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background spacing imagebackground spacing imageU.S. EDUCATION

The U.S. Education System

Overview

Structure of the U.S. Education System

Overviews

  • Organization of the U.S. Education System
    Information on how education in the United States is governed, including the roles of the different levels of authority in our federal system, the role of national associations, and the ways by which standards and quality are monitored. Provided by the U.S. Network for Education Information.

  • Structure of U.S. Education        
    Information on the types and levels of education offered, how people progress through the system, and the characteristics of recognized degree programs and other programs of study. Provided by the U.S. Network for Education Information.

  • Institutional Organization
    Resources on public and private institutions, primary and secondary administration, and postsecondary administration, provided by the U.S. Network for Education Information.

K - 12

Undergraduate

Graduate School

Accreditation in the U.S. System

  • Accreditation in the United States
    An overview and description of accreditation of institutions of higher education, listings of accrediting agencies and the regulations governing the role of the U.S. Department of Education.

Education Statistics

Special Needs and Charter Schools

  • Head Start: Background and Issues
    A report on background and funding for Head Start, the federal program that provides comprehensive early childhood development services to low-income children.

  • Education of Children with Disabilities: An Evolving 'Idea'
    The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a federal law enacted in 1990 and reauthorized in 1997. It is designed to protect the rights of students with disabilities by ensuring that everyone receives a free appropriate public education, regardless of ability.

  • Charter Schools
    Charter schools are publicly funded elementary or secondary schools that have been freed from some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools, in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter. From the National Education Association.

  • U.S. Charter Schools: An Overview and History of Charter Schools
    An overview and history of charter schools from a consortium of education organizations interested in providing accurate information and promising practices about and for charter schools.

  • Apples to Apples: An Evaluation of Charter Schools Serving General Student Populations
    An evaluation of the academic performance of charter schools based on a comparison of test scores at charter schools with those at regular public schools, from the Manhattan Institute, a non-profit education and research think tank.

  • Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
    Information about programs and policies related to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

  • The Public Charter Schools Program
    The Public Charter Schools Program supports the planning, development, and initial implementation of charter schools. U.S. Department of Education.

  • Successful Charter Schools
    2004 report from the U.S. Department of Education on charter schools in the U.S.

Diversity in Education

  • A Diverse Educational System
    From Portrait of the USA, this chapter describes the broad contours of U.S. education, including its structure, standards and challenges.

  • 50 Years After Brown: Why Historically Black Colleges and Universities Remain Relevant
    Beverly Daniel Tatum, President of Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, writes about the role of historically Black colleges in affirming the identity of African-American students, while at the same time giving them the opportunity to meet students with diverse backgrounds and perspectives.

  • Horizons of Opportunities: Celebrating 50 Years of Brown v. Board of Education
    Background information on the historic decision and a discussion of the status of segregation in American schools, from the National Education Association.

  • Teaching Asian American Literature
    An article on the complexities of teaching Asian American literature, from "Essays on Teaching the American Literatures," Heath Anthology Newsletter.

  • Minority Serving Institutions
    This article provides information about colleges that serve students from three minority populations: African Americans, Hispanics, and American Indians. From "College and University Education in the U.S.," a 2005 eJournal from the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State.

Religion and Education

Education and the Internet

The History of Education in the U.S.

Education Legislation

 

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