French Education Vs American Education

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The schooling in France is very unique compared to the education in America. There are many differences in the two countries, yet still some similarities. The basis for both educating countries are the same, but the way the different levels of education are set up become very different. Throughout this essay, the differing ways will be discussed. Starting out, the biggest difference on the surface on French and American education is the names of each grade and levels. In America, they start in pre-school or kindergarten, which may or may not be connected with the next level which is elementary school including grades 1-5. The next level is middle school which contains grades 6-8, then the now 15 year old students move into high school with 9-12 grades. During the student's 3rd year in high school, they may choose to take the SAT or ACT to get into college, the highest level of education that is not required. …show more content…

The numbers of the grades go down the higher they go. Their last year of high school is called terminale. After they complete high school, French students can choose to take the baccalauréat. This exam is equivilant to an American deploma, but is only nessasary if they want to go to higher education. For example, if a student knows they have a secure job after they graduate, they can choose not to take they bac and avoid the stress. Both schooling systems give the option for the student to pay more money and attend a private school instead of public, and both systems make it required to go to school until the student turns 16 in France or in America the student can choose to take a GED exam to test out of high