Acollege-preparatory school(usually shortened topreparatory schoolorprep school) is a type ofsecondary school.The term refers topublic,private independentorparochialschools primarily designed to prepare students forhigher education.
Japan
editThis sectionneeds additional citations forverification.(December 2020) |
In Japan, college-prep schools are calledShingakukō(Tiến trường học),which means a school used to progress into another school. Prep schools in Japan are usually considered prestigious and are often difficult to get into. However, there are many tiers of prep schools, the entry into which depends on the university that the school leads into.[1]
Japanese prep schools started aschūgakkō(Trung học giáo),secondary schools for boys, which were founded after the secondary school law in 1886. Later,kōtō jogakkō(Cao đẳng nữ trường học),secondary school for girls (1891), andjitsugyō gakkō(Thật nghiệp trường học),vocational schools(1924), were included amongchūtōgakkōand were legally regarded as schools on the same level as a school for boys. However, graduates from those two types of schools had more requirements for college entrance. In the modern period, many Japanese secondary schools were five-year schools, except for during a short term from 1943 to 1946.[citation needed]
The social status ofchūgakkō,orkyūsei chūgakkō(Chế độ cũ trung học giáo),secondary schools for boys under the old system, did not disappear even after the new system (6-3-3) took effect in 1947. Manyshingakkōaresix-year schools.Many have their origins inkyūsei chūgakkōandkōtō jogakkō,or ones attached to universities. Japanese pupils who aspire to a prep school education take written examinations in sixth grade in each prep school.[citation needed]
Unlike six-year prep schools, the top municipal senior high school (three-year schools) in each school zone and some high-ranked private senior high schools (ditto) are also regarded asshingakukō(Tiến trường học).In the 21st century, some trial cases connecting public junior and senior high schools are seen in each region, too, broadening the education for college entrance. As the Japanese government providesgrant-in-aidto private schools, the tuition is 5,000–10,000 US dollars per year, even if it is a private school.[citation needed]
United States
editIn theUnited States,there arepublic,private,andchartercollege-preparatory schools that can be eitherparochialorsecular.Admission is sometimes based on specificselection criteria,usually academic, but some schools have open enrollment.[2]In 2017, 5.7 million students were enrolled in US private elementary or secondary schools, constituting 10% of total school enrollment. Of those, 1.4 million students were enrolled in a secular (nonsectarian) school.[3]
Public and charter college preparatory schools are typically connected to a localschool districtand draw from the entire district instead of the closestschool zone.Some offer specialized courses orcurriculathat prepare students for a specific field of study. In contrast, others use the label as a promotional tool without offering programs different from a conventional high school.[2]
Preparatory schools began before theCivil War,when there were no public schools above thegrammar schoolor elementary level anywhere in the US. Their graduates were not ready forcollegestudy, so many colleges set up "preparatory academies" to prepare them for college study. The preparatory division could dwarf the college enrollment, as atNew York Central College.There were also preparatory schools unaffiliated with colleges, especially for girls, such as the Columbia Female Academy. At the time, men and women did not study together at any level, and there were nowomen's colleges.Some of the female preparatory schools became women's colleges after the Civil War.
Free high school level education for all became available in the later 19th and early 20th centuries. Since then, the surviving "prep schools" in the US are primarily private, elite institutions that have very selective admission criteria and hightuition fees,catering to students in the 13–18 age range.[4]Little financial aid other than loans is available. Prep schools can beday schools,boarding schools,or both, and may beco-educationalorsingle-sex.Currently, day schools are more common than boarding, and since the 1970s, co-educational schools have been more common than single-sex.[5]Unlike the public schools which are free, they charge tuition ($10,000 to 40,000+ a year in 2014).[6]Some prep schools are affiliated with a particular religious denomination. Unlikeparochial (Catholic) schools,independent preparatory schools are not governed by a religious organization, and students are usually not required to receive instruction in one particular religion. While independent prep schools in the United States are not subject to government oversight or regulation, many areaccreditedby one of the sixregional accreditation agenciesfor educational institutions.[7][page needed]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^William K. Cummings,Education and equality in Japan(Princeton University Press, 2014).
- ^abYednak, Crystal,"What does" college prep "school really mean?",GreatKids, GreatSchools,retrieved7 April2016
- ^"COE - Private School Enrollment".nces.ed.gov.Retrieved25 May2021.
- ^Laneri, Raquel (29 April 2010),"America's Best Prep Schools",Forbes,archivedfrom the original on 8 April 2016,retrieved7 April2016
- ^Sarah Alexander Chase,Perfectly prep: Gender extremes at New England prep school(Oxford University Press, 2008)
- ^Lisa R. Bass, "Boarding schools and capital benefits: Implications for urban school reform."The Journal of Educational Research(2014) 107#1 pp: 16–35.
- ^Peter W. Cookson, Jr.;Caroline Persell (2008).Preparing for power.Basic Books(published 1985).ISBN978-0-7867-2416-1.OCLC660054698.OL18166618W.WikidataQ108671720.
Further reading
edit- Hochschild, Adam.Finding the Trapdoor: Essays, Portraits, Travels(Syracuse University Press, 1997), "World on a Hilltop," pp. 123–139.
- McLachlan, James.American Boarding Schools: A Historical Study(1970)online