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Grade level
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A grade level is a numerical designation of the level or year a student has reached in school. The system is only used in some countries and the levels vary with country and age.
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In Australia students undergo twelve years of formal education plus kindergarten and/or a "preparatory grade" or "Prep", usually starting at ages 4-5 and finishing at ages 17-18. The Years are numbered from 1 to 12. Primary school is typically Prep followed by Years 1-6, and secondary school Years 7-12.
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. "3rd 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.
At the secondary school level, grades 9–12 are also known as freshman (or "first-year"), sophomore, junior, and senior. At the post-secondary level (college or university), these terms are used almost exclusively to refer to what would otherwise be grades 13–16.
These tables outlines the ages, in years, of each grade level. However, students are sometimes older because of grade retention.
Elementary school: (sometimes includes 6th grade)
Grade - Age
| Kindergarten | 5-6 |
| First grade | 6-7 |
| Second grade | 7-8 |
| Third grade | 8-9 |
| Fourth grade | 9-10 |
| Fifth grade | 10-11 |
Middle school: (sometimes includes 5th grade)
| Sixth grade | 11-12 |
| Seventh grade | 12-13 |
| Eighth grade | 13-14 |
High school:
| Ninth grade, Freshman | 14-15 |
| Tenth grade, Sophomore | 15-16 |
| Eleventh Grade, Junior | 16-17 |
| Twelfth Grade, Senior | 17-18 |
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.
There are 9 compulsory years of education in the PRC, Primary (小学) 1-6 and Elementary Middle (初中) 1-3. There is an optional 3 extra years of Upper Middle (高中) 1-3 which may be followed by study at university.
The Hong Kong system is based on the United Kingdom system, with at optional year at kindergarten, 6 years of Primary school (小學) and 7 years of Secondary school (中學), followed by 3 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 4 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.
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.
Main article: Education in the United Kingdom
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, education is divided into two stages: primary education and secondary education. Children begin school either in the school year or school term in which they reach their fifth birthday. The first year of schooling is known as Reception (or YR). Children move up each year to a new class. The system of grade levels is not used in the UK. Instead, a numerical system of school years is used from Year 1 through to year 13. Primary schools educate children from Reception through to Year 6. Primary schools are often subdivided into infant schools (Reception to Year 2 - ages 4 to 7) and junior schools (Years 3 to 6 - ages 7 to 11). Secondary education takes place in secondary schools and covers Years 7 to year 13 (ages 11 to 18), with compulsory education ending at the age of 16 (Year 11). Sixth Form education, or Years 12 and 13, 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. Required assessment within the National Curriculum takes place in years 2, 6, 9 and 11. School education is generally followed by three or four years at university by those who decide to stay in education. 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).