Texas - State Curriculum
Public education is provided by the government and paid for by tax money.
Public schools are run by the government and available to everyone. The federal government can give goals and guidelines, but the authority for the structure and content of the public school lies with the state and local governments.
Public education is expected to include basic training in reading, writing and mathematics, as well as a basic knowledge of the sciences, history, literature and languages.
Fine arts and sports are included as part of their program, if the school district can afford them.
Policies may differ from state to state slightly; generally most states require twelve years of public school education. This begins in elementary school (grades 1 to 5), through middle (grades 6 to 8) and on to high school (grades 9 to 12). A student may choose to leave school at sixteen years of age.
At completion of high school, students receive a “diploma” at a graduation ceremony.
Each State establishes standard quality indicators which tends to drive teaching and activities in schools. However, beyond this, local districts have a free reign in the expansion of school programs.
Following public school, there are three basic options for further training:
Technical school - to learn a useful trade or skill, i.e. nursing, auto-mechanics, carpentry, art, computing, beautician etc.
Military school - again, the ability to learn a trade and possibly gain eligibility for financial assistance, for entering university whilst still fulfilling the commitment to the Forces (Army, Navy, Air Forces, Marines, National Guard or Coast Guard)
University/College - The terms are used interchangeably in the USA. However, technically, a “college” is more limited in scope than a “university”. Entry into university is governed by the meeting of the academic requirements of the chosen establishment, i.e. high school grades and course work, as well as passing an examination such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or the ACT(a national college admissions examination that consists of subject area tests in English, Mathematics, Reading, Science whose results are accepted by all four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. ) which is taken at the beginning of their final year of High School.
Completion of an average university course of study requires four to five years, after which students are awarded a Bachelor's Degree.
More specialized forms of study awaits student who, after completing their bachelor degree enter graduate schools: one to three years to get a Master's degree and a total of about five years to get a PH.D.
