education US vs UK

[Hotchocolatemonster]

For those of you whose DC have experienced both countries' schools, what do you think?

We are in CA now but not very long. We live in a 10 score school district and one of the best in the state. I have one in elementary and one just finished middle school entering high school.

I have to say the depth and width offered at elementary and middle school are worse here compared to the same age in the U.K.

High school seems suddenly get busier and lots of activities but we just started and have to watch.

School facilities are better here.
Class size are similar, but from high school it's much bigger here in CA (2500 students for one high school!, some class have 40 kids)

Overall, my feeling is the quality in good schools in UK are better, only lacking on the choices of school based activities and teams.

What's everyone's experiences?

Really much too much variation to say consistently IMO. Here (Maryland) our class sizes are smaller but schools are larger. There can be 5 or 6 classes per year in elementary (primary) school which takes some getting used to. I understand from friends that California is known for having larger classes.

I think there is less variation in UK because of National Curriculum and GCSE/A-Levels. The variation between the schools where we live and the schools in Baltimore city is shockingbut the best state schools in Baltimore are actually very good. There are parts of the country where I would never want to send my children to school, and then there are the schools in the wealthy NYC suburbs that spend over $30K per child. The other thing is you mention "good" schools in UKneed to compare like with like IMO.

Younger grades seem to have similar issues in both countries with pushing literacy and numeracy over other subjects. My oldest is starting 10th grade and I'm mixedI think the better UK courses are better in their subject but the flexibility of the US system is better for students who don't have well defined interests. Both countries seem to do a cr@p job at foreign languages. The larger US schools also seem to offer more elective subjects that can be done without needing to commit to a full GCSE or A-Level course to round things outso my DC was able to do different half year Art courses. Some of the differences are neither universally bad nor universally good, they are just different, like the emphasis US schools have on activities, sports, etc. Several high schools in my area offer the IB diploma programme which isn't ideal for everyone, but certainly ensures you meet a certain standard. (The teachers are divided on AP versus IB; some teachers think Advanced Placement courses, which are about A-Level standard, focus too much on cramming in information and not enough on critical thinking. But they do offer more depth and sometimes extra subjects.)

Big difference--no RE, no prayers, and in the Northeast they are quite serious about keeping things secular. This I like. (There are some lessons about world religions during the World History units.) And of course yellow school buses, which on some days I think are the greatest thing America has ever invented

The one thing where I can say I have definitely had a better experience is in SEN provision. There are legal rules here so they cannot say a child "cannot cope" and force you out, or force a child to go half time, or exclude a child for special needs. There's also more of an emphasis on mainstreaming and providing support in mainstream classrooms. It can be harder to get funding for a private school (depends on state) and you still have to fight to get your IEP enforced, so it's not paradise.

While I'm at it--a 9 or 10 on greatschools only really seems to mean "white and well off and does well on state tests" as far as I can tell. I learnt pretty quickly that the scores meant very little when we were house-hunting. I also think that on here, none of us are likely to be sending to the worst schools in the US.

The flip side of all the activities and sports is that while they're fantastic as a complement to academics, at some schools people care more about them than studying. Meanwhile, at academic pressure cookers, they can become very competitive and demanding as a way to boost college applications. For straightforward academics I think good UK schools have the edge, unless you have a child with a very atypical mix of interests--though you can do well in either country at the right school.

Only know about UK schools what I read on Mumsnet but I think there is more diversity in US schools. Public schools, private schools, specialized academies for science, foreign languages, music and arts, religious schools for all faiths and denominations, etc. There are even schools running on the Japanese curriculum and schedule for the children of Japanese businessmen, diplomats, etc. who want their children to be able to integrate easily when they return to Japan.
And yes, when I read about young children walking five miles to school, I am grateful that any child outside a one mile radius automatically is eligible for free door-to-door bus service!

Maybe we were unlucky in the US but for me there's no comparison, hands down UK schools are better by every single measure than the US schools I experiencedand I'm comparing London state school to schools in one of the best districts in NJ. On transferring to UK schools, my kids were taken aback by how much better the teaching was in the UK, how much more humane the school timetable was, how much more rounded the school activities and options wereschool residential trips, after-school activities, lunchtime activity groups--none of this existed in their US schools. One of my biggest regrets in life is that one of my kids spent time in an American middle school.

It's impossible to generalise about US schools. Ours have been amazing. But that's no help to you if you live 3,000 miles away in California...