Can anyone explain the American school system to me?

Question

Whenever I read American books they talk about Sophomores and Freshman. What are they and how old do you have to be in each classes. If you can tell me thank you.

Answer 1

At the age of 5 years old you start school. Usually at the age of 18 years, you end your secondary schooling. The school year usually goes from around August to May in most parts of the USA.
age: Grade:
5 yrs- kindergarten
6 - 1st grade
7- 2nd grade
8- 3rd grade
9- 4th grade
10- 5th grade
11- 6th grade
12- 7th grade
13- 8th grade
age 14- 9th grade, also known as being a freshman
age 15-10th grade, also known as being a sophomore
age 16- 11th grade, also known as a junior
age 17/18- 12th grade also known as being a senior,

Then you start college
your 1st year of college you would be a freshman,
2nd year a sophomore
3rd year a junior
4th year a senior

Answer 2

Careful, most of these answers are wrong... The American schooling system is 13 grades... Kindergarden plus grade 1-12. Your year 11 is equivalent to American year 10, or a "Sophmore" being as the American system starts year 1 with Kindergarden, year 2 with 1st grade, year 3 with 2nd grade and so on. The American 9th grade (or year 10) is a Freshman, 10th grade (year 11) Sophmore, 11th grade (year 12) Junior, 12th grade (year 13) Senior. Seniors typically graduate at the age of 17 or 18. If you are 15 and in year 11, you would likely be a Sophmore in America. The ACTs (American College Testing) and SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test) are the two test that are commonly taken before going to University (in American "University" is commonly called "College". Most colleges prefer one test or the other before they will admit you, though will accept either... some colleges will require one or the other. The ACT is an achievement test that measures what a student has learned in school. It has up to 5 sections, English, Math, Reading, Science and Writing. The SAT is an aptitude test, testing reasoning and verbal abilities. It has 3 sections: Critical Reasoining, Mathematices, and Writing. The SAT has a correction for guessing. That is, if you guess and you are wrong, you lose points. The ACT does not penalize you for wrong answers.

Answer 3

Our school years run from the end of August or the beginning of September, through the end of May or beginning of June (and then we have a pretty long summer break in between school years). These are the years in school, the ages, and how they are generally divided up:

Elementary School:

Kindergarten - must be age 5 before September 1st
1st grade - age 6 before September 1st
2nd grade - 7 before September 1st
3rd grade - 8
4th grade - 9
5th grade - 10


Middle School:

6th grade - 11
7th grade - 12
8th grade: 13


High School:

9th grade/Freshman - 14
10th grade/Sophomore - 15
11th grade/Junior - 16
12th grade/Senior - 17


That's generally how it works, but there can be some variation since we don't have a national school system. Instead, schools are run by the state governments so it won't always be the same in every place. Like I said, the cut off date to start school is September 1st in most states, but I have heard of states that don't require a child to turn 5 until December to enter kindergarten, and some say that say they need to be 5 before August. So with the different cut offs, sometimes the ages can vary a bit. The grades can be divided up differently, too. Some elementary schools go through 6th grade rather than 5th, and have only 7th and 8th grade in middle school, which can sometimes be called "junior high school" in these cases (and they can either be their own school, or they might be combined with a regular high school on the same campus, but they would still usually keep the younger students separated from the older ones). I also lived in a place that separated the upper elementary grades from the lower ones...elementary went through 4th grade, and then 5th and 6th graders went to an "intermediate" school before moving to middle school for 7th and 8th grade. So again, things definitely do vary throughout the different states/school districts.

Answer 4

You are asking for an explanation of the American school system. Well, it's not easy to summarize that but here is a try. There is a 6-3-3 plan. 6 years of elementary school (basic level) , 3 years of junior high school (intermediate level) and 3 years of high school (secondary level). Before children reach age 7 they have the option of going nurseries (infants) and to kindergarten (ages 5-6) which is not compulsary in all states.
As the posters before I explained the classification: Freshman, first year; sophomore, second year; Junior, third year and Senior, last year students of college. Exclude the first classification from high school because it is a 3 year plan. Ages are variable, it can depend on when you were mainstreamed in the educational system and/or if you keep up with it. If you begin at age 7, add a year as you pass grades till you reach the 12th (high school). If you begin college at 18, do the same thing till you graduate. Hope the explanation is helpful.

Answer 5

Freshman-9th grade
Sophomore-10th grade
Junior-11th grade
Senior-12th grade

Add six years to the grade level for the ages.

Our school system is pretty much an assembly line with the same product being made over and over and over again. Trouble is, the product is pretty shabby as a rule.

Answer 6

Theres elementray school grade 1 through 6. Middle school has grade 7 through 9. High school have (some have freshman) sophomore, junior and senior.

Answer 7

A freshman is someone in their first year of high school, usually around age14. Sophmore is the second year, age 15. Junior is third year, age 16. Senior is the last year of high school, usually age 17.