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Characteristics of American education
Formal education in the US consists of elementary, secondary and higher education. Elementary and secondary education, which forms public education, is free and compulsory public and private schools: Public schools are created, financially supported and governed by states or communities, and private ones by religious groups, or nonreligious private organizations or individuals. The Tenth gt;Amendment to the Constitution said education was included among the responsibilities which were "reserved to the states or the people". This makes it clear that education is a function of the state, not the federal government diversity and sameness in educational policy and practice.
1.正式教育包括初等、中等、高等教育2.构成公共教育的初、中等教育是免费和义务的；3.公立和私立学校：公立学校由州或社区创建、资助和管理，私立由宗教团体、或非宗教性质的个人或组织来创建；4.《宪法第十修正案》把教育包括在“只属于州和人民”的职责中，这清晰表明教育是州的职能，并非联邦政府的；5.教育政策和教学实践的多样性和类同性
Elementary and secondary education in the US
Elementary schools: In some states the elementary school covers grades 1-8, but in some other states it covers grades 1-5 or 6. So it takes 5,6or 8 years to finish the elementary school in the United States. The elementary school curriculum mainly consists of mastery of the "basics"(基础课), such as reading, writing, and arithmetic or mathematics.
一些州小学包括1-8年级，但另一些是1-5或6年级。所以在美国小学要花5，6或8年完成。小学的课程重要包括‘基本知识’的掌握，比如阅读，写作，和算术或数学。
Secondary Schools: Secondary schools are also called high schools in the United States, covering grades 9-12, the junior high school 6or 7-9, and the high school 10-12. High schools are made up of comprehensive, academic, vocational and technical schools with somewhat different tasks. There are 21000 public secondary schools and a number of private secondary schools in the US.
中学包括9-12年级或初中6或7到9，高中10-12。中学包括不同教学任务的综合性学校，普通文化课学校和职业和技术学校。共有21000所公立中学和一些私立中学。
Different tyes of colleges and universities
Research universities, doctoral universities, master's comprehensive colleges and universities, Liberal arts colleges, junior colleges, specialized institutions.
学院和大学的区别：1.研究性大学；2.博士学位大学；3.硕士学位综合大学和学院；4.文科学院；5.两年专科学院；6.专科学院
Famous universities: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia and MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Stanford, Berkeley.
哈佛，耶鲁，普林斯顿，哥伦比亚，麻省理工学院，斯坦福，伯克利。
The admission system in US universities:
The general standards for admission include successful completion of high school (高中毕业), high school grade point average(GPA) ( 高中年纪平均积分点成绩) and class rank (在班级名次), results from standardized tests such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SIA)(学生技能测试) and American College Testing Program's (美国大学考试计划) examination. But some universities practice open admission (敞开招生): they admit all high school graduates and all residents of the state (州内所有居民) 。
大学的入学体系：入学的普遍标准包括中学的顺利毕业，GPA，班级名次，标准化测验的成绩就像SAT和ACTP。但是一些大学也实行开放式入学：他们允许所有中学毕业生或所有本州的所有居民。
The role of the community college:①they prepare students for transferring to a BA program at a four-year institution; ②they provide vocational training; ③they give remedial instruction (补习课) to students; ④they offer recreational, cultural activities for adults; ⑤they absorb students in a four-year program who are not qualified into a lower-status vocational program.
社会学院的作用：1. 为学生攻读4年制院校学士学位做准备；2. 提供职业培训；3. 补习指导；4. 为成人提供文化娱乐活动；5. 将不适应4年制学习的学生吸收到较低一级的职业培训中。
Adult education
Some colleges and universities offer "continuing education" program of associate degrees, graduate studies or professional development. Under such system, a worker may continue his study even on a part-time basis.一些学院和大学提供继续教育,授予准学士学位，研究生课程或专业培训。在这样的体制下，工人可以在业余时间继续其学业。
Education reform in the 1980s and early 1990s. 教育改革
①"A Nation At Risk" report in 1983 put forward five proposals (P.328) to improve American education: the education reforms had two focuses: the raising of the standards of teaching and learning; the restructuring of the schools. 1983年，一篇名为〈处于危机中的国家〉的报道，提出了5条建议改善美国的教育；教育改革有两个重点：提高教学水平，调整学校结构。
②in 1991, President Bush issued his plan "America 2000: An Education Strategy". It set six goals (P.330) and put forward a series of proposals to help carry out some of the goals.
1991年，布什总统公布了他的〈2000年的美国：一项教育策略〉计划。确定了6个目标和有效达到这一目标的一系列建议。
