(Redirected from Grade level)
'Educational stages' vary around the world. Some countries describe the different stages in years, whereas other countries use a system of grades.
International
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (
UNESCO) recognizes seven levels of education in its International Standard Classification of Education system (ISCED). These range from Level 0 (pre-primary education) to Level 6 (second stage of tertiary education). UNESCO's International Bureau of Education maintains a
database of country-specific education systems and their stages.
Australia
In
Australia children undergo twelve ''years'' of formal education plus
kindergarten and/or a "preparatory grade" or "Prep", usually starting at ages five to six and finishing at ages 17 to 18. The Years are numbered from 1 to 12.
Primary school is typically Years 1-6, and
secondary school Years 7-12.
China
There are nine compulsory years of education in the
PRC, Primary (小学) 1-6 and Elementary Middle (初中) 1-3. There are an optional three extra years of Upper Middle (高中) 1-3 which may be followed by study at university.
Hong Kong
The
Hong Kong system is based on the
United Kingdom system, with an optional year at
kindergarten, six years of
primary school (小學) and seven years of
secondary school (中學), followed by three years at university. Primary 1 - 6 (小一 - 小六) corresponds to Years 1 - 6 in the UK, and Forms 1 - 7 (中一 - 中七)correspond to Years 7 - 13. Usually students begin Primary One at age 5 or 6 and complete Form 7 at age 18 or 19.
There are plans to change the system to 12 years of compulsory education at school (that is, removal of Form 7) followed by four years at university, mimicking the
United States.
In Hong Kong, international schools follow the system of the country they are based upon, for example the
English Schools Foundation uses the UK year system, and French International Schools use the French
collège,
école,
lycée system. Also, the
English term ''Form'' followed by the English number is common usage even in otherwise
Cantonese conversations.
France
The most junior level of schooling in France is ''l'école maternelle''. Compulsory education begins at the age of six, when children enter ''l'école élémentaire''. The two may be combined, known as ''l'école primaire''. The numbered years, or ''classes'' are as follows:
★ Cycle I : ''cycle des apprentissages premiers''
★
★ Toute Petite Section or TPS
★
★ Petite Section or PS
★
★ Moyenne Section or MS
★
★ Grande Section or GS
★ Cycle II : ''cycle des apprentissages fondamentaux''
★
★ Second year : ''Cours préparatoire'' or CP (6-7 years).
★
★ Third year : ''Cours élémentaire niveau 1'' or CE1 (7-8 years).
★ Cycle III : ''cycles des approfondissements''
★
★ First year : ''Cours élémentaire niveau 2'' or CE2 (8-9 years).
★
★ Second year : ''Cours moyen niveau 1'' or CM1 (9-10 years).
★
★ Third year : ''Cours moyen niveau 2'' or CM2 (10-11 years).
After this, students attend ''collège'', from the ages of eleven to fifteen. The classes are numbered in descending order.
★ Sixième (11-12 years)
★ Cinquième (12-13 years)
★ Quatrième (13-14 years)
★ Troisième (14-15 years)
The final part of French secondary education takes place at the ''lycée''. Education is only compulsory to the age of 16, but ''le lycée'' covers three years, and concludes in the French
Baccalaureate. These are:
★ Seconde
★ Première
★ Terminale
It is possible in France to fail a year, and need to resit (''redoubler'').
Ireland
In Ireland, there are two levels of compulsory education,
junior or
primary school, and
secondary or senior school. The names of each class are as follows:
★ Junior Infants (4-5 years)
★ Senior Infants (5-6 years)
★ First Class (6-7 years)
★ Second Class (7-8 years)
★ Third Class (8-9 years)
★ Fourth Class (9-10 years)
★ Fifth Class (10-11 years)
★ Sixth Class (11-12 years)
After Sixth Class, students move to secondary school, entering;
★ First Year (12-13 years)
★ Second Year (13-14 years)
★ Third Year (14-15 years)
★ Fourth Year [or Transition Year] (15-16 years)
★ Fifth Year (16-17 years)
★ Sixth Year [or Final Year] (17-18 years)
Malaysia
Main articles: Education in Malaysia
Compulsory education in Malaysia lasts 11 years. There are two stages of compulsory education in Malaysia, excluding kindergarten, which is optional. They include the
primary and
secondary education.
Primary education consists of six years of education, referred to as Standard 1 to Standard 6. Standard 1 to Standard 3 are classified as Level One (''Tahap Satu'' in Malay) while Standard 4 to Standard 6 are considered as Level Two ''(Tahap Dua)''. Primary education begins at the age of 7 and ends at 12. They take their
UPSR examination at the end of Standard 6. Students are promoted to the next year regardless of their academic performance.
Students usually start with secondary education when they are 13 years old. It consists of five and years of education, that is known as Form 1 - Form 5. It too, is often divided into two, lower secondary (Form 1 - 3) and upper secondary (Form 4 - 5). They sit for their second standardised examination,
PMR, while they are in the last year of lower secondary, that is in Form 3.
SPM is taken in last year of upper secondary, before graduating from secondary school.
After the SPM, students would have a choice of either studying Form 6 or the matriculation (pre-university). If they are accepted to continue studying in Form 6, they will also take the
STPM examination. Form 6 consists of two years of study which is known as Lower 6 and Upper 6.Although it is generally taken by those desiring to attend public universities in Malaysia, it is internationally recognised and may also be used, though rarely required, to enter private local universities for undergraduate courses.
Norway
In Norway children start school at the age of six; before that kindergarten is voluntary. This school is called "barneskole" (childrenschool):
★ 6-7: First grade
★ 7-8: Second grade
★ 8-9: Third grade
★ 9-10: Fourth grade
★ 10-11: Fifth grade
★ 11-12: Sixth grade
★ 12-13: Seventh grade
The second school is "ungdomsskole" (youth-school). At this level the students are rated with grades in each subject, in addition to behavior and orderliness:
★ 13-14: Eighth grade
★ 14-15: Ninth grade
★ 15-16: Tenth grade
The last school before higher education is called "Videregaaende skole" (ongoing school) and is voluntary, though most choose to attend. At this level students decide among separate career-related schools. The most popular such school is designed to prepare one for further education, while others prepare students for vocations such as mechanics, electricians, cooks and so on. Educational stages in these schools begin again at "one" and are named Vg1, Vg2, Vg3 and Vg4. Some of the more practical schools last only two years, and some students may choose to attend an extra year to study higher education. The typical duration is three years, though some schools offer a four-year program to enable students to engage in more athletics or gather real work experience.
★ 16-17: Vg1
★ 17-18: Vg2
★ 18-19: Vg3
★ 19-20: Vg4
Singapore
A
Singaporean compulsory education lasts 12 years, beginning with Primary 1 - 6, followed by Secondary (abbreviated ''Sec'') 1 - 4, which is followed by Pre-University (abbreviated ''Pre-U'') 1 - 2.
United Kingdom
''Main article:
Education in the United Kingdom''
England and Wales
In
England and
Wales education is divided into two stages:
primary education and
secondary education. Required assessment within the
National Curriculum takes place in years 2, 6, 9 (Standard Attainment Tests (SATs, pronounced "sats"), not to be confused with the US (
SAT) and Year 11 (
GCSEs). School education is generally followed by three or four years at university by those who decide to stay in education.
Children begin school either in the school year or school term in which they reach their fifth birthday.
Primary schools educate children from Reception through to
Year 6, and may be subdivided into
infant and
junior schools. Alternatively, children may attend private
prep schools.
Secondary education is compulsory to the age of 16. Schools have various possible names, such as
grammar,
comprehensive and
secondary schools, which may or may not indicate selective admission or tuition fees (see main article).
Sixth Form education is not compulsory. Some secondary schools still use the 'form' system, with Year 7 being First Form, Year 8 being Second Form, et cetera, up until Years 12 and 13, which together make up the Sixth Form.
In some areas in England, a
three-tier system of education is used, in which students pass through three stages:
First school (
Reception to Year 3/4),
Middle school (Year 4/5 to Year 7/8) and finally High or
Upper School (Year 8/9-Year 13).
Northern Ireland
The system in place in
Northern Ireland resembles that in place in England Wales, but there are notable differences. Education is compulsory during only 12 years, with pupils starting primary school in the September following their 4th birthday (except for those born in July or August, who start a year later). Years are numbered from this point, meaning that Year 2 in the Northern Irish system is the closest in age range to England's Year 1.
As with England and Wales, education is divided into primary and secondary (or post-primary) sectors, with a division at age 11. The label
Key Stage is also used, although with slightly different meanings to those seen in England.
As of 2007 the province has a wholly selective system at the post-primary level, with all Year 7 pupils taking the
Eleven plus tests. This system will end with the new intake in
2009, with new arrangements as yet to be confirmed.
Scotland
In
Scotland, education is divided into two stages:
primary education and
secondary education. Primary education is delivered almost exclusively through
primary schools which offer education for pupils aged between 4 and 12. Children are entitled to pre-school education from their third birthday, and must enter compulsory education from the August after their 5th birthday. There is some leeway in the starting date or pupils
[1].
Education lasts 7 years in the primary school, before pupils move to a secondary school for between 4 and 6 years, the last two being optional.
There is some variation in the phasing of education in more remote areas of Scotland, where provision may be made in a through school, or in other combinations of institutes.
United States and Canada
:''Main articles:
Education in the United States,
Education in Canada
In
Canada and the
United States the ''grades'' traditionally begin at 1 and run to 12 (or 11 or 13 in some areas); in the US they are referred to by ordinal number (e.g. "third grade"), while in Canada the cardinal number is used (e.g. "grade 3"). An additional preceding level called
Kindergarten is now standard in most areas, and a further preceding level called
Preschool or
Nursery school is not uncommon. In the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, as well as some parts of the state of Wisconsin, kindergarten is split further into junior and senior kindergarten.
At the secondary school level, grades 9–12 are also known as
freshman (or "first-year"), ,
junior, and
senior, especially in the United States. At the post-secondary level (college or university), these terms are used almost exclusively to refer to what would otherwise be grades 13–16, also mainly in the United States. However, at the post-secondary level in Canada, freshman is often called first-year, sophomore as second-year, and so on.
These tables outlines the ages, in years, of each grade level. However, students are sometimes older because of
grade retention.
Elementary school: (sometimes includes 5th or 6th grade, and sometimes goes up to 8th grade)
Middle school: (sometimes includes 9th grade)
High school:
Children typically start school at age five, but may turn six during the school year. This accounts for age differences within the same grade. Different school districts have different entrance requirements, with some using age on the first day of school, and others using age on a specified date. Also, some areas use junior high school, typically grades 7-8 or 9, instead of middle school. The grade configurations vary from school to school and district to district in the USA and Canada.
See also
★
Education
★
Education by country
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