In the United States, education is provided in public and private schools and by individuals through homeschooling. State governments set overall educational standards, often mandate standardized tests for K–12 public school systems and supervise, usually through a board of regents, state colleges, and universities. The bulk of the $1.3 trillion in funding comes from state and local governments, with federal funding accounting for about $260 billion in 2021 compared to around $200 billion in past years.
Secondary education is the last six or seven years of statutory formal education in the United States. It culminates with twelfth grade. Whether it begins with sixth grade or seventh grade varies by state and sometimes by school district.
Achievement gaps in the United States are observed, persistent disparities in measures of educational performance among subgroups of U.S. students, especially groups defined by socioeconomic status (SES), race/ethnicity and gender. The achievement gap can be observed through a variety of measures, including standardized test scores, grade point average, dropout rates, college enrollment, and college completion rates. The gap in achievement between lower income students and higher income students exists in all nations and it has been studied extensively in the U.S. and other countries, including the U.K. Various other gaps between groups exist around the globe as well.
The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a worldwide study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in member and non-member nations intended to evaluate educational systems by measuring 15-year-old school pupils' scholastic performance on mathematics, science, and reading. It was first performed in 2000 and then repeated every three years. Its aim is to provide comparable data with a view to enabling countries to improve their education policies and outcomes. It measures problem solving and cognition.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the largest continuing and nationally representative assessment of what U.S. students know and can do in various subjects. NAEP is a congressionally mandated project administered by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the United States Department of Education. The first national administration of NAEP occurred in 1969. The National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) is an independent, bipartisan board that sets policy for NAEP and is responsible for developing the framework and test specifications.The National Assessment Governing Board, whose members are appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Education, includes governors, state legislators, local and state school officials, educators, business representatives, and members of the general public. Congress created the 26-member Governing Board in 1988.
The National Longitudinal Surveys (NLS) are a set of surveys sponsored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the U.S. Department of Labor. These surveys have gathered information at multiple points in time on the labor market experiences and other significant life events of several groups of men and women. Each of the NLS samples consists of several thousand individuals, many of whom have been surveyed over several decades.
The IEA's Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) is an international study of reading (comprehension) achievement in 9-10 year olds. It has been conducted every five years since 2001 by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). It is designed to measure children's reading literacy achievement, to provide a baseline for future studies of trends in achievement, and to gather information about children's home and school experiences in learning to read.
The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA)'s Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is a series of international assessments of the mathematics and science knowledge of students around the world. The participating students come from a diverse set of educational systems in terms of economic development, geographical location, and population size. In each of the participating educational systems, a minimum of 4,000 to 5,000 students is evaluated. Contextual data about the conditions in which participating students learn mathematics and science are collected from the students and their teachers, their principals, and their parents via questionnaires.
Education in Kentucky includes elementary school, middle school, high school, and post-secondary institutions. Most Kentucky schools and colleges are accredited through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).
These organizations for higher education have a common purpose and mission for advocacy in numerous areas of both institutional management and the general public interest. The organizations have specific purpose for issues from faculty unionization to public policy research and service to institutions. Most are focused on the organization and governance of higher and tertiary education, but some are involved in service and research at all levels of education.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) is a system of interrelated surveys conducted annually by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a part of the Institute for Education Sciences within the United States Department of Education. IPEDS consists of twelve interrelated survey components that are collected over three collection periods each year as described in the Data Collection and Dissemination Cycle. The completion of all IPEDS surveys is mandatory for all institutions that participate in, or are applicants for participation in, any federal financial assistance program authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.
Literacy in the United States was categorized by the National Center for Education Statistics into different literacy levels, with 92% of American adults having at least "Level 1" literacy in 2014. Nationally, over 20% of adult Americans have a literacy proficiency at or below Level 1. Adults in this range have difficulty using or understanding print materials. Those on the higher end of this category can perform simple tasks based on the information they read, but adults below Level 1 may only understand very basic vocabulary or be functionally illiterate. According to a 2020 report by Gallup based on data from the U.S. Department of Education, 54% of adults in the United States lack English literacy proficiency.
Statistics education is the practice of teaching and learning of statistics, along with the associated scholarly research.
The racial achievement gap in the United States refers to disparities in educational achievement between differing ethnic/racial groups. It manifests itself in a variety of ways: African-American and Hispanic students are more likely to earn lower grades, score lower on standardized tests, drop out of high school, and they are less likely to enter and complete college than whites, while whites score lower than Asian Americans.
High School and Beyond (HS&B) is a longitudinal study of a nationally representative sample of people who were high school sophomores and seniors in 1980. The study was originally funded by the United States Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) as a part of their Secondary Longitudinal Studies Program. NORC at the University of Chicago, then known as the National Opinion Research Center, developed the sample design and performed the data collection for the study. The study surveyed students from over 1,000 public and private high schools on their cognitive and non-cognitive skills, high school experiences, work experiences, and future plans. Baseline surveys were administered in 1980, with follow-up surveys in 1982, 1984, 1986, 1992 (sophomores), 2014 (sophomores), and 2015 (seniors).
The Data Quality Campaign (DQC) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy organization launched in the United States in 2005 to improve the quality, accessibility and use of data in education.
First-generation college students in the United States are college students whose parents did not complete a baccalaureate degree. Although research has revealed that completion of a baccalaureate degree is significant in terms of upward socioeconomic mobility in the United States, a considerable body of research indicates that these students face significant systemic barriers to postsecondary education access, academic success once enrolled, and degree completion. Many of these obstacles result from systemic racial, cultural, social, and economic inequities.
Higher education in the United States is an optional stage of formal learning following secondary education. Higher education, also referred to as post-secondary education, third-stage, third-level, or tertiary education occurs most commonly at one of the 3,899 Title IV degree-granting institutions in the country. These may be public universities, private universities, liberal arts colleges, community colleges, or for-profit colleges. Learning environments vary greatly depending on not only the type of institution, but also the different goals implemented by the relevant county and state.
The National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) is a study conducted every four years by the National Center for Education Statistics, a division of the Institute of Education Sciences in the U.S. Department of Education. This study captures data regarding how students pay for postsecondary education, with special attention to how families fund higher education. The NPSAS, which has been conducted periodically since 1987, has a complex design, utilizing sampling and weighting to achieve a sample that represents college students nationwide.
