morning until 2:43, I went to that school from the morning until 11:50, then went to a different school from 12:30 to 3:30. It really depends on where you live. I was lucky enough to have CART here.

[youbetheanchor]

Originally Posted by DemolitionLover

Thought I'd add sixth form is the last two years in British schooling (year 12 and year 13), where you study As and A levels. It's not compulsory (yet) and you can either not do it at all or go to a college instead. I'm currently in sixth form, it's post 16 education, so ages 16 through to 18.

So in England you can begin college at 16?
What's that like? Like is it equivalent to our American colleges that start at 18ish or just happen to have the same name?

[Kate*]

Originally Posted by youbetheanchor

So in England you can begin college at 16?
What's that like? Like is it equivalent to our American colleges that start at 18ish or just happen to have the same name?

I think it just has the same name, I don't think it's the same thing. One of my Engish teachers told us once that the Brittish equivelent to our American high school diploma is the same as an American associates degree which you can get after 2 years of college if you want.

[Nicole!]

Most public schools start between 7-8:30 am and end between 1-4 pm. My high school is from 7:10-1:40.

[Childish Giggle]

Oh I remember the question! The HOMEWORK! What kind and how much homework do you guys get? HOw come everyone is up till 2 am finishing it every single day d:
Do you get homework everyday in every subject?
And is your time table same for the whole week?
And how many subjects do you study?

Thats soo many questions :P

[Kate*]

Originally Posted by Pisces

Oh I remember the question! The HOMEWORK! What kind and how much homework do you guys get? HOw come everyone is up till 2 am finishing it every single day d:
Do you get homework everyday in every subject?
And is your time table same for the whole week?
And how many subjects do you study?

Thats soo many questions :P

Homework really depends on the teacher and the subject. If it's an AP (college level) then there's a lot more (I'm guessing, I never took any) than there is in the regular classes. If you get a teacher who likes to give homework, or a subject where it's hard to squeeze everything into a class period then there will be homework. You won't necessarily get it in every subject every day, but unless you have a test in a class, you should expect homework instead. The time you finish depends on how late you start and how long it takes you. If you have a 5 page paper that you don't start until 10PM on the night before it's due, you'll be pulling an all-nighter, or if something takes longer than expected. Also, if you have after school activities and you don't get home until late then you'll be up later.

I'm assuming by time table you mean class schedule? If so, yes our class schedules are the same for the whole 9 month school year and we have every subject every day, it gets kind of boring after awhile. There are the five basic studies English, Math, Science, History, and at my school a foreign lanugage (we had either Latin, Spanish, French, or German) and then 1 elective, a study hall and lunch somewhere between 10 and 12:30. Every grade had it's different levels of those subjects, but if you failed one you could retake it with the kids that were younger than you (or take both you're failed one and the one you're supposed to be in) at the same time and not get an elective.

[Sincerely Yours ♥]

Originally Posted by Pisces

Oh I remember the question! The HOMEWORK! What kind and how much homework do you guys get? HOw come everyone is up till 2 am finishing it every single day d:
Do you get homework everyday in every subject?
And is your time table same for the whole week?
And how many subjects do you study?

Thats soo many questions :P

It depends on the school. At my high school, we took six subjects every semester. But again, I attended a second high school, so I took 8 subjects (classes) a semester.

The subjects include different types of math, history, science, english, & physical education. But you can also get an elective, or a class not required but something you want to take (such as drama, choir, newspaper, etc.)

The homework really isn't that bad, but there are a lot of procrastinators.

[Childish Giggle]

So everyone gets to choose their subjects?
Like always or after a certain grade?
And do you have like separate high schools and middle schools? Like the teachers and the buildings are totally different and away from each other?

[Kate*]

Originally Posted by Pisces

So everyone gets to choose their subjects?
Like always or after a certain grade?
And do you have like separate high schools and middle schools? Like the teachers and the buildings are totally different and away from each other?

We have completely seprerate middle and high schools, but which grades are considered middle school vs high school vary widely. For me elementry school was grades 1-6, middle school was grades 7 and 8 and high school was 9-12, but some schools are much different.

Everyone (in high school at least) gets to choose 1, maybe 2 of their subjects, the others are assigned by grade level, but there are 3 levels regular, honors, and remedial. For example I was in regular grade 9 classes except I was in remedial-level grade 9 math and I could've been in honors classes if I had qualified, but I didn't.

[Tigerlily.]

Well where I live the Middle School and High School are separate but there are some K-12 but very very few.

As for homework, I should probably first point out that I am dual enrolled meaning I go to two different high schools. I go to one for my core classes and another for extra curricular things not offered at my main school such as band classes. As for homework, I find I get very little and then all of a sudden every teacher assigns a whole bunch do next class or I'll end up with two major projects due at the same time. We don't always get homework in every subject though, but when you do it can be hard to keep straight. At my current school we only have 3 classes a semester and then they change the next semester, you can get up to 5 classes though. But at my secondary school you have 6 classes, 3 one day and the other 3 the next, we divide it into A days and B days, and if you have a zero period (class earlier in the morning that other classes) it's everyday. But at my main school you only go to the place once a week to meet with teachers, the rest is done online at home.

Obviously it can be more confusing when you are dual enrolled but few are so it's not really something to worry about. To make it really simple though. I do all the main classes at home except Wed. where I go to the building for 4 hours to talk to teachers and do more work online there. But I go every other day to the second school to do band and I have to do night practices for marching band which is usually 4 hours from 4pm-8pm. In a week I spend about a total of 15 1/2 hours - 20 hours. Which is not a whole lot.