Chicerman Rebeca

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UK and USA Education System

Education is one of the main concern of a country. It is the only key which leads to the future and
assure its prosperity. This is why a country always tries to provide the best opportunities for its people in
order that they can study, develop and later be helpful to the society.
The goal of this essay is to compare the educational system in the UK and USA by illustrating similarities
and differences in the education program between them.
The structure of the educational system vary from place to place. Even though the United States and United
Kingdom share a common Anglo-Saxon derived culture, their ideals and practice within each education
system differ vastly.
Firstly, it is important to mention the differences between the two countries` education system
because this is the best way to understand its specific peculiarities in each of them.
One significant difference between UK and US education is that in the UK most schools are much
more lecture-based, with only occasional tests during the semester. In some cases, the entire grade may be
based on one final exam. Homework is rarely assigned, and the final exam is worth 80% of the final grade.
In the US, the grade is based on your performance on the variety of assignments, with a final exam making
up only a percentage of your total grade. Homework makes up a large portion of the grade, and final exams
are worth 30% .
So, the British are much more relaxed, in that they lecture, and expect each student to be ready for the final at
the end of the year, while assigning little or no homework.
The cost of education also differs. It is very high in both countries, but in comparison with the UK, in
the United States it is generally higher.
University costs are relatively high for students in the US, while in the UK the price of attending university is
relatively small.
College in the UK begins at the age of 16 , where students choose their field of study for university at
16, but students in the US begins college at the age of 18 and they can either choose their field of study or
they can stop school and try to find work.
In the United Kingdom a masters is usually required in order to become a professional. It takes 2 years of
study. But a bachelors degree which consists of 4 years of study will often allow a student to obtain a wellpaying occupation in the United States of America. A college does not give a degree, but a university gives in
the UK. In the USA, on the contrary all: school, college and university offer a degree.
Even if there are so many contrasts in the two country`s system of education, there are also some
common features in its functioning. There are some similarities regarding the educational levels in the UK

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and the USA which consist of 4 layers: the four stages to the education system in the UK are Primary School,
Secondary School, Further Education and Higher Education.
The four levels of education in the USA are: Primary School, Secondary School, Undergraduate school and
Graduate school.

In the UK as in the USA there are independent or free public schools but also private schools, which
parents have to pay a great amount of money to send their children to. Teachers at private schools do not
have to follow the National Curriculum.
The academic term in both countries is nearly the same. Academic Year begins in September and
finishes in June in the US and in July in the UK. It consists of 3 terms in both countries, but there are some
universities in the UK which divide their academic year into 6 terms. Both countries provide quality higher
education and the competition for place is great.
As a conclusion I can say that while both countries furnish a great education, each system approaches
education differently. The education systems in each country have similarities and differences. The
differences between the two systems are evident. However, it can be concluded that the education system of
both the countries is efficient because both provide an excellent environment for learning and both share a
quality higher education, promoting intellectualism.