& 阅读理解。
One hundred and thirteen million Americans have at least one bank-issued credit card. They give their
owners automatic credit in
4．It can be inferred that
.A. computers will bring disaster
B. computer industry will not develop fasterC. computers will bring about more convenience to people's life
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中考模拟试题地区分类英语翻译把这段英文翻译成中文The first robots were invented in the 1920s．Robots haveappeared in many American films．In some films,they arestronger,faster and cleverer than people．In real life．robots are mainly used in factories．They dosome dangerous and dimcult iobs for humans．Robots also help—disab—led people,for example,blind peo—pie．Today many blind people have a guide(向导)dog tohelp them．In the future,guide dogs might be robot dogs．One kind of robot guide dog has wheels．It moves in frontof the owner．It iS very clever．It knows the speed of its own．er’s walk．The owner wears a special belt(带子)．This beltsends instructions to the owner from the dog．such as”Stophere””Turn left”or”Tum right”．In the United States,another kind of robot helps disabledpeople to take care of themselves in their daily life．The robothears the sound of its owner’S voice．It follows instructionssuch as”Turn the p／~ge”or”Make a cup of coffee”．Robots are also used in American hospitals．They can dosimple jobs．At one hospital,for example,a robot takes mealsfrom the kitchen to patients’rooms．It never gets lost becausethis robot has a map of the hospital in its COmputer memory．Though robots can help people in many different ways’they will never take the place of humans•
daniel0008A
第一台机器人是在20世纪20年代发明的.机器人已经在美国的很多电影里出现.在一些电影中,它们比人们更加强壮,快速和聪明.在真实生活中,机器人是主要用于工厂.它们帮人类做一些危险,困难的工作.机器人经常帮一些残疾人,例如,盲人.现在许多盲人都会有一只导盲犬去帮他们.在未来,导盲犬可能会是机器狗.其中一种机器狗会有轮子.它会在主人前走动.它非常聪明.它知道它自己的速度这个主人会穿一个特殊的带子.这个带子发送主人给狗的指示,比如“停在这”,“转左”,“转右”.在美国,另一种机器人帮助残疾人去照顾他们自己的日常生活.这种机器人听见它主人的声音.它跟着指示,例如,“翻页”,“煮一杯咖啡”.机器人也会用在美国医院.它们通常做一些简单的工作.例如,在一间医院,一个机器人会从厨房拿饭菜到病房.它永远不会迷路,因为机器人有一幅医院的地图在它的记忆里.虽然机器人在很多方面帮助了人们,但它们永远不会取代人类的位置.翻译得挺辛苦的,二楼抄袭我的!本来我写20世纪90年代（写错）,他也照抄,我为了改了这错误才变了比他后时间,可恶,竟然照抄,真是太讨厌了!
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其他类似问题
第一个机器人发明于20世纪20年代 ．并且机器人也出现在很多美国电影中。在有些电影中，他们比人类更强大，速度更快，也更附有智慧。 然而在现实生活中，机器人主要用于工厂中，替人类做一些危险复杂的工作。 机器人也可以帮助残疾人士，例如盲人。现在很多盲人都拥有一条导盲犬帮助他们。也许将来，这些导盲犬将会被机器狗所代替。 其中的一种机器导盲犬带有轮子，可以在盲人前面行走。它非...
扫描下载二维码问大家个简单的翻译
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问大家个简单的翻译
credit cards are mainly used in the united States today难道不可以翻译成为如今在美国信用卡被广泛使用么？我买的辅导书解释说是如今信用卡主要在美国使用！
考研,2018考研全面启航,名师点拨夯实基础,让考研不走弯路,联报优惠直减1000元!考研网络视频教学,在线直播+录播,考研多一分,人生大不同!
自己顶一下
要不沉的太快
你确定了解mainly是什么意思
mainly used是主要使用的意思啊。如果是广泛应用得是widespread use of 或者commonly used之类的吧。翻译还是以直译为主，实在翻译不出来再意译吧～这会也在做翻译题呢～
我插个楼，也问一道题啊～Whether the Government should increase the financing of pure science at the expense of technology or vice xersa often depends on the issue of which is seen as the driving force.答案是：政府究竟是以减少对技术经费的投入来增加对纯理论科学的经费投入，还是相反，这往往取决于把哪一方看作是驱动力量。那个“减少”是怎么翻译出来的啊……
英译汉的时候最好不用“被”的结构，这算是一个翻译的小规则吧，因为中文里被字用得少，用的时候往往不是好事，被杀被偷被抓之类的，翻译时候用了被就有了一点翻译腔，不自然。
不能发帖，借贴问下考研英语单词要哪个书？红宝书怎么样
直译为主！
茴香豆的茴有四种写法。
登录百度帐号推荐应用
为兴趣而生，贴吧更懂你。或Education&in&the&United&States&美国教育（1）
&Education in the United
States 美国教育（1）
Education in the
United States is mainly provided by the public sector, with control
and funding coming from three levels: federal, state, and local.
Child education is compulsory. There are also a large number and
wide variety of higher education institutions throughout the
country that one can choose to attend, both public and
Public education is
universally available. School curricula, funding, teaching,
employment, and other policies are set through locally elected
school boards with jurisdiction over school districts with many
directives from state legislatures. School districts are usually
separate from other local jurisdictions, with independent officials
and budgets. Educational standards and standardized testing
decisions are usually made by state governments.
The ages for
compulsory education vary by state. It begins from ages five to
eight and ends from ages fourteen to eighteen. Compulsory education
requirements can generally be satisfied by educating children in
public schools, state-certified private schools, or an approved
home school program. In most public and private schools, education
is divided into three levels: elementary school, middle school
(sometimes called junior high school), and high school (sometimes
referred to as secondary education).
In almost all schools
at these levels, children are divided by age groups into grades,
ranging from kindergarten (followed by first grade) for the
youngest children in elementary school, up to twelfth grade, the
final year of high school. The exact age range of students in these
grade levels varies slightly from area to area.
Post-secondary
education, better known as "college" in the United States, is
generally governed separately from the elementary and high school
system, and is described in a separate section
Statistics
In the year 2000,
there were 76.6 million students enrolled in schools from
kindergarten through graduate schools. Of these, 72 percent aged 12
to 17 were judged academically "on track" for their age (enrolled
in school at or above grade level). Of those enrolled in compulsory
education, 5.2 million (10.4 percent) were attending private
Among the country's
adult population, over 85 percent have completed high school and 27
percent have received a bachelor's degree or higher. The average
salary for college or university graduates is greater than $51,000,
exceeding the national average of those without a high school
diploma by more than $23,000, according to a 2005 study by the U.S.
Census Bureau. The 2010 unemployment rate for high school graduates
was 10.8%; the rate for college graduates was
The country has a
reading literacy rate at 99% of the population over age 15, while
ranking below average in science and mathematics understanding
compared to other developed countries. In 2008, there was a 77%
graduation rate from high school, below that of most developed
countries.
The poor performance
has pushed public and private efforts such as the No Child Left
Behind Act. In addition, the ratio of college-educated adults
entering the workforce to general population (33%) is slightly
below the mean of other developed countries (35%) and rate of
participation of the labor force in continuing education is high. A
2000s study by Jon Miller of Michigan State University concluded
that "A slightly higher proportion of American adults qualify as
scientifically literate than European or Japanese
Most children enter
the public education system around ages five or six. The American
school year traditionally begins at the end of August or the day
after Labor Day in September, after the traditional summer recess.
Children are assigned into year groups known as grades, beginning
with preschool, followed by kindergarten and culminating in twelfth
grade. Children customarily advance together from one grade to the
next as a single cohort or "class" upon reaching the end of each
school year in late May or early June.
The American
educational system comprises 12 grades of study over 12 calendar
years of primary and secondary education before graduating and
becoming eligible for college admission. After pre-kindergarten and
kindergarten, there are five years in primary school (normally
known as elementary school). After completing five grades, the
student will enter junior high or middle school and then high
school to get the high school diploma.
The U.S. uses ordinal
numbers (e.g., first grade) for identifying grades. Typical ages
and grade groupings in public and private schools may be found
through the U.S. Department of Education. Many different variations
exist across the country.
Students completing
high school may choose to attend a college or university.
Undergraduate degrees may be either associate's degrees or
bachelor's degrees (baccalaureate)
Community college
typically offer two-year associate's degrees, although some
community colleges offer a limited number of bachelor's degrees.
Some community college students choose to transfer to a four-year
institution to pursue a bachelor's degree. Community colleges are
generally publicly funded and offer career certifications and
part-time programs.
Four-year institutions
may be public or private colleges or
universities.
Most public
institutions are state universities, which are sponsored by state
governments and typically receive funding through some combination
of taxpayer funds, tuition, private donations, federal grants, and
proceeds from endowments. State universities are organized in a
wide variety of ways, and many are part of a state university
system. However, not all public institutions are state
universities. The five service academies, one for each branch of
the armed forces, are completely funded by th
the academies train students (cadets or midshipmen) to be
commissioned officers in exchange for a mandatory term of military
service. Additionally, some local governments (counties and cities)
have four-year institutions of their own - one example is the City
University of New York.
Private institutions
are privately funded and there is wide variety in size, focus, and
operation. Some private institutions are large research
universities, while others are small liberal arts colleges that
concentrate on undergraduate education. Some private universities
are nonsectarian while others are religiously affiliated. While
most private institutions are non-profit, a number are for
Curriculum varies
widely depending on the institution. Typically, an undergraduate
student will be able to select an academic major or concentration,
which comprises the main or special subjects, and students may
change their major one or more times.
Some students,
typically those with a bachelor's degree, may chose to continue on
to graduate or professional school. Graduate degrees may be either
master's degrees (e.g., M.S.,M.B.A., M.S.W.) or doctorates (e.g.,
Ph.D., J.D., M.D.). Academia-focused graduate school typically
includes some combination of coursework and research (often
requiring a thesis ordissertation), while professional school
(e.g., medical, law, business) grants a first professional degree
and aims to prepare students to enter a learned
profession.
In large cities,
sometimes there are private preschools catering to the children of
the wealthy. Because some wealthy families see these schools as the
first step toward the Ivy League, there are even counselors who
specialize in assisting parents and their toddlers through the
preschool admissions process. Increasingly, a growing body of
preschools are adopting international standards such as the
International Preschool Curriculum
Elementary and
secondary education
Schooling is
compulsory for all children in the United States, but the age range
for which school attendance is required varies from state to state.
Most children begin elementary education with kindergarten (usually
five to six years old) and finish secondary education with twelfth
grade (usually eighteen years old). In some cases, pupils may be
promoted beyond the next regular grade. Some states allow students
to leave school between 14&17 with parental permission, before
f other states require students to stay in
school until age 18
Educational attainment
in the United States, Age 25 and Over (2009)
Education&&&&&
Percentage
High school
graduate&&
Some college
Associates and/or
Bachelor's degree 38.54%
Doctorate or
professional
degree&&&&&
Most parents send
their children to either a public or private institution. According
to government data, one-tenth of students are enrolled in private
schools. Approximately 85% of students enter the public schools,
largely because they are tax-subsidized(tax burdens by school
districts vary from area to area).
There are more than
14,000 school districts in the country.
More than $500 billion
is spent each year on public primary and secondary
education.
Most states require
that their school districts within the state teach for 180 days a
Parents may also
choose to educate their
1.7% of children are
educated in this manner.
Nearly 6.2 million
students between the ages of 16 and 24 in 2007 dropped out of high
school, including nearly three of 10 Hispanics.
The issue of
high-school drop-outs is considered important to address as the
incarceration rate for African-American male high school dropouts
is about 50 (fifty) times the national average.
In 1971, the Supreme
Court ruled unanimously that forced busing of students may be
ordered to achieve racial desegregation. This ruling resulted in a
white flight from the inner cities which largely diluted the intent
of the order. This flight had other, non-educational ramifications
as well. Integration took place in most schools though de facto
segregation often determined the composition of the student body.
By the 1990s, most areas of the country have been released from
mandatory busing.
In 2010, there were
3,823,142 teachers in public, charter, private, and Catholic
elementary and secondary schools. They taught a total of 55,203,000
students, who attended one of 132,656 schools.
States do not require
proper reporting from their school districts to allow analysis of
efficiency of return on investment. The Center for American
Progress, called a "left-leaning think tank", commends Florida and
Texas as the only two states that provides annual school-level
productivity evaluations which report to the public how well school
funds are being spent at the local level. This allows for
comparison of school districts within a state.
In 2010, American
students rank 17th in the world. The Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development says that this is due to focusing on
the low end of performers. All of the recent gains have been made,
deliberately, at the low end of the socioeconomic scale and among
the lowest achievers. The country has been outrun, the study says,
by other nations because the US has not done enough to encourage
the highest achievers.
About half the states
encourage schools to recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the
Teachers worked from
about 35 to 46 hours a week in a survey taken in 1993. In 2011,
American teachers worked 1,097 hours in the classroom, the most for
any industrialized nation measured by the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development. They spend 1,913 hours a year on their
work, just shy of the national average of 1,932 hours for all
Transporting students
to and from school is a major concern for most school districts.
School buses provide the largest mass transit program in the
8.8 billion trips per year. Non-school transit buses give
5.2 billion trips annually. 440,000 yellow school buses carry over
24 million students to and from school.
School start times are
computed with busing in mind. There are oft
for elementary, for middle/junior high, and for high school. One
school district computed its cost per bus (without the driver) at
$20,575 annually. It assumed a model where the average driver drove
80 miles per day. A driver was presumed to cost $.62 per mile (1.6
km). Elementary schools started at 7:30, middle schools/junior high
school started at 8:15 and senior high schools at 9:00. While
elementary school started earlier, they also get out earlier, at
2:25; middle schools at 3:10 and senior high schools at 3:55. All
school districts establish their own times and means of
transportation within guidelines set forth by their own
Elementary
Historically, in the
United States, local public control (and private alternatives) have
allowed for some variation in the organization of schools.
Elementary school includes kindergarten through fifth grade (or
sometimes, to fourth grade, sixth grade or eighth grade). In
elementary school, basic subjects are taught, and students often
remain in one or two classrooms throughout the school day, with the
exceptions of physical education ("P.E." or "gym"), library, music,
and art classes. There are (as of 2001) about 3.6 million children
in each grade in the United States.
Typically, the
curriculum in public elementary education is determined by
individual school districts. The school district selects curriculum
guides and textbooks that are reflective of a state's learning
standards and benchmarks for a given grade level. Learning
Standards are the goals by which states and school districts must
meet adequate yearly progress (AYP) as mandated by No Child Left
Behind (NCLB). This description of school governance is simplistic
at best, however, and school systems vary widely not only in the
way curricular decisions are made but also in how teaching and
learning take place. Some states and/or school districts impose
more top-down mandates than others. In others, teachers play a
significant role in curriculum design and there are few top-down
mandates. Curricular decisions within private schools are made
differently than they are in public schools, and in most cases
without consideration of NCLB.
Elementary School teachers typically instruct
between twenty and thirty students of diverse learning needs. A
typical classroom will include children with a range of learning
needs or abilities, from those identified as having special needs
of the kinds listed in the Individuals with Disabilities Act IDEA
to those that are cognitively, athletically or artistically gifted.
At times, an individual school district identifies areas of need
within the curriculum. Teachers and advisory administrators form
committees to develop supplemental materials to support learning
for diverse learners and to identify enrichment for textbooks. Many
school districts post information about the curriculum and
supplemental materials on websites for public
In general, a student
learns basic arithmetic and sometimes rudimentary algebra in
mathematics, English proficiency (such as basic grammar, spelling,
and vocabulary), and fundamentals of other subjects. Learning
standards are identified for all areas of a curriculum by
individual States, including those for mathematics, social studies,
science, physical development, the fine arts, and reading. While
the concept of State Learning standards has been around for some
time, No Child Left Behind has mandated that standards exist at the
State level.
Elementary School
teachers are trained with emphases on human cognitive and
psychological development and the principles of curriculum
development and instruction. Teachers typically earn either a
Bachelors or Masters Degree in Early Childhood and Elementary
Education. The teaching of social studies and science are often
underdeveloped in elementary school programs. Some attribute this
to the fact that elementary school teachers are trained as
however, teachers attribute this to the priority
placed on developing reading, writing and math proficiency in the
elementary grades and to the large amount of time needed to do so.
Reading, writing and math proficiency greatly affect performance in
social studies, science and other content areas. Certification
standards for teachers are determined by individual states, with
individual colleges and universities determining the rigor of the
college education provided for future teachers. Some states require
content area tests, as well as instructional skills tests for
teacher certification in that state.
The broad topic of
Social Studies may include key events, documents, understandings,
and concepts in American history, and geography, and in some
programs, state or local history and geography. Topics included
under the broader term "science" vary from the physical sciences
such as physics and chemistry, through the biological sciences such
as biology, ecology, and physiology. Most States have predetermined
the number of minutes that will be taught within a given content
area. Because No Child Left Behind focuses on reading and math as
primary targets for improvement, other instructional areas have
received less attention. There is much discussion within
educational circles about the justification and impact of having
curricula that place greater emphasis on those topics (reading,
writing and math) that are specifically tested for
improvement.
Junior and senior high
Middle school and
Junior high school include the grade levels intermediate between
elementary school and senior high school. "Middle school" usually
includes sixth, seve "Junior high" typically
includes seventh, eighth, and ninth grades. The range defined by
either is often based on demographic factors, such as an increase
or decrease in the relative numbers of younger or older students,
with the aim of maintaining stable school populations. At this
time, students are given more independence, moving to different
classrooms for different subjects, and being allowed to choose some
of their class subjects (electives). Usually, starting in ninth
grade, grades become part of a student’s official
transcript.
Senior high school is
a school attended after junior high school. High school is often
used instead of senior high school and distinguished from junior
high school. High school usually runs either from 9th through 12th,
or 10th through 12th grade. The students in these grades are
commonly referred to as freshmen (grade 9), sophomores (grade 10),
juniors (grade 11) and seniors (grade 12).
Basic curricular
Generally, at the high
school level, students take a broad variety of classes without
special emphasis in any particular subject. Students are required
to take a certain minimum number of mandatory subjects, but may
choose additional subjects ("electives") to fill out their required
hours of learning.
The following minimum
courses of study in mandatory subjects are required in nearly all
U.S. high schools:
&& Science
(usually three years minimum, normally biology, chemistry and
&&
Mathematics (usually four years minimum, normally including
algebra, geometry, pre-calculus, statistics, and even
&& English
(usually four years minimum, including literature, humanities,
composition, oral languages, etc.)
&& Social
sciences (usually three years minimum, including various history,
government/economics courses)
&& Physical
education (at least two years)
Many states require a
"health" course in which students learn about anatomy, nutrition,
first aid, sexuality, drug awareness and birth control. Anti-drug
use programs are also usually part of health courses. In many
cases, however, options are provided for students to "test out" of
this requirement or complete independent study to meet it. Foreign
language and some form of art education are also a mandatory part
of the curriculum in some schools.
Common types of
electives include:
&& Computers
(word processing, programming, graphic design)
&& Athletics
(cross country, football, baseball, basketball, track and field,
swimming, tennis, gymnastics, water polo, soccer, softball,
wrestling, cheerleading, volleyball, lacrosse, ice hockey, field
hockey, crew, boxing, skiing/snowboarding, golf, mountain
&& Career and
Technical Education (Agriculture/Agriscience, Business/Marketing,
Family and Consumer Science, Health Occupations, and Technology
Education, including Publishing(journalism/student newspaper,
yearbook/annual, literary magazine))
&& Performing
Arts/Visual Arts, (choir, band, orchestra, drama, art, ceramics,
photography, and dance)
&& Foreign
languages (Spanish and F Chinese, Latin, Ancient
Greek, German, Italian, Arabic, and Japanese are less
&& Junior
Reserve Officers' Training Corps
Many high schools
provide Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB)
courses. These are special forms of honors classes where the
curriculum is more challenging and lessons more aggressively paced
than standard courses. AP or IB courses are usually taken during
the 11th or 12th grade of high school, but may be taken as early as
9th grade.
Most post-secondary
institutions take AP or IB exam results into consideration in the
admissions process. Because AP and IB courses are intended to be
the equivalent of the first year of college courses, post-secondary
institutions may grant unit credit, which enables students to
graduate earlier. Other institutions use examinations for placement
purposes only: students are exempted from introductory course work
but may not receive credit towards a concentration, degree, or core
requirement. Institutions vary in the selection of examinations
they accept and the scores they require to grant credit or
placement, with more elite institutions tending to accept fewer
examinations and requiring higher scoring. The lack of AP, IB, and
other advanced courses in impoverished inner-city high schools is
often seen as a major cause of the greatly differing levels of
post-secondary education these graduates go on to receive, compared
with both public and private schools in wealthier
neighborhoods.
Also, in states with
well-developed community college systems, there are often
mechanisms by which gifted students may seek permission from their
school district to attend community college courses full-time
during the summer, and part-time during the school year. The units
earned this way can often be transferred to one's university, and
can facilitate early graduation. Early college entrance programs
are a step further, with students enrolling as freshmen at a
younger-than-traditional age.
In 2007, approximately
1.5 million children were homeschooled, up 74% from 1999 when the
U.S. Department of Education first started keeping statistics. This
was 2.9% of all children.
Many select moral or
religious reasons for homeschooling their children. The second main
category is "unschooling," those who prefer a non-standard approach
to education.
Most homeschooling
advocates are wary of the established educational institutions for
various reasons. Some are religious conservatives who see
nonreligious education as contrary to their moral or religious
systems, or who wish to add religious instruction to the
educational curriculum (and who may be unable to afford a
church-operated private school or where the only available school
may teach views contrary to those of the parents). Others feel that
they can more effectively tailor a curriculum to suit an individual
student’s academic strengths and weaknesses, especially those with
singular needs or disabilities. Still others feel that the negative
social pressures of schools (such as bullying, drugs, crime, sex,
and other school-related problems) are detrimental to a child’s
proper development. Parents often form groups to help each other in
the homeschooling process, and may even assign classes to different
parents, similar to public and private schools.
Opposition to
homeschooling comes from varied sources, including teachers'
organizations and school districts. The National Education
Association, the largest labor union in the United States, has been
particularly vocal in the past. Opponents' stated concerns fall
into several broad categories, including fears of poor academic
quality, loss of income for the schools, and religious or social
extremism, or lack of socialization with others. At this time, over
half of states have oversight into monitoring or measuring the
academic progress of home schooled students, with all but ten
requiring some form of notification to the state.
In schools in the
United States children are constantly assessed throughout the
school year by their teachers, and report cards are issued to
parents at varying intervals. Generally the scores for individual
assignments and tests are recorded for each student in a grade
book, along with the maximum number of points for each assignment.
At any time, the total number of points for a student when divided
by the total number of possible points produces a percent grade,
which can be translated to a letter grade.
Letter grades are
often but not always used on report cards at the end of a marking
period, although the current grade may be available at other times
(particularly when an electronic grade book connected to an online
service is in use). Although grading scales usually differ from
school to school, the most common grade scale is letter grades—"A"
through "F"—derived from a scale of 0&100 or a percentile. In some
areas, Texas or Virginia for example, the "D" grade (or that
between 70&60) is considered a failing grade. In other
jurisdictions, such as Hawaii, a "D" grade is considered passing in
certain classes, and failing in others.
Standardized
Under the No Child
Left Behind Act, all American states must test students in public
schools statewide to ensure that they are achieving the desired
level of minimum education, such as on the Regents Examinations in
New York, or the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT), and
the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS); students
being educated at home or in private schools are not included. The
act also requires that students and schools show "adequate yearly
progress." This means they must show some improvement each year.
When a student fails to make adequate yearly progress, No Child
Left Behind mandates that remediation through summer school and/or
tutoring be made available to a student in need of extra
During high school,
students (usually in 11th grade) may take one or more standardized
tests depending on their postsecondary education preferences and
their local graduation requirements. In theory, these tests
evaluate the overall level of knowledge and learning aptitude of
the students. The SAT and ACT are the most common standardized
tests that students take when applying to college. A student may
take the SAT, ACT, or both depending upon the post-secondary
institutions the student plans to apply to for admission. Most
competitive schools also require two or three SAT Subject Tests
(formerly known as SAT IIs), which are shorter exams that focus
strictly on a particular subject matter. However, all these tests
serve little to no purpose for students who do not move on to
post-secondary education, so they can usually be skipped without
affecting one's ability to graduate.
Extracurricular
activities
A major characteristic
of American schools is the high priority given to sports, clubs and
activities by the community, the parents, the schools and the
students themselves. Extracurricular activities are educational
activities not falling within the scope of the regular curriculum
but under the supervision of the school. These activities can
extend to large amounts of time outside t
home-schooled students, however, are not normally allowed to
participate. Student participation in sports programs, drill teams,
bands, and spirit groups can amount to hours of practices and
performances. Most states have organizations that develop rules for
competition between groups. These organizations are usually forced
to implement time limits on hours practiced as a prerequisite for
participation. Many schools also have non-
however, these are usually afforded less resources and
attention.
Sports programs and
their related games, especially football and/or basketball, are
major events for American students and for larger schools can be a
major source of funds for school districts.
High school athletic
competitions often generate intense interest in the
community.
In addition to sports,
numerous non-athletic extracurricular activities are available in
American schools, both public and private. Activities include
Quizbowl, musical groups, marching bands, student government,
school newspapers, science fairs, debate teams, and clubs focused
on an academic area (such as the Spanish Club) or cultural
interests (such as Key Club).
Education of students
with special needs
Commonly known as
special classes, are taught by teachers with training in adapting
curricula to meet the needs of students with special
According to the
National Association of School Nurses, 5% of students in 2009 have
a seizure disorder, another 5% have ADHD and 10% have mental or
emotional problems.
Educating children
with disabilities
The federal law,
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires states
to ensure that all government-run schools provide services to meet
the individual needs of students with special needs, as defined by
the law. All students with special needs are entitled to a free and
appropriate public education (FAPE).
Schools meet with the
parents or guardians to develop an Individualized Education Program
that determines best placement for the child. Students must be
placed in the least restrictive environment (LRE) that is
appropriate for the student's needs. Public schools that fail to
provide an appropriate placement for students with special needs
can be taken to due process wherein parents may formally submit
their grievances and demand appropriate services for the
At-risk students
(those with educational needs that aren't associated with a
disability) are often placed in classes with students with minor
emotional and social disabilities. Critics assert that placing
at-risk students in the same classes as these disabled students may
impede the educational progress of both the at-risk and the
disabled students. Some research has refuted this claim, and has
suggested this approach increases the academic and behavioral
skills of the entire student population.
Public and private
In the United States,
state and local government have primary responsibility for
education. The Federal Department of Education plays a role in
standards setting and education finance, and some primary and
secondary schools, for the children of military employees, are run
by the Department of Defense.
K-12 students in most
areas have a choice between free tax-funded public schools, or
privately funded private schools.
Public school systems
are supported by a combination of local, state, and federal
government funding. Because a large portion of school revenues come
from local property taxes, public schools vary widely in the
resources they have available per student. Class size also varies
from one district to another. Curriculum decisions in public
schools are made largely at the lo the federal
government has limited influence. In most districts, a locally
elected school board runs schools. The school board appoints an
official called the superintendent of schools to manage the schools
in the district.
The largest public
school system in the United States is in New York City, where more
than one million students are taught in 1,200 separate public
schools. Because of its immense size & there are more students in
the system than residents in the eight smallest US states & the New
York City public school system is nationally influential in
determining standards and materials, such as
textbooks.
Admission to
individual public schools is usually based on residency. To
compensate for differences in school quality based on geography,
school systems serving large cities and portions of large cities
often have "magnet schools" that provide enrollment to a specified
number of non-resident students in addition to serving all resident
students. This special enrollment is usually decided by lottery
with equal numbers of males and females chosen. Some magnet schools
cater to gifted students or to students with special interests,
such as the sciences or performing arts.
Private schools in the
United States include parochial schools (affiliated with religious
denominations), non-profit independent schools, and for-profit
private schools. Private schools charge varying rates depending on
geographic location, the school's expenses, and the availability of
funding from sources, other than tuition. For example, some
churches partially subsidize private schools for their members.
Some people have argued that when their child attends a private
school, they should be able to take the funds that the public
school no longer needs and apply that money towards private school
tuition in the form of vouchers. This is the basis of the school
choice movement.
5,072,451 students
attended 33,740 private elementary and secondary schools in 2007.
74.5% of these were Caucasian, non-Hispanic, 9.8% were African
American, 9.6% were Hispanic. 5.4% were Asian or Pacific Islander,
and .6% were American Indian. Average school size was 150.3
students. There were 456,266 teachers. The number of students per
teacher was about 11. 65% of seniors in private schools in 2006-7
went on to attend a 4-year college.
Private schools have
various missions: some cater to college-bound students seeking a
competitive edge in the colleg others are for
gifted students, students with learning disabilities or other
special needs, or students with specific religious affiliations.
Some cater to families seeking a small school, with a nurturing,
supportive environment. Unlike public school systems, private
schools have no legal obligation to accept any interested student.
Admission to some private schools is often highly selective.
Private schools also have the ability to permanently expel
persistently unruly students, a disciplinary option not legally
available to public school systems.
Private schools offer
the advantages of smaller classes, under twenty students in a
typical elementary classroom, a higher teacher/student
ratio across the school day, greater individualized attention and
in the more competitive schools, expert college placement services.
Unless specifically designed to do so, private schools usually
cannot offer the services required by students with serious or
multiple learning, emotional, or behavioral issues. Although
reputed to pay lower salaries than public school systems, private
schools often attract teachers by offering high-quality
professional development opportunities, including tuition grants
for advanced degrees. According to elite private schools
themselves, this investment in faculty development helps maintain
the high quality program that they offer.
An August 17, 2000
article by the Chicago Sun-Times refers to the Roman Catholic
Archdiocese of Chicago Office of Catholic Schools as the largest
private school system in the United States.
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