Education System Comparison Between Usa and Latvia Essay Example for Free

Education System Comparison Between Usa and Latvia Essay universeE actuallyone knows that in nowadays there argon many possibilities and ways to learn, but in Latvia this is very topical theme right now. Many of the senior high-pitched civilise graduates want to learn abroad. And I do non think that this is good, because like about half of the students or people that go to learn abroad, never comes backbone to the native country. That is why I buzz off elect this topical theme. I am bighearteding to study knowledgeal forms in these countries. I am going to poll some of the 12th grade students about what are they thinking about learning in USA. I want to achieve that kind of lay out when a student reads my research project and especially the higher fosterage in Latvia part he changes his mind and stays to learn here. My hypothesis for this research Work is the schooling systems in Latvia and in the USA are embrace issueent and this is a reason why people in Latvi a opt the USA for studies very often. The Aim of the Research Work is to compare the education systems in the USA and in Latvia and to find out middle nurture students opinion about studies in Latvia and in the USA. The main objectives of the Research Work are To collect the information about educational system in Latvia To collect the information about educational system in the USA To make a questionnaire and analyze the results of middle school students opinion about studies in Latvia and in the USAEducational system in USAEducation in the united States is provided mainly by g everyplacenment, with control and funding coming from three takes federal, state, and local. School attendance is mandatory and intimately universal at the primary and alternative levels. At these levels, school curricula, funding, teaching, and other policies are set through locally elected school boards with jurisdiction over school districts. School districts are usually separate from other local j urisdictions, with independent officials and budgets. Educational standards and standardized testing decisions are usually made by state governments. The maturate for compulsory education vary by state, beginning at the age five to eight and ending at the age of fourteen to eighteen. A growing human activity of states are now requiring school attendance until the age of 18.61.1 Preschool on that point are no mandatory universe prekindergarten or crche programs in the United States. The federal government funds the preschool program for children of low-income families, but most families are on their own with regard to finding a preschool or childcare. In the large cities, there are sometimes upper-class preschools catering to the children of the wealthy.61.2 Elementary and Secondary EducationSchooling 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 bare(a) education with kindergarten (usually five to six days old) and murder tributary education with twelfth grade (usually eighteen yrs old). In some cases, pupils whitethorn be promoted beyond the next regular grade. Some states throw in students to leave school at the age of 1417 with parental permission, before finishing high school. Most parents send their children to either a public or private institution. According to government information, one-tenth of students are enrolled in private schools.Approximately 85% of students enter the public schools, largely because they are free (tax burdens by school districts vary from area to area). Most students attend school for around six hours per day, and usually anywhere from 175 to 185 days per year. Most schools have a summertime break period for about deuce and half months from June through August. This break is much longer than in many other nations. Originally, summer vacation, as it is colloquially called, allowed students to participate in the harvest period during the summer. However, this remains largely by tradition.6 Parents may withal choose to educate their own children at home 1.7% of children are educated in this manner.1.2.1 Junior high schoolJunior high school is any school intermediate between elementary school and high school. It usually includes seventh and eighth grade, and sometimes sixth or ninth grade. In some locations, junior high school includes ninth grade only, allowing students to adjust to a high school environment. Middle school is often used instead of junior high school when demographic factors amplification the number of younger students. At this time, students are given more independence as choosing their own classes. Usually, starting in ninth grade, grades become part of a students official transcript. Future employers or colleges may want to see steady improvement in grades and a good attendance eternalise on the official transcript. Therefore, students are encouraged to take much m ore responsibility for their education.61.3 higher(prenominal) educationPost-secondary education in the United States is known as college or university and commonly consists of four years of study at an institution of higher learning. There are 4,352* colleges, universities, and junior colleges in the USA. Students traditionally apply to cop entrance money into college, with varying difficulties of entrance. Schools differ in their competitiveness and reputation generally, the most prestigious schools are private, rather than public. Admissions criteria involve the rigor and grades earned in high school courses taken, class ranking, and standardized test. Most colleges also consider more subjective factors much(prenominal) as a commitment to two-timing(a) activities, a in the flesh(predicate) essay, and an interview. While numerical factors rarely ever are absolute required values, each college usually has a rough threshold below which admission is unlikely.2 *- January 2009. data from www.ed.govOnce admitted, students engage in undergraduate study, which consists of satisfying university and class requirements to achieve a bachelors pointedness in a field of concentration known as a major. The most common method consists of four years of study leading to a knight bachelor of Arts (B.A.), a Bachelor of Science (B.S.), or sometimes another bachelors detail such as Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.), Bachelor of Social Work (B.S.W.), Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.,) or Bachelor of Philosophy (B.Phil.) Five-Year Professional Architecture programs offer the Bachelor of Architecture Degree (B.Arch.) Professional degrees such as law, medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry, are offered as graduate study afterwards earning at to the lowest degree three years of undergraduate schooling or after earning a bachelors degree depending on the program.These master key fields do not require a specific undergraduate major, though medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry have set p rerequisite courses that must be taken before enrollment.2 Some students choose to attend a community college for two years prior to further study at another college or university. In most states, community colleges are operated either by a division of the state university or by local special districts subject to guidance from a state agency. Community colleges may award Associate of Arts (AA) or Associate of Science (AS) degree after two years. Those seeking to continue their education may transfer to a four-year college or university. Some community colleges have automatic enrollment agreements with a local four-year college, where the community college provides the first two years of study and the university provides the remaining years of study, sometimes all on one campus.The community college awards the associates degree, and the university awards the bachelors and masters degrees. Graduate study, conducted after obtaining an initial degree and sometimes after several years of professional work, leads to a more advanced degree such as a masters degree, which could be a have the best of Arts (MA), Master of Science (MS), Master of Business Administration (MBA), or other little common masters degrees such as Master of Education (MEd), and Master of Fine Arts (MFA). after(prenominal) additional years of study and sometimes in conjunction with the completion of a masters degree, students may earn a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) or other doctoral degree, such as Doctor of Arts, Doctor of Education, Doctor of Theology, Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Pharmacy, Doctor of Physical Therapy, or Doctor of Jurisprudence. Some programs, such as medicine, have formal apprenticeship procedures post-graduation like residency and internship which must be expeld after graduation and before one is considered to be fully trained. opposite professional programs like law and business have no formal apprenticeship requirements after graduation.3 Entrance into graduate program s usually depends upon a students undergraduate academic surgical procedure or professional experience as well as their score on a standardized entrance exam. Many graduate and law schools do not require experience after earning a bachelors degree to enter their programs however, business school freighterdidates are usually required to gain a some years of professional work experience before applying. Only 8.9 % of students ever receive postgraduate degrees, and most, after obtaining their bachelors degree, proceed direct into the workforce.71.4 Basic Curricular complex body partGenerally, at the high school level, students take a broad variety of classes without special emphasis in any finicky subject. Curricula vary widely in quality and rigidity. The following subjects are fairly universally required in the United States Science (usually two years minimum, normally biology, chemistry and physics) Mathematics (usually two years minimum, normally including algebra, geometry , algebra II, and/or trigonometry) English (usually four years minimum, including literature, humanities, etc.) Social Science (usually three years minimum, including various history, government/economics courses) Physical education (at least one year)Many states require a health course in which students learn about anatomy, nutrition, first aid, sexuality, 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 or perform independent study in order to complete this requirement. Foreign language and some form of art education are also a mandatory part of the curriculum in some schools.6 1.5 adulterous activitiesA 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 backcloth of the regular curriculum but under the supervision of the school. These activities can extend to large amounts of time outside the normal school day 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 which 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-varsity sports teams, however these are usually afforded little resources and attention. The idea of having sports teams associated with high schools is relatively unique to the United States in comparison with other countries. 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 touch on in the community.Inner city schools serving poor students are heavily scouted by college and even professional coaches, with national attention given to which colleges outstanding high school students choose to attend. State high school championship tournaments football and basketball attract high levels of public interest. In addition to sports, numerous non-athletic extracurricular activities are available in American schools, both public and private. Activities include musical groups, marching bands, student government, school newspapers, science fairs, debate teams, and clubs focused on an academic area or cultural interests.51.6 ElectivesMany high schools offer a wide variety of elective courses, although the availability of such courses depends upon each particular schools financial resources and desired curriculum emphases. Common types of electives include Visual arts (drawing, sculpture, painting, photography, f ilm) Performing arts (drama, band, chorus, orchestra, dance) Technology education (woodworking, metalworking, automobile repair, robotics) Computers (word processing, programming, graphic design) Athletics (cross country, football, baseball, basketball, extend and field, swimming, tennis, gymnastics, water polo, soccer, wrestling, cheerleading, volleyball, lacrosse, ice hockey, field hockey, boxing, skiing/snowboarding) Publishing (journalism/student newspaper, yearbook/annual, literary magazine) Foreign languages (Spanish, French are common Chinese, Latin, Greek, German, Italian, Arabic, and Japanese are less common)51.7 Advanced CoursesMany high schools provide Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses. These are special forms of honours classes where the curriculum is more challenge and lessons more aggressively paced than standard courses. AP or IB courses are usually taken during the 11th or 12th grade of high school.61.8 Home SchoolingThere wa s 1,3 million children that were home schooled in 2008, up 74% from 1999 when the US Department of Education first started keeping statistics. This was 2.9% of all children. Parents select moral or ghostlike reasons for home schooling their children.11.9 School gradesAs you can see in the table (Table N.1), in the U.S. the first year of compulsory schooling begins with children at the age of five or six. Children are then placed in year groups known as grades, beginning with first grade and culminating in twelfth grade. representative 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.2 For more foreseen arrangement of education in USA see Appendix N.1.1.10 Grading scaleIn schools in the United States children are continually assessed throughout the school year by their teachers, and report tease are issued to parents at varying intervals. Generally the scores for indivi dual 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 used on report cards at the end of a marking period, although the current grade may be available at other times. Although grading scales usually differ from school to school, the grade scale which seems to be most common is as follows. The grading is establish on a scale of 0-100 or a percentile. Note that in some jurisdictions the D grade (or that below 70) is considered a helplessness grade. In other jurisdictions a D grade is considered passing in certain classes, and failing in others. If you need a concept of grading scale, see Table N.2.6 Table N.2 Example grading scale in USAE,N,U or F D C B A - + - arodpamatskola vocational basic school 9-year education may be 2 no incomplete arodvidusskola vocational secondary school9-year education 3 no arodgimnazija vocational gymnasium 9-year education 4 yes arodskola vocational school general secondary education 1-2 no (postsecondary) As it is seen from table (Table N.4), just one type of vocational schools four year vocational gymnasium concurrently to vocational training provide general secondary education and, consequently, access to higher education.102.8 Access to Higher EducationIn principle, access to higher education is general for all holders of general secondary education certificates. However, the institutions of higher education are free to determine which of the elective subjects must have been taken by the applicant at the secondary school in order to become eligible for admission to a chosen program. There are no fixed all-Latvian rules determining the admission system and it may differ between different institutions and even between different faculties of the same institution of higher education. The main forms of admission procedure may be as follows 1 to 4 competitive entrance examinations a competition of diplomas plus an interview by the Admission board, which may include general questions in subjects important to the chosen specialty just a competition of diplomas (usually judging by the marks in subjects important to the chosen program and/or average mark in the secondary school certificate) knowledge of Latvian language is evaluated in these cases when the applicant has not had Latvian as the language of instruction in secondary school. An admission board consisting of staff members is formed in all higher educational institutions to carry out admission procedures in accordance with conditions announced at least 5 months before.92.9 Higher Education2.9.1 Academic higher education (Akadmisk augstk izgltba) is understood as a general higher education based upon fundamental and/or applied science. Academic education can be (and in most cases is) divided into two stages. A student has to perform a thesis of a Research Work at the end of each stage. I. First degreeAn academic degree and a Bachelor diploma (Bakalaura grds) can be awarded after successive completion of the first stage. Bachelor degree is an intermediate degree and can be treated as a finish higher education only in these cases when duration of program is 4+ years. However, part of the students leave universities having a bachelors degree and find their banquet in the labor market. II. Second degreeAcademic master degree (Maistra grds) and the appropriate diploma is awarded after the second stage of academic education and should be treated as a complete university-type higher education. Master degree or a degree equivalent to it (e.g. medical studies are of a level of masters degree but name of masters degree is not applicable) can be awarded after total duration of 5-7 years of university studies. Master degree (or equivalent) is requi red for admission to doctoral studies. III. Higher degreesThere are two of doctoral degrees in LatviaDegree of Ph.D. (Doktora grds)Holders of masters degree are eligible for doctoral studies and the holders of Ph.D. is expected to be achieved in a 3-4 year period of full-time doctoral studies after a public defense of doctoral thesis. After defense of habilitation thesis you are awarded with a degree of habilitated doctor (habilitts doktors).Doctoral degrees are awarded by specialized councils promotion council (promocijas padome) awarding the degree doktors only habilitation council (habilitcijas padome) awarding both doctoral degrees. The regulations for awarding of doctoral degrees are set and the promotion and habilitation councils are appointed by Latvian Science Council (Latvijas Zintnes Padome). 2.9.2 Higher professional education (Profesionla augstak izgltba) is a higher education based upon applied science. It provides knowledge and skills for professional activities.Ac quirement of the programs of professional studies can take place independently of academic studies, concurrently to or after them. Non-university type higher education institutions offer higher professional education programs leading directly to professional qualifications. To be treated as a completed higher education, the duration of professional studies has to be not less than 4 years. University-type higher education institutions may offer 1-2 year programs leading to professional qualification after achieving bachelor degree (bakalaurs).8