Do you like your system?

@KobaniDaughters I did say (not in my op, but later) that I did not know for sure how it would work in very large cities. I didnt bring up Charter Schools (we do have them here, anyone can apply and they are picked by lottery). I had not even thought about Magnet schools. I have heard about them but will confess I have no idea how they work. The LA system sounds horrible.
I work in a Middle School and its very different to what you have described. Our kids have 7 classes a day. Math, Reading, Writing, Science and Social Studies. The other two classes are what we call UA (Unified Arts). For 8th Graders that can be a Full Year of Spanish or French (that earns you a credit at the high school). Any grade can also choose a Full Year of Band or Chorus (or a mix of Band and Chorus). Everyone has to take Health too (for one trimester, before they leave Middle School, usually taken in 7th Grade). We do Trimesters so other then the Full Year choices the UA classes change 3 times a year. We have PE, Tech Ed, FACS, Computers, Art, General Music (not band/chorus), 8th grade can also choose Guitar or Keyboarding lessons. Your system sounds awful. Middle School is when kids should be "testing their wings" giving everything a try before they head off to High School. I did say that America was huge and that I was sure things were not the same everywhere. It certainly seems things can be very, very different in even the most basic ways.

Here there are several different things you need to include in your application so they get a "bigger picture" of your abilities. It's not just one test (the SATS or ACT) or just the school work you did (GPA), its all of that. Plus Letters of Recommendation and the answers you give in your Essay questions. They also want to know about your extra curricular activities. My middle son was in National Honor Society (a group for well rounded high achieving high school students), this was a big plus for him. They want to know about what clubs and sports you belong to. What Community Service you do. They are generally looking for well rounded students. But every college/university is different of course. Some are much, much harder to get into. Others are really easy to get into. Most fall somewhere between the two.

@lljkk where did you grow up? Other then New York City which has this "apply for Middle School" set up I've never heard of other places that do this. But again, like I said previously, America is HUGE so I only know about the places I know. Very large cities may do things differently then smaller cities and towns. Are you talking about Charter Schools? I did not include them in my discussion because I did not want to make things too complicated with all the possible differences there are. I dont doubt your experience (especially if you are from a large city) just curious where you had to apply to get into a public school. Was this for all schooling (Elementary, Middle and High)? Or were you in an area that implemented busing? That was a big thing in some areas in the 70s and 80s. Not sure if busing is still going on these days.

@BendingSpoons I can only speak for my area of course. If you move out of your schools district you have to change school. Especially if you move to a new town/city. Sometimes if you move within a town/city and your new address is allocated a different school they may let you stay at your original school. But if you leave the School District (which is usually one town/city or a few smaller towns joined together) you need to change school. Like I said that is how it works in my area. America is huge and depending where you are they may have different rules on moving out of the school area.

@zolla like everything in life it benefits the richer families in general. But not always. The town I live in has one High School. Everyone in town goes to it. It's actually a Private School, but the town pays the tuition to send all the kids there instead of funding their own High School. So the poorer families in town do get the same excellent education as the richer families. That being said, while there are lower income families here its not a large amount of them because it is mostly more expensive to live here. Also this set up is pretty unusual. Most places just fund their own schools, so richer towns have better funded schools then poorer towns. Cities can be different though too, I work in a city and it has 2 high schools. Both are equally funded and are very good schools. They split the city so that each school has kids from richer, average and poorer parts of the city. In that case money doesnt matter (unless you send your child Private of course), they all get the same level of education in the whole city. One thing I did hear about in regards to the High School in my town (the private one that 6 towns pay the tuition to go to), there are families that live in other towns (outside those 6) that will rent a small flat near the school so they can send their child there without paying the tuition. I honestly have no idea what the tuition is to go there (I suppose I could look it up) but I would think that it would be less then 4 years of rent but maybe not. But to be able to have a home in another town, and rent a flat in our town you have to obviously be a "richer family". I will add I think as long as they are paying the rent on the place they dont even have to prove they actually LIVE there to be able to register for the school. I dont think this happens a lot, but I've certainly heard about it happening. So, money does not always make a difference (like in the city I work in), but of course in general it does if a place does not split the kids equally among rich, average and lower incomes. But in smaller places it makes a huge difference. Rich town, better schools. Poor town, most likely not as good schools (dont want to say that is true for ALL poorer places, there are always exceptions of course). Looking back this is very rambling response but hope you understand what I'm getting at lol

@GiantSpider I can only speak on the area I am in on that topic. Part of it would depend on where you live. If you live in a small town with only one Elementary, Middle and/or High School and your child is being bullied you really dont have a choice unless you find a Private School, Home School or go VLACS (online school). If your child is being bullied though I would hope the school would deal with this situation, but I realize that is not always going to happen sadly. If you are in a bigger town/city that has more then one Elementary, Middle and/or High School you probably have more options. I work in a Middle School (grade 6-8, same as Year 7-9) , it is one of 3 Middle Schools in the city. We have some kids there on what we call "waiver". They live in the area of another Middle School but received permission to attend ours instead. All Elementary and Middle schools in the city have kids there on "waivers" (for lots of different reasons, not just bullying). Not everyone who applies for a waiver will get one, but if you have a very good reason it is usually given. Now the city has two High Schools (grade 9-12, same as Year 10-13) but waivers are not allowed at that level, so I guess you would move, go Private, homeschool or VLACS if being bullied and it not being dealt with. I live in a town that is smaller then the city I work in. My town has 2 Middle Schools but I really have no idea if they allow waivers (my son had no issues in his school so I never had to look into it). The town only has one High School though. And the school takes in kids from 6 different towns. It's a bit different then your average American High School though in that its actually a Private School. The 6 towns that send their kids there pay the tuition for their kids to go there instead of having their own High School (it also has kids there from other towns outside those 6 whose parents pay the tuition for them to go there). Being that it's a Private School it is a lot stricter then your average Public High School and is able to kick out kids who are behaving really badly (Public schools can not do that so easily here). I'm not going to pretend there is no bullying there, of course there is like everywhere but it just feels like it is dealt with better there.

@RancidOldHag they are usually in the Fall (that is when Football Season starts). High Schools do them and I'm pretty sure it's a thing for Colleges and Universities too (or at least some of them). I think the College/University ones are more about the big Football Game (dont think they have dances, but I could be wrong) and probably a bigger deal for Alumni returning. I only really know about High School ones though. The Homecoming King, Queen and Court is basically "a popularity contest". The kids vote for who they want to win. So King and Queen are usually the most popular boy and girl at school and the Court are the runner ups. What do they do? Well, they wear a sash and a crown and know they are very popular LOL. Some places have a parade for Homecoming and they would ride a float and wave at people. It's all pretty silly really but its American Tradition at its finest LOL

@RancidOldHag Homecoming usually encompasses a big Football Game, Voting in Homecoming King, Queen and Court, a Dance. It is called "homecoming" because like mentioned by @TeenPlusCat Alumni of the school (former students) come back "home" to watch the game. So its like a big reunion. But how big of a deal it is depends a lot on where you are. I'm in the Northeast of the country and its not as huge a thing here as it is in South. We still have the football game, the "royal court", the dance; but I'm not sure how popular it is for former students to return. I've never actually gone to one of my High Schools homecomings after I left. My oldest son did go to one of his but that is because he was in the Marching Band (who play in the stands during the game and then perform on the field at half time) and he wanted to visit other band members who were still in school.

@TeenPlusCat

SATS or ACT (some places do one or the other and some do both) most Colleges (which is the same as a University, just smaller but not "less prestigious") and Universities want you to include your SAT or ACT score in your application. It is a multiple choice test on Maths and English (not sure if ACT has more subjects, my area of the country does SATs). That is not the only thing they go by though. You need to submit your transcript of your grades while in High School. You answer an Essay question(s) on the application. You get Letters of Recommendation from teachers. Obviously there are schools that are much harder to get into then others. I dont think all schools in America follow the same curriculum, but assume there are obviously similarities (especially when it comes to Maths). As for special tests for Law and Medicine I'm not sure for Pre-Law and Pre-Med but once you get through the first 4 years of that I'm sure there are tests to get into Law School and Med School.

Community Colleges
These are 2 year schools (regular college and university is 4 years). You get what is called an Associates Degree when you graduate from these. They are easier to get into and much cheaper (some states if you are a resident of that state for a certain amount of time prior you can go for free). Community Colleges also tend to have a lot of "older students", people who have decided to go back to school. Some use it as a stepping stone to a 4 Year College (get the first two years, then transfer) some just stop with the Associates Degree.

Homecoming
A lot of this depends where you are. They tend to be a much bigger deal in the Southern States (where football is also a much bigger deal). But yes Alumni (former students) coming to the Homecoming Football Game is a thing. There is also usually Homecoming Dance. I dont know of Alumni going to that, that is usually just for current students and their dates.

Lockers: I would assume all schools have lockers. As for the wide spacious hallways it depends on the school. Of course for "filming purposes" they would need to be wide and spacious

Pass PE: I dont know the requirements of all States but the ones I do the answer is Yes. But the amount changes by State

Sports: HUGE emphasis on Sports (especially American Football)

Letter Jackets: Definitely a real thing

Homecoming: Yes, it's usually tied into a big Football game where you play your biggest rival and they do elect "Kings, Queens and Court"

So I guess the answer is Yes you have pretty much summed up American High School Life