【美國教育簡述一】美國的教育結(jié)構(gòu)

發(fā)布時(shí)間：2013-11-08     來源：美國留學(xué)

【轉(zhuǎn)自美國駐華使館的官方博客】

 USA Education In Brief

簡述公立學(xué)校的發(fā)展史，從18世紀(jì)的“公學(xué)”(具有代表性的小紅學(xué)舍)到贈(zèng)地建校運(yùn)動(dòng)，一直到擴(kuò)大了全體美國公民受教育機(jī)會(huì)的《退伍軍人權(quán)利法》和民權(quán)運(yùn)動(dòng)。

A look at the development public schools, beginning with "common school," (the iconic little red schoolhouse) in the 18th century, through the Land-Grant university movement to the G.I. Bill of Rights and the civil rights movement, which expanded educational opportunity to all U.S. citizens.

前言

華盛頓州國際文憑項(xiàng)目(International Baccalaureate)的學(xué)生爭相回答一道科學(xué)問題

各國社會(huì)都必須努力解決有關(guān)其教育制度的性質(zhì)和宗旨的根本問題，而美國是第一個(gè)正視這些問題的民主國家。

美國人很早就明白，他們作為自由國民的未來有賴于他們自己的智慧和判斷力，而不是高高在上的統(tǒng)治者。正因?yàn)槿绱?，自建國以來，教育的質(zhì)量、模式和費(fèi)用始終是這個(gè)國家的核心重點(diǎn)考量。

從幼兒園到高級(jí)研究所，各種類型和規(guī)模的教育機(jī)構(gòu)遍布美國各地。大家都說公立學(xué)校是美國最為人熟知的政府機(jī)構(gòu)。無論是在貧困社區(qū)還是富裕社區(qū)，也不管是在市區(qū)還是鄉(xiāng)村，公立學(xué)校是全美最常見的機(jī)構(gòu)。

在一門職業(yè)技術(shù)課上，學(xué)生們正在學(xué)用液壓裝置。

從兩個(gè)世紀(jì)前創(chuàng)辦至今，美國的公立和私立學(xué)校都為界定美國的特性發(fā)揮了作用。 塑造美國國格的國家歷程都一一在課堂上再現(xiàn)： 種族問題及少數(shù)族裔所受的待遇、移民與城市發(fā)展、西進(jìn)擴(kuò)展與經(jīng)濟(jì)增長、個(gè)人自由與社區(qū)的性質(zhì)。

從19世紀(jì)初的“公學(xué)”(common school)運(yùn)動(dòng)到當(dāng)今圍繞學(xué)術(shù)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)與考試展開的各類爭論，關(guān)于教育宗旨和方法的根本問題在美國公共辯論中一直產(chǎn)生著巨大反響。

學(xué)校是應(yīng)該強(qiáng)調(diào)基礎(chǔ)技能——閱讀、寫作和數(shù)學(xué)，還是應(yīng)該提供文理和科學(xué)領(lǐng)域的廣泛教育? 學(xué)校如何在為所有人提供平等的教育機(jī)會(huì)的同時(shí)保持高水平的學(xué)術(shù)水準(zhǔn)? 學(xué)費(fèi)應(yīng)該由誰負(fù)擔(dān)，是父母還是公眾? 學(xué)校應(yīng)該側(cè)重于以就業(yè)為導(dǎo)向的實(shí)用技能，還是為所有學(xué)生提供順利完成大學(xué)學(xué)業(yè)所需的學(xué)術(shù)課程? 教師應(yīng)該如何向不同文化、種族和宗教背景的學(xué)生傳輸?shù)赖潞途穹矫娴膬r(jià)值觀? 應(yīng)該使用什么樣的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)來挑選被名牌高校錄取的中學(xué)生?

要回答這些問題并非易事，事實(shí)上，在美國歷史上的不同時(shí)期，美國的學(xué)校對(duì)這些問題的回答也極為不同。在今天，如同過去一樣，教育始終是一個(gè)引起激烈爭辯的、迅速變化的、具有持久價(jià)值的話題。

美國的教育結(jié)構(gòu)

2013.10.07

內(nèi)布拉斯加州(Nebraska)格蘭德島(Grand Island)一所中學(xué)的英語課堂

對(duì)于其他國家的人而言，美國的教育體系看似龐大多樣，甚至雜亂無章，這都是可以理解的。 然而，在這種錯(cuò)綜復(fù)雜之中，美國的教育反映了這個(gè)不斷變化的國家的歷史、文化和價(jià)值觀。 廣義而言，美國教育體系的特點(diǎn)是規(guī)模龐大、有組織的結(jié)構(gòu)、分權(quán)鮮明以及多樣化程度不斷提高。

規(guī)模

在美國，各類學(xué)校(公立或私立、小學(xué)或中學(xué)、州立大學(xué)或私立學(xué)院)比比皆是;美國一直都是全世界最龐大的全民教育體系的所在國之一。 根據(jù)全國教育統(tǒng)計(jì)中心(National Center for Education Statistics)的統(tǒng)計(jì)，在2005-2006學(xué)年，美國有超過7500萬兒童和成人在各類學(xué)校和大學(xué)注冊(cè)就讀， 還有680萬人被聘為教師，在從幼兒園到大學(xué)的各類學(xué)校執(zhí)教。

此外，超過100萬來自低收入家庭、通常為三至四歲的學(xué)齡前兒童參加了“啟智計(jì)劃”(Head Start)，該計(jì)劃旨在提供學(xué)習(xí)、社會(huì)發(fā)展和營養(yǎng)課程，以確保這些學(xué)齡前兒童在五六歲時(shí)能正常入學(xué)。

公立學(xué)校的入學(xué)人數(shù)在二戰(zhàn)后的“嬰兒潮”(baby boom，通常指1946到1964年出生的人)期間成指數(shù)倍增。 根據(jù)美國人口普查局(U.S. Census Bureau)的最新報(bào)告，入學(xué)人數(shù)在20世紀(jì)80年代有所下降之后再次有力地反彈，主要是由于西語裔人口的增加。

目前，美國教育體系由大約96,000所公立中小學(xué)以及4,200多所高等教育機(jī)構(gòu)組成，包括從小型的兩年制社區(qū)大學(xué)到本科和研究生人數(shù)超過30,000人的大型州立大學(xué)。

美國每年的教育總開支大約為8,780億美元。

K-12體制

美國大多數(shù)州要求16歲以下的人必須接受學(xué)校教育。 美國兒童通常5歲開始上小學(xué)，從學(xué)前班(K)開始，直到18歲完成中等學(xué)校(12年級(jí))學(xué)業(yè)。一般而言，小學(xué)是從學(xué)前班直到5年級(jí)或6年級(jí)，還有一些學(xué)校則一直到8年級(jí)。 中等學(xué)校——美國稱為高中——通常指9到12年級(jí)。

50年前，小學(xué)學(xué)生一般直接升入高中，或進(jìn)入初中就讀7-8年級(jí)或7-9年級(jí)。然而，在過去30年中，初中(junior high school)大部分已被包括6-8年級(jí)或與初中年級(jí)大體相同的中學(xué)(middle school)所取代。 據(jù)估計(jì)，美國目前大概有2,000萬從10到15歲的青少年在中學(xué)就讀。

正如明尼蘇達(dá)州(Minnesota)的馬克·齊巴思(Mark Ziebarth)校長所說，這兩種安排的不同之處在于“初中課程是面向較年少的學(xué)生、與傳統(tǒng)高中課程類似的設(shè)置。其課程安排與高中類似，劃分成不同科目。 而中學(xué)是為了滿足青少年的特殊需求而設(shè)置的一個(gè)平臺(tái)”。

中學(xué)教育的特點(diǎn)是小組教學(xué)和靈活的時(shí)段安排，而不是固定的45或50分鐘的課程。 這些學(xué)校也強(qiáng)調(diào)分小組、跨學(xué)科的課題探討方式以及能讓10-15歲孩子參與的專門項(xiàng)目。美國中學(xué)協(xié)會(huì)(National Middle School Association)指出，這些孩子“正在經(jīng)歷他們一生中最為迅速的智力和發(fā)育變化”。

為14到18歲學(xué)生提供種類廣泛的學(xué)術(shù)以及選修課程的當(dāng)代大型高中，到20世紀(jì)中葉已成為美國教育的一個(gè)固定環(huán)節(jié)。高中學(xué)生還能選擇參加眾多的社團(tuán)、活動(dòng)、體育運(yùn)動(dòng)、勤工儉學(xué)以及其他課外活動(dòng)。 根據(jù)所在年級(jí)和考試成績，學(xué)生可以學(xué)習(xí)高級(jí)學(xué)術(shù)課程或一般性課程及職業(yè)技術(shù)課程。

在20世紀(jì)大部分時(shí)期，高中被整合成更大的單位，以便向越來越多的學(xué)生提供更多的課程選擇。 農(nóng)村的鄉(xiāng)村學(xué)?；鞠В《氖欠植加诳h內(nèi)的各所高中。在城市中，人數(shù)多達(dá)5,000人的大型校園并不少見，不但有以升大學(xué)為導(dǎo)向的課程，還有職業(yè)技術(shù)課程，能吸引幾乎所有人前來就讀。

近些年，由于擔(dān)心這些大型學(xué)校的教育水準(zhǔn)，人們開始呼吁建立規(guī)模較小、學(xué)生和教師比例較低的學(xué)校。

密歇根州(Michigan)底特律(Detroit)的一所小學(xué)中的計(jì)算機(jī)房

長期以來，當(dāng)代美國高中在公眾文化中占有重要地位。熱播音樂劇《火爆浪子》(Grease)、電視劇集《快樂時(shí)光》(Happy Days)以及《黑板叢林》(Blackboard Jungle)等電影描述了20世紀(jì)50年代的學(xué)校里的光明與黑暗面。最近以高中為背景的熱播影視劇有《賤女孩》(Mean Girls)、《鴻孕當(dāng)頭》(Juno)、《校園風(fēng)云》(Election)和《歌舞青春》(High School Musical)等電影以及《貝弗利山 90210》(Beverly Hills 90210)和《救命下課鈴》(Saved by the Bell)等熱播電視劇集。

私立學(xué)校

私立學(xué)校在美國蓬勃發(fā)展，其中很多由教會(huì)和其他宗教機(jī)構(gòu)管理。在 2007-2008學(xué)年，大約有5,580萬學(xué)生進(jìn)入中小學(xué)就讀，其中約有600萬人(約合11%)進(jìn)入私立學(xué)校。

美國私立學(xué)校中過半數(shù)的學(xué)生就讀于天主教學(xué)校，這是美國最早的私立學(xué)校體系。 其他私立學(xué)校則反映了美國宗教的多樣性，涵蓋了幾乎所有主要的新教派別(Protestant denominations)、貴格派(Quaker)、伊斯蘭教(Islamic)、猶太教(Jewish)和希臘東正教(Greek Orthodox)。

美國最古老的私立學(xué)校是創(chuàng)辦于18世紀(jì)的精英寄宿學(xué)校。這些學(xué)校為美國培養(yǎng)了許多知識(shí)界和政治界領(lǐng)袖。

根據(jù)最新人口統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)據(jù)，另有110萬學(xué)生按照美國50個(gè)州分別訂立的指導(dǎo)方針在家中由父母教授學(xué)業(yè)。

地方管理

美國教育最顯著的特征或許是它的分權(quán)管理。 美國的學(xué)?；旧嫌芍菁暗胤截?fù)責(zé)，過去如此，現(xiàn)在仍然如此。與其他多數(shù)國家不同，美國沒有全國性的教育體系，只有少數(shù)例外，主要是軍事院校和印第安原住民學(xué)校。 聯(lián)邦政府既不審批也不管理全國性的教綱。

公立教育幾乎是美國每個(gè)城市和郡縣的最大一項(xiàng)支出，主體資金來自當(dāng)?shù)氐姆康禺a(chǎn)稅。 地方教育委員會(huì)多為選舉產(chǎn)生，負(fù)責(zé)管理美國近15,500個(gè)學(xué)區(qū)，從堪薩斯州(Kansas)和內(nèi)布拉斯加州的小型鄉(xiāng)村學(xué)校到每年讓100多萬名兒童受教育的紐約市教育體系，規(guī)模不一。

州教育委員會(huì)以及一名州督學(xué)或?qū)T負(fù)責(zé)管理當(dāng)?shù)氐膶W(xué)區(qū)、制定學(xué)生和教師標(biāo)準(zhǔn)、批準(zhǔn)課程教綱并經(jīng)常性地審核教科書的選定。然而，州的主要權(quán)力越來越集中在財(cái)政方面：大多數(shù)州目前都為學(xué)校提供大筆資金，以補(bǔ)充地方稅收的不足。

地方管理及資助公立學(xué)校帶來的一個(gè)結(jié)果是富裕和貧困學(xué)區(qū)之間的差異。近年來，在州法院和公眾倡導(dǎo)團(tuán)體的壓力下，許多州已經(jīng)采取措施來確保學(xué)區(qū)無論收入水平高低都能獲得更加均衡的經(jīng)費(fèi)。

聯(lián)邦政府提供研究與支持來確保公平的受教育機(jī)會(huì)和優(yōu)秀的教育質(zhì)量，并資助學(xué)生貸款項(xiàng)目及幫助來自低收入家庭的學(xué)生。盡管如此，教育的責(zé)任主要由州和地方承擔(dān)。 據(jù)美國教育部(Department of Education)統(tǒng)計(jì)，各級(jí)教育的年度支出大約有90%來自州、地方以及私人渠道。

多樣性

歷史上，美國學(xué)校經(jīng)歷了一波波移民潮;如今的美國學(xué)校和它們所服務(wù)的廣大社會(huì)一樣，在種族構(gòu)成上比以往更為多樣化。 20世紀(jì)早期，移民家庭的子女——大部分來自南歐和東歐——大批涌入美國東北部和中西部地區(qū)的公立學(xué)校。 如今，新移民繼續(xù)改變著學(xué)生人口的種族構(gòu)成，不過現(xiàn)在人數(shù)最多的是來自拉丁美洲和亞洲的學(xué)生。

非裔美國人在K-12年級(jí)學(xué)生中的比例約為17%，而拉美裔正在逐步成為公立學(xué)校中人數(shù)最多的單一少數(shù)族裔。在各地的學(xué)校中，尤其是在東海岸和西海岸地區(qū)，父母在國外出生的學(xué)生在家講的語言多達(dá)十幾種，從阿拉伯語到越南語不一而足，而且這種現(xiàn)象并不罕見。因此，英語作為第二外語的教學(xué)工作一直是美國教育最重要的職責(zé)之一。

盡管公立學(xué)校實(shí)行分權(quán)并具有多樣性，但在運(yùn)作方式上卻仍然極為統(tǒng)一。 如果一名學(xué)生從加利福尼亞州(California)轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)到賓夕法尼亞州(Pennsylvania)或佐治亞州(Georgia)，他無疑會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)不同州的學(xué)校之間的差異，但學(xué)科安排卻大同小異，盡管聯(lián)邦政府并未要求實(shí)行一套全國性的教綱。

Introduction: Education in Brief

Success of the educational system is fundamental to U.S. democracy

09 September 2008

International Baccalaureate students in Washington state respond to a science question.

(The following text is excerpted from the U.S. Department of State publication USA Education in Brief.)

All societies must wrestle with fundamental questions about the nature and purpose of their educational system, but the United States was the first nation to face these questions as a democracy.

Early on, Americans understood that their future as a free people rested upon their own wisdom and judgment, and not that of some distant ruler. For this reason, the quality, character, and costs of education have remained among the country’s central preoccupations since its founding.

Students experimenting with hydraulics in a vocational class.

Educational institutions of all types and sizes, from nursery schools to advanced research institutions, populate the American landscape. Public schools have been described as the nation’s most familiar government institutions. Whether communities are poor or affluent, urban or rural, public schools are a common denominator throughout the United States.

From their origins two centuries ago through today, America’s public and private schools have served to define the American identity. Every national experience shaping the American character has been played out in its classrooms: race and treatment of minorities, immigration and growth of cities, westward expansion and economic growth, individual freedom and the nature of community.

Fundamental questions about the purpose and methods of education have resonated in public debates in the United States from the “common school” movement of the early 19th century to debates over academic standards and testing today.

Should schools emphasize basic skills – reading, writing, and mathematics – or provide a broad education in the liberal arts and sciences? How can schools provide equal access to all yet maintain high academic standards? Who should pay for schools – parents or the public? Should schools focus on practical, job-oriented skills, or give all children the academic courses necessary to succeed in college? How should teachers impart moral and spiritual values to the children of different cultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds? What criteria should be used for selecting secondary school students for admission to prestigious colleges and universities?

The answers to these questions are not easy, and, in fact, schools in the United States have answered them in very different ways at different times in the nation’s history. Today, as in the past, education remains a topic of vigorous debate, rapid change, and enduring values.

Structure of U.S. Education

U.S. educational system understandably appears large and varied, even chaotic

09 September 2008

English language learners in a middle-school in Grand Island, Nebraska

(The following text is excerpted from the U.S. Department of State publication USA Education in Brief.)

For someone from another country, the U.S. educational system understandably appears large and varied, even chaotic. Within this complexity, however, American education reflects the history, culture, and values of the changing country itself. From a broad perspective, the American educational system can be characterized by its large size, organizational structure, marked decentralization, and increasing diversity.

Size

Schools in the United States – public and private, elementary and secondary, state universities and private colleges – can be found everywhere, and the United States continues to operate one of the largest universal education systems in the world. More than 75 million children and adults were enrolled in U.S. schools and colleges in the 2005-2006 academic year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Another 6.8 million were employed as teachers, teaching kindergarten through college.

In addition, more than a million preschool children from low-income families, usually ages three and four, attend Head Start programs designed to provide learning, social development, and nutrition programs to ensure that these preschoolers will be ready for school at age five or six.

Public school enrollments grew exponentially during the post-World War II “baby boom” generation (usually defined as those born from 1946 to 1964). After a drop-off in the 1980s, enrollments have rebounded strongly, largely as a result of growing Hispanic populations, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau reports.

The U.S. educational system today comprises almost 96,000 public elementary and secondary schools, plus more than 4,200 institutions of higher learning, ranging from small, two-year community colleges to massive state universities with undergraduate and graduate programs in excess of 30,000 students.

The nation’s total expenditures for education stand at approximately $878 billion a year.

K-12 Organization

School attendance is compulsory for students through age 16 in most states. Children generally begin elementary school with kindergarten (K) at age five and continue through secondary school (grade 12) to age 18. Typically, the elementary school years include kindergarten through grades five or six, and at some schools through grade eight. Secondary schools – known as high schools in the United States – generally include grades nine through 12.

Fifty years ago, elementary school students typically moved immediately to high school, or they attended junior high school for grades seven and eight or grades seven, eight, and nine. During the past 30 years, however, junior high schools have been largely replaced with middle schools configured for grades six through eight, or roughly for the same grades as junior high. Estimates are that 20 million young people, ages 10 to 15, attend middle schools today.

As Minnesota principal Mark Ziebarth described the difference between the two approaches, “A junior high school program is designed to mirror a traditional high school program for students at a younger age. It has a similar schedule to the high school and classes are arranged by departments. Middle schools are designed to provide a forum to meet the special needs of adolescents.”

Team teaching and flexible block scheduling, rather than set 45- or 50-minute classes, are characteristic of middle schools. These schools also place emphasis on small groups, on an interdisciplinary approach to subject matter, and on special projects that can engage 10- to 15-year-olds, who, says the National Middle School Association, “are undergoing the most rapid intellectual and developmental changes of their lives.”

The large contemporary high school, offering a broad menu of academic and elective courses for students ages 14 to 18, became a fixture in American education by the mid-20th century. High school students also can choose from a host of clubs, activities, athletics, work-study arrangements, and other extracurricular activities. Based on grades and tests, students can take advanced academic courses or more general or vocational classwork.

Through most of the 20th century, high schools were consolidated into larger units to offer wider class choices to more and more students. The rural country school almost disappeared, replaced by countywide high schools. In cities, it was not uncommon for large school campuses to hold as many as 5,000 students with both college-oriented and vocational courses that could appeal to just about everyone.

Working in the computer labs in a Detroit, Michigan, elementary school

More recently, concerns over the caliber of education in such large schools has led to a call for the establishment of smaller schools with lower student-teacher ratios.

The contemporary American high school has long loomed large in the public culture. The popular musical Grease, the television series Happy Days, and movies like Blackboard Jungle depicted the light and dark sides of schools in the 1950s. Recent popular entertainments with high school settings range from films like Mean Girls, Juno, Election, and High School Musical to such hit TV shows as Beverly Hills 90210 and Saved by the Bell.

Private Schools

Private schools flourish in the United States; many of these schools are run by churches and other religious organizations. Of the estimated 55.8 million children attending elementary and secondary schools during the 2007-2008 academic year, about 6 million, or 11 percent, were enrolled in private schools.

More than half of the nation’s private school students attend Catholic schools, the nation’s oldest private school system. Other private schools reflect America’s religious diversity, encompassing nearly all major Protestant denominations and the Quaker, Islamic, Jewish, and Greek Orthodox faiths.

The country’s oldest private schools, however, are elite boarding schools, founded in the 18th century, which have had a record of educating many of the country’s intellectual and political leaders.

Another 1.1 million students are home-schooled by their parents under guidelines established by each of the 50 states, according to recent census figures.

Local Control

Perhaps the most remarkable characteristic of American education is its decentralization. Schools in the United States have been, and remain, overwhelmingly a state and local responsibility. Unlike most other nations, the United States does not operate a national education system – with only a few exceptions, notably the nation’s military academies and Native American schools. Neither does the federal government approve nor administer a national curriculum.

Public education constitutes the single largest expenditure for almost every U.S. city and county, which receive the bulk of their funding from local property taxes. Local boards of education, most of which are elected, administer the nation’s nearly 15,500 school districts, ranging from small rural schools in states like Kansas and Nebraska to the New York City system, which educates more than a million children annually.

State boards of education, along with a state superintendent or commissioner, oversee local education districts, set student and teacher standards, approve the classroom curriculum, and often review textbook selections. The state’s chief power, however, is increasingly financial: Most states now provide substantial aid to schools to supplement local tax revenues.

One consequence of local control and financing of public schools has been disparities between affluent and poor school districts. In recent years, under pressure from state courts and public advocacy groups, many states have taken steps to ensure more equitable funding of school districts regardless of income levels.

The federal government provides research and support to ensure equal access and excellence in education, along with funding student loan programs and assistance to lower- income students. Nevertheless, responsibility for education remains primarily a state and local enterprise. According to the U.S. Department of Education, about 90 percent of the annual expenditures for education at all levels comes from state, local, and private sources.

Diversity

Schools in the United States have experienced waves of immigration throughout their history, and today American schools, like the larger society they serve, are more ethnically diverse than ever. In the early 20th century, children of immigrant families – most from southern and eastern Europe – flooded public school systems in the Northeast and Midwest. Today new immigrants continue to change the ethnic composition of student populations, although the largest numbers now come from Latin America and Asia.

African Americans constitute about 17 percent of the K-12 student population; Hispanics, however, are becoming the largest single minority group in public schools. It is not uncommon to find schools, especially along the East and West Coasts, where more than a dozen different languages, from Arabic to Vietnamese, are spoken at home by students of foreign-born parents. As a result, the teaching of English as a second language remains one of education’s most important responsibilities.

Despite their decentralization and diversity, public schools remain remarkably cohesive in the ways they are run. A student transferring from a school in California to one in Pennsylvania or Georgia will find differences no doubt, but the mix of academic subjects will be largely familiar, despite the fact that the federal government does not mandate a national curriculum.

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