North American Ed system ( was GSCE's)

[Andrea]

--- ovc88guelph <mckosvc at bmts.com> wrote:
> From my 
> own experience, a Bachelor degree in the UK is the same as a 
> Bachelor degree here, and is not a Masters! Of course, quality of 
> education and the value of the degree depends on the "uni" one 
> attends. In the States, grades 9 to 12 are often called Freshman, 
> Sophmore, Junior and Senior. These are the same terms they use for 
> the four years of college. 

You're correct.  I've had to explain this distinction to a lot of people,
as I'm an American but did part of my schooling in the UK, so I end up
being the person to explain both systems half the time. ;)  I'd say that
the two systems are roughly equal up through the end of GCSE's.  I did my
A-levels in England, and had no trouble starting school at that point.  I
think the American education is broader, whereas the British one is more
intensive in a smaller number of subjects, so it roughly evens out.  

A-levels are the hard ones to classify.  They DO go beyond the average US
high school education, and most US universities will give a full year of
college credit for it. (That's how I graduated in three years. ;))  So I
usually say that A-levels are approximately the equivalent of the US
Associate's degree, and then university yields roughly approximate
degrees. (The extra boost A-levels give are countered by the extra year
Americans spend in undergraduate, IMO.)  Some programs may go beyond that
enough to say they're about the same as a Master's degree, but that's
rare. 

> Could someone help me with the terms and holidays in UK school 
> system? I'm always perplexed by when breaks and exams occur. In 
> particular, it seems odd that classes continue after final exams! I 
> also have the impression that the HHR were in school until July. 

All right, the way MY school ran (and this seemed typical for the schools
in the area -- southeast London, if you're curious) was on a three term
system, beginning at the start of September and running through the end of
June.  At the end of each term, there'd be a term break of two weeks. 
These corresponded with Christmas and Easter.  Then halfway through each
term, we'd have a half-term break of one week.  For students taking GCSEs
and A-levels, the Easter term break would run right into a two week "study
leave", when all classes were cancelled to allow us time to study for
exams.  After those four weeks off, we'd begin the exam time.  Exams were
scheduled more like college exams, each independently scheduled by the
exam boards and spread out over around a three week period.  You'd only go
in when your subject had its exam, and spend the rest of your time
studying independently.

Hope this helps a bit!  I've come to specialize in interpreting Brits for
confused Americans, so feel free to ask if you have more questions. ;)


Andrea

=====
"Reality is for people who lack imagination."

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