Primary School Curriculum

In the United States, primary school refers to the first eight or nine years of formal, compulsory education for children. Primary school may also be referred to as elementary school. The first year of formal education is called kindergarten; most of the time, it begins around the age of five. Following kindergarten, students enter the first grade, followed by the second, third, fourth, and fifth. In general, fifth grade is considered the last year of primary education. Students graduating from fifth or sixth grade, who are usually between 10 and 12 years old, enter middle school. Most elementary schools are not segregated by gender. Statistics from 2001 indicated there are a total of 92,858 primary schools in the United States with an average of approximately 3.6 million children in each grade.

Who is it for?

Children are determined old enough to attend kindergarten when they are five years old. In most cases, they must turn five before a given cut-off date to enroll in the class – usually, September 1 of that year. A child who turns five in March may attend kindergarten the following September, while a child with a birthday in October must wait until the following year to enroll. Students may attend elementary school until the age of eleven or twelve, depending on the system. In some regions, primary school is deemed to include kindergarten through to Grade Eight, after which, students attend high school.

Educational Focus

Children may learn about a variety of core subjects in primary school, including reading, writing, mathematics, history, geography, physical education, music, science, and art. Foreign languages, such as French or Spanish, are sometimes taught to students in the higher grades. Students are given homework, which may increase in volume as students enter higher grades. The curriculum generally depends on the needs of the community, type of school, and educational aims. In most cases, students must acquire a variety of skills before progressing from one grade to the next. Students are sometimes held back if they do not meet these requirements. On the other end of the spectrum, many primary schools also offer programs for gifted students that make the material more challenging for them.

Goals

The goal of primary school curriculum is to provide students with a variety of learning opportunities. These learning opportunities should help students to identify and foster a sense of individuality and uniqueness while helping them to develop their potential and meet the challenges of modern life. The child is viewed as a learner. A variety of methodologies may be utilized to meet these aims.

Assessments

Assessments are a regular part of the primary school curriculum designed to identify students’ progress. The curriculum emphasizes the development of students’ problem-solving, communication, critical thinking, analysis, investigation, and inquiry skills, with an emphasis on literacy and numeracy skills. A variety of both standardized and non-standardized assessments are regularly administered in order to assess students’ progress. Standardized tests are given at the beginning and end of each grade.