Living in the USA? What are your 14-19 year olds doing

[Cat1nthehat]

At school I mean. It looks like they can do the international baccalaureate but only for the last 2 years of high school- what do they spend the first 2 years of high school doing? Is there no equivalent to GCSEs?

We’ve been here for 13 years so both my girls have only ever gone to school out here. Seeing as we are here permanently, my 14 (nearly 15) year old is a freshman in high school. In our town high school starts in 8th grade so this is her second year and she managed to get one math credit before freshman year. Now she has a tentative pathway of classes across the next 4 years that will allow her to graduate as a senior, but also she’s adding in some AP classes. Our local high school is large and there is masses of choice for most kids and their interests!
Interestingly, my daughter got chosen in the lottery for our local charter high school which teaches the IB and she chose not to go there. The main reason was the lack of electives and because it’s a much smaller school the sports aren’t as comprehensive.

I meant to add - high school is 4 years and it generally takes all 4 years to earn enough credits to graduate. There is no such thing as GCSEs at 16. Because my husband and I are both Brits we arranged to go in for a meeting last year with my daughter’s guidance counselor- she basically gave us a ‘high school 101’ guide and talked us through all the jargon (AP courses, GPA, SATs)
We feel much more confident now about her choices and keeping track of her grades, credits etc!

My kids followed the US system but had absolutely no problems getting into university in the UK

There's no equivalent of GCSE. you accumulate credits in the required categories for 4 years. Courses are designed and set locally though there are usually state tests to ensure a minimum standard.

The IB is an option and is looked on favourably for British and European universities but you can get in with AP courses also. You do these as individual courses and in some cases can do them before grade 11.

For grades 9 and 10 you take a fairly broad academic programme with options and usually different tracks (difficulty levels) for each subject. My 9th grader is taking Algebra II, English 9, Spanish III, AP European History, Biology (meets for 15 lessons over 2 weeks, instead of 10) and Studio Art plus PE/health. Sciences tend to be done one at a time instead of an integrated course.

Also, high schools here can be very largeour local one has over 600 students per year. This does mean they're able to offer a lot of course choices and electivesIB is an option here too but she hasn't decided if she wants to do it or not as it's more rigid.

Taking a variety of courses to fulfill graduation and college admissions requirements.

Um, as I recall, over 4 years DD1 did...

Math every year - did stuff like Algebra and Geometry, then took AP Calc BC halfway through junior year, also did stuff like differential equations, number theory, multivariable calc, group theory, complex analysis, linear algebra.

Spanish every year.

Physical science in first year

Honors Composition & Research in first year

AP Physics C

AP Bio

Honors Chemistry

AP US History

Web development

Robotics

AP English Language & Composition

Early British Lit

Senior Tutorial in Lit (taught in seminar form by a teacher living 500 miles away)

US Gov

Sociology

Anthropology

I'm sure there were others too.

Instead of group PE lessons they did individual fitness, plus she played a few team sports and boxed.

She played in band, sang in chorus, and ran the acapella group. She was on the math team and organised Spirit Week. She sat on student Senate, and was on a committee to reorganise the curriculum in her final year.

She then took her SAT, plus three SAT subject tests - Math, English and Physics.

Thank you. So if my child potentially wanted to go to UK university, they could apply using their qualifications from USA?
What if we only stayed 2 years (which would be equivalent of GCSE years) then returned to the UK, would they only get half a high school diploma or nothing? I’m guessing staying half of high school would be awful in terms of achieving qualifications.
Also, if i have a child who was due to start high school but it would be their first year in a USA school, is it worth keeping them behind a grade to get used to the education system then starting high school a year late?

I was chatting to a friend here (US) the other day whose daughter wants to go to a UK university. She's focusing on taking AP courses rather than non-AP courses. UK colleges seem to look deeply at 'measurable' results like APs and SATs, whereas US colleges look more at the rounded person.

Personally I would not try to move a child from one system to another during high school years. They're just too different.

If you had a child moving from the UK to the US at 14 (going into freshman year of high school) I think they would be fine, and wouldn't need to be held back a year. I wouldn't move them any later if you can help it.

I have a friend here (American) whose daughter graduated from a regular high school here and has just flown to Edinburgh to go to the university there. She pays overseas fees but it’s still equivalent to paying for a good state university in the US! She had no problems getting in with a regular high school diploma. A few kids every year go to University overseas with no problems. That’s having completed 4 years of high school here though.

Our dc are younger but in a British school to avoid changing systems which we did once in primary school and found a nightmare.
We agreed not to do it again.
Having school fees for a British school is part of our non negotiable package.
But you need to be in a big enough city to have access to one.

Several kids from my local high school went to St Andrews and Edinburgh this year and for the last few years.

Students have gone to German universities this year too. Two are in the Universität der Künste Berlin, but I don't recall where the other two went.

There is no major exam akin to GCSEs, but US students operate in a system where their grade point average will be used by universities to sift and sort them when they apply. Assessing the GPA begins with your first assignment in your first week of high school. It takes an incredible amount of consistent slog to get a perfect GPA (4.0). Some school weight honors and AL coursework so a student could end up with a GPA somewhere between 4.0 and 5.

My DCs spent their time juggling sports practices and meets, participation in school musicals, and about 4-5 hours of homework and studying nightly.

On top of the GPA and the consistent work that securing a decent one entails there is a raft of standardised tests that US students take. There is the PSAT, NMSQT, SAT, ACT, and SAT subject tests along with AP coursework and exams. All of these are administered on a nationwide basis, so you can really see where you stand when you get your results. Excellent results in these are necessary for admission to selective US universities.

It might be difficult for a UK student to get the hang of the format of most of these tests with the exception of AP exams. Some measure thinking and reading comprehension skills while some measure sunbect knowledge. A UK student would need to go to prep courses to get up to speed on strategy.

What if we only stayed 2 years (which would be equivalent of GCSE years) then returned to the UK, would they only get half a high school diploma or nothing?
Your student's courses and coursework from their UK school would be assessed and grades would be translated into US equivalents.
Most high schools and all states have graduation requirements that must be met if a student is to graduate. These are bare minimum standards, not something all students aspire to. Examples are Driver's Ed, two semesters of swimming, four semesters of humanities, six semesters of English, six semesters of math, two semesters of science, two semesters of consumer ed, and so on.
It's entirely possible for a UK student to graduate from a US high school with a cobbled together academic record. Chances of getting into a good university would depend on caliber of courses taken in the US. Honours level and AP coursework plus SAT subject tests, and good grades in these classes/exams would be necessary.
Most US universities require much more than the minimum. To have a shot at getting into a highly selective university in the US a student would need a GPA higher than 4.0, and then there are the extra curricular expectations.

AL coursework should read 'AP coursework'.

Mathanxiety is spot on - it’s a complex path navigating high school- that’s why me and my husband had a ‘high school 101 meeting’ with my daughter’s guidance counselor!!

A friend’s son moved to the UK at 14, did 3 years there in an IB program, moved back to the US at 17 and did a final year in an IB program. Moved back to the UK for university. He had no issues gaining entrance to the UK university. If you anticipate moving back and forth during this years, doing an IB program may make the transition easier.