the US Education System?

Education in the United States of

 America is provided in public, private, and

  home schools. State governments set overall

 educational standards, often mandate

  standardized tests for K–12 public school

 systems and supervise, usually through a

 board of regents, state colleges, and

 universities. The bulk of the $1.3 trillion in

 funding comes from state and local

governments, with federal funding accounting

 for only about $200 billion.

Private schools are generally free to determine

 their own curriculum and staffing policies,

 with voluntary accreditation available through

 independent regional accreditation

 authorities, although some state regulation

 can apply.

In 2013, about 87% of school-age children

 (those below higher education) attended

 state funded public schools,

about 10% attended tuition- and foundation-

funded private schools,

and roughly 3% were home-schooled...

By state law, education is compulsory over an

 age range starting between five and eight and

 ending somewhere between ages sixteen and

 eighteen, depending on the state.

This requirement can be satisfied in public

 schools, state-certified private schools, or an

 approved home school program.

In most schools, compulsory education is

 divided into three

levels: elementary school, middle or junior

 high school, and high school.

Children are usually divided by age

groups into grades, ranging from kindergarten

(5 to 6-year-olds) and first grade (6 to 7-year-

olds) for the youngest children, up to twelfth

 grade (17 to 18-year-olds) as the final year of

  high school.

There is also a large number and wide variety

 of publicly and privately administered colleges

 and universities throughout the country.

Post-secondary education is divided into

  college,

as the first tertiary degree, and graduate

 school.

Higher education includes extremely wealthy

 and selective universities, public research

 universities, private liberal arts colleges,

historically black colleges and universities,

 community colleges, for-profit colleges, and

 many other kinds and combinations of

 institutions.

College enrollment rates in the United States

 have increased over the long term.

At the same time, student loan debt has also

 risen to $1.5 trillion.

According to a 2016 report published by the

  U.S. News & World Report, of the top ten

 colleges and universities in the world, eight

 are American (the other two are Oxford and

  Cambridge, in the United Kingdom).

The United States spends more per student on

 education than any other country.

In 2014, the Pearson/Economist Intelligence

 Unit rated U.S. education as 14th best in the

 world.

The Programme for International Student

 Assessment coordinated by the OECD

 currently ranks the overall knowledge and

 skills of American 15-year-olds as 31st in the

 world in reading literacy, mathematics, and

 science

with the average American student scoring

 487.7, compared with the OECD average of

 493.

In 2014, the country spent 6.2 percent of its

 GDP on all levels of education –

1.0 percentage points above the OECD

 average of 5.2 percent. In 2017,

46.4 percent of Americans aged 25 to 64

 attained some form of post-secondary

 education.

48 percent of Americans aged 25 to 34

 attained some form of tertiary education,

 about 4 percent above the OECD average of

 44 percent. 35 percent of Americans aged 25

 and over have achieved a bachelor's degree

 or higher.

The United States ranks 3rd from the bottom

 among OECD nations in terms of its poverty

 gap,

and 4th from the bottom in terms of poverty

 rate....