Analysis of the educational system at each stage in the United States, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and other countries

Educational systems at various stages (junior high school, high school, college, graduate school, doctoral degree)

United States

The United States implements a decentralized educational administration system , the United States does not have a unified academic system across the country, and even two adjacent states may have completely different academic systems. (Basic education in the United States is generally 12 years, but there are also 6-3-3, 6-6, 8-4, 4-4-4 and other school systems. The number of years of compulsory education stipulated by each state also ranges from 9 to 12 years. (Varies.) However, the school system in each state generally includes four stages: preschool education, primary education, secondary education, and higher education.

----Elementary education institutions are primary schools, and the entry age is generally 6 years old. Primary school education systems include four years, six years and eight years. Among them, the majority are six-year primary schools. At present, American elementary schools generally offer English classes, mathematics classes, science classes, social studies, fine and applied arts, music, physical education, health and labor classes, and learning tools classes according to the regulations of the state or school district.

----Secondary education is implemented by various middle schools, including comprehensive middle schools, general middle schools, vocational and technical schools, special middle schools, intermediate schools, selective schools, etc., of which comprehensive middle schools are the main body. Among all types of middle schools, public schools account for 90%, and private schools account for about 10%. Generally, children who have graduated from primary school and are over 12 years old do not need to go through examination selection and will naturally advance to various middle schools. Connected with the primary education stage, the secondary education system also has several different forms: four-year system, six-year system and three-three system.

----All undergraduate majors generally last four years. After completing undergraduate studies, you can continue to apply for graduate studies. Generally, master's degree programs require 2 years of study, and doctoral programs require 5 years of study. If you have a bachelor's degree in the United States, you can directly apply for a combined master's and doctoral degree. American universities are divided into two semesters each year: spring and autumn. The autumn semester usually starts at the end of August or early September, and the spring semester usually starts at the beginning of January. Each school has its own schedule.

United Kingdom

In the UK, the time to obtain a degree is shorter than in most other countries. The academic system from middle school (from junior high school to high school) to university can be simply said to be a 5-1-3-1 system, that is, 5 years of secondary school, 1 year of preparatory studies, 3 years of undergraduate studies, and 1 year of postgraduate studies.

----Junior basic education GCSE is the main examination that British students take to complete the first stage of secondary education. In the UK, students enter GCSE courses when they are around 14 years old, and the schooling lasts for 2 years. The two-year GCSE course is equivalent to the third year of junior high school and the first year of high school in China.

----The A-Level examination in high schools is graded on a five-grade system of passing (A/B/C) and failing (D/E), and there is also an unrated grade of U. British university admission standards mainly depend on A-Level examination results. If a candidate obtains 3-4 A's after the first round of A-Level examinations, he or she will be eligible to apply for admission to the world's top universities including Oxford and Cambridge, and may receive an interview notice and then a conditional admission notice. Then, As long as the student's scores in the second round of A-Level examination subjects meet the requirements (meet the admission conditions), he can be admitted to a world-class university.

----The undergraduate degree program lasts three years and the master's degree program lasts one year, which is relatively rare in most countries. In addition, university semesters are shorter and there are fewer classes. The university is divided into three semesters: autumn, spring and summer, each semester is 10 weeks long. The third semester is mainly about arranging examinations. Generally, the whole year of study can be completed around the 25th week. A typical course has 20 class hours and the experimental load is relatively heavy. (For example, a professional course may only have 20 hours of class time, but the experimental class time will also be 20 hours.)

----Master's degree programs in the UK can be divided into two types: lecture-based and research-based. The course duration is one year. In addition to completing three semesters of courses, you must also complete a graduation project. The research-based program lasts for 2 years, during which those who perform well can directly transfer to a PhD program. This is unique to the UK. In other countries, such academic qualifications can generally only be treated as ordinary master's degrees.

Australia

Australia is a member of the Commonwealth, and its education system belongs to the federal education system.

----Preschool education:

According to Australian states and territories, preschool education is not part of compulsory education, but is part of formal education. Preschool education stipulated by each state generally lasts for one year, and most states and territories require children to start preschool education when they are 5 years old.

----Primary and secondary education:

The age of compulsory education in Australia is 6-15 years old (to 16 years old in Tasmania), and most students complete it in grade 10 compulsory education. Grades 11 and 12 are non-compulsory education. Primary and secondary schools in various states and territories usually start in early February and end in early December each year. Primary school lasts for 6 to 7 years, and middle school lasts for 5 to 6 years. Students who have completed the first stage of middle school (grade 10) and passed the school examination and teacher evaluation will be issued a junior high school diploma. At the end of the 12th grade, students who pass the examination will be issued a high school diploma. Results in the last year of secondary school can be used as a basis for further studies. Generally, students complete compulsory education in grade 10. Grades 11 and 12 are non-compulsory education. The curriculum for primary and secondary schools consists of core courses and elective courses. Since each state adapts to local conditions, varies from school to school, and is flexible and diverse, there is no nationally unified curriculum.

----The connection between high school education and higher education:

Students in secondary schools who have reached the minimum school-leaving age can leave school to look for job opportunities, or enter vocational education and Continue your studies at a training provider (VET) such as a TAFE institution or a private business school.

For many VET courses, completion of Year 10 secondary school is the minimum entry criterion. For those students who continue to complete all secondary education (to grade 12), they can enter colleges, vocational and technical schools and other types of higher education institutions.

----Higher Education

Higher education starts from about the age of 18 to over 26 years old. Anyone who graduates from secondary school has the opportunity to receive higher education. University education focuses on academic research and training of bachelors, masters and doctoral students. Advanced technical colleges focus on vocational and technical training, cultivating technical experts with university level and specialized skills.

Undergraduate: 3 years (law/medicine requires 4-5 years)

Master’s degree: 1-2 years (Macquarie University’s accounting major requires 2.5 years)

Doctorate: 3 years to 4 years

New Zealand

New Zealand’s diploma is internationally recognized and has a complete range of subjects. The basic situation of New Zealand’s education is as follows:

----Preschool education (2-4 years old): Provide informal preschool education to help children prepare for school.

----Primary education (5-10 years old): Provides courses from the first and second grades of infants to the first to fourth grades of elementary school.

----Junior high school education, also known as senior primary school (11-12 years old): provides secondary one and secondary two courses.

----High school education (13-18 years old): Provides courses from Form Three to Form Seven.

----University preparatory course: Foundation study can accept high school graduates from China. They will first learn English courses, and then start studying professional courses after passing the English standard. The general content of study is New Zealand high school senior courses (form7) or basic courses of this major. After completing the course, you do not need to take the entrance exam like ordinary New Zealand high school students. You only need to take the exam set by the preparatory school. As long as you are qualified, you can immediately enter the university for undergraduate study.

----Undergraduate courses: New Zealand has 8 public universities, among which the University of Auckland is the most famous. For the past 10 years, the University of Auckland has consistently ranked in the top 30 in the world.

In addition, New Zealand's largest Massey University, the oldest University of Otago and the University of Waikato, known as the "Harvard of the South", are all world-recognized famous universities. Students who graduate from these universities don’t have to worry about the value of their certificates. Many Chinese students have found satisfactory jobs in New Zealand and successfully immigrated to New Zealand after graduation, and a considerable number of Chinese students have found well-paying jobs in the United States, European countries or Australia by virtue of their educational background in New Zealand.

----Postgraduate courses: including Master by Course and Master by Research.

In addition to universities, higher education in New Zealand also includes technical colleges and colleges of education. There are currently 20 technical colleges (comprehensive technical colleges) in New Zealand, providing a variety of vocational and technical training, including short-term courses and three- and four-year professional degree, diploma, and certificate courses. Some technical colleges and universities can transfer credits to each other (such as business courses). The credits of certain courses taken by students at technical colleges are recognized by the universities, and they can be exempted from taking relevant courses after graduation when they enter the university. New Zealand has four independent colleges of education, which are funded by the government to train teachers for primary schools, secondary schools, early childhood education centers and special education institutions.