Elementary school

Elementary school in India

Elementary school in Japan

An elementary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, Australia, Latin America, South Africa and New Zealand and in most publications of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).^[1]

United Kingdom

Elementary school was formerly the name given to publicly funded schools in Great Britain which provided a basic standard of education for working class children aged from five to 14, the then school leaving age. They were also known as industrial schools.

Elementary schools were set up to enable working class children to receive manual training and elementary instruction. They provided a restricted curriculum with the emphasis on reading, writing and arithmetic (the three Rs). The schools operated on a 'monitorial' system, whereby one teacher supervised a large class with the assistance of a team of monitors, who were quite often older pupils. Elementary school teachers were paid by results. Their pupils were expected to achieve precise standards in reading, writing and arithmetic such as reading a short paragraph in a newspaper, writing from dictation, and working out sums and fractions.^[2]

Before 1944 around 80 per cent of the school population attended elementary schools through to the age of 14. The remainder transferred either to secondary school or junior technical school at age 11. The school system was changed with the introduction of the Education Act 1944. Education was restructured into three progressive stages which were known as primary education, secondary education and further education.^[3]

In the UK, schools providing primary education are now known as primary schools. They generally cater for children aged from four to eleven (Reception to Year Six or in Northern Ireland and Scotland P1 to P7). Primary schools are often subdivided into infant schools for children from four to seven and junior schools for ages seven to 11. In the (diminishing) minority of areas where there is a "three-tier" system, children go to "first school" until about 10, then middle school until about 14, then upper school; in these places, the term "primary school" is not usually used.

United States

In the United States, elementary schools offer education from the kindergarten level to a grade between 3rd and 8th. These ranges have fluctuated notably over time, and also vary from community to community. An elementary school may contain primary grades, K-2; intermediate grades, 3-5; and middle grades, 6-8. The most common grade range today is kindergarten through 5th. Elementary schools in the United States are also sometimes called grade schools, especially in the northern states. '''In systems that separate school grades, after 5th grade students move on to either middle school, 6th, 7th and 8th grades, or junior high school, 7th, 8th and 9th grades. Depending on the structure of the intermediate grades, either 9th through 12th grades, or 10th through 12th grades is considered high school.'''

Germany

Depending on state, elementary schools provide education from grade 1 to 4 or 6. Upon graduation from elementary school, students attend either Hauptschule, Realschule, Gymnasium, Intermediate School or Gesamtschule.

India

In India elementary schools provide education from Class 1 to Class 7. The children in these classes are generally aged between 5 to 12 years. It is the next stage after kindergarten (Pre-Nursery, Nursery, Prep or Lower Kindergarten and Upper Kindergarten). The next stage after primary education is Middle School (Class 6th to 8th). In most schools in North India, children in Classes 1st to 3rd are taught English, Hindi, Mathematics, Environmental Science, and General Knowledge. In class 4th and 5th the environmental science subject is replaced by General Science and Social Studies. However some schools may introduce this concept in Class 3 itself. Some schools may also introduce a third language in Class 5th or even in Class 4th. Sanskrit and French are the most common third languages taught in Indian schools. At some places, primary education is labelled as the education of Class 3rd to Class 5th and up until class 2nd as pre-primary education. This is because many new concepts are introduced in this class. Children are taught painting instead of drawing and colouring, exams are taken, and word sums in maths are introduced along with geometry.

Philippines

In the Philippines, the Department of Education mandates that elementary school lasts for 6 years in the public school system starting with grade 1 and culminating with grade 6. After successful completion of the 6-year programme shall a student graduate, be awarded an elementary diploma and can move-on to a 4-year high school programme (most private schools will require an entrance examination). However most private schools (who usually call the elementary level as grade school), especially exclusive schools and those accredited to have a high degree of autonomy from the Department of Education usually extend their programmes to 7th grade and can also include levels such as nursery, kindergarten or preparatory (prep) as entry levels prior to 1st grade. Subjects usually taken-up include Communication Arts in English (some private schools break this down into Language and Reading) and Filipino, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies (taught in Filipino), Home Economics (HELE - for all-girls schools), Music, Art and Physical Education (which in some schools is collectively known as MAPE). Students in the 6th grade, whether studying in a public or private school are required to undergo a National (Elementary) Achievement Test (NAT) even if grade 6 isn't the terminal level in that school. The NAT is similar to certain schemes like Primary School Leaving Examination of Singapore (PSLE) except that that NAT score isn't used as a basis to admit students to a high school.

See also

• List of elementary and primary schools by country
• Educational stages
• Elementary Education Act 1870
• Environmental groups and resources serving K–12 schools
• Primary School

External links

• National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) (United States)
• Elementary Schools with Education and Crime Statistics (United States)

References