How Are K-12 Schools Different In Greece (Compared To the U.S.)?
K-12 refers to the educational structure from primary to secondary education as adopted by countries like the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. It is actually an acronym for Kindergarten (K) through Grade 12 (-12). Education in the United States is compulsory from age 5 to 18 years old as mandated by law (although in some states students are allowed to leave school from ages 14 to 17 with their parents' permission). This compulsory education is funded by the federal, state, and local government and spans only 13 years of government funded, free education before proceeding to college.
In contrast, education in Greece is free in all levels including college and university. However, compulsory education in Greece spans only 9 years (6 years of primary education plus 3 years of lower secondary education). After the compulsory 3 year lower secondary school, the student has the option to stop schooling or continue to higher secondary education.
The Structure of the Educational System in Greece
Attending kindergarten is apparently optional in Greece with compulsory education starting only at the age of 6 with primary school (called Dimotiko) and spanning 6 years from Grade 1 to Grade 6. This is followed by a compulsory 3 year lower secondary school called Gymnasio which is equivalent to Middle School or Junior High School in the United States. Should the student opt to continue, he goes into higher secondary school where he has a choice of attending either the 3 year academically oriented Lykeio or take a 3 year vocational training (TEE).
The Structure of the K-12 Educational System in the United States
Early Childhood Education is given importance in the United States that's why formal education for some children may start even before the age of 5 through optional, federally funded Head Start programs and day care centers. Compulsory education starts at the elementary (primary) level from Kindergarten for 5-6 year olds and progresses from 1st Grade to 5th Grade. This is followed by Middle School (lower secondary in Greece) which is from 6th Grade to 8th Grade. This is followed by High School (upper secondary in Greece) which is from 9th Grade to 12th Grade.
It is interesting to note here that while both the K-12 program in the United States and Greece consists of 13 formative years, Kindergarten school and the last 3 years in high school were made optional in Greece.
In Greece, the secondary schools use a numerical grading system from 1 to 20 where 20 is the highest grade and 1 is the lowest. The pass/fail median is 10. The grading system used in the United States, letter grades are used from "A" to "F" where A+ is the highest equivalent to a percentile of 97 to 100 while F is the lowest with a below 60 percentile. In most states the "D" grade (between 70 and 60 percentile) is considered a failing mark.
Here are some other interesting comparative statistics between Greek Education and American Education base on 2000 to 2002 statistics.
The United States ranked 39th in the world for education spending in 2000 to 2002 by allocating 5.7% of GDP to education while Greece ranked 84th with an education expenditure of 4% of their GDP.
The United States ranked 18th in Mathematical Literacy with an aggregate score of 493 among 15 year olds while Greece ranked 25th with 447.
Greece ranked 11th in Grade 12 advanced students science with a score of 486 while the United States ranked 16th with 423.
The United States ranked 12th in the Duration of Compulsory Education category with 13 years while Greece ranked 96th with 9 years.