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An elementary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in many countries and especially in North America. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom, India, Australia and New Zealand and in most publications of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).[1]
United Kingdom
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Elementary school was formerly the name given to publicly funded schools in England which provided a basic standard of education for working class children aged from five to 14, the then school leaving age. They were also known as industrial schools.
Elementary schools were set up to enable working class children to receive manual training and elementary instruction. They provided a restricted curriculum with the emphasis on reading, writing and arithmetic (the three Rs). The schools operated on a 'monitorial' system, whereby one teacher supervised a large class with the assistance of a team of monitors, who were quite often older pupils. Elementary school teachers were paid by results. Their pupils were expected to achieve precise standards in reading, writing and arithmetic such as reading a short paragraph in a newspaper, writing from dictation, and working out sums and fractions.[2]
Before 1944 around 80 per cent of the school population attended elementary schools through to the age of 14. The remainder transferred either to secondary school or junior technical school at age 11. The school system was changed with the introduction of the Education Act 1944. Education was restructured into three progressive stages which were known as primary education, secondary education and further education.[3]
In the UK schools providing primary education are now known as primary schools. They generally cater for children aged from four to eleven. Primary schools are often subdivided into infant schools for children from four to seven and junior schools for ages seven to 11. In the (diminishing) minority of areas where there is a "three-tier" system, children go to "first school" until about 9, then middle school until about 13, then high school; in these places, the term "primary school" is not usually used.
United States
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In the United States, elementary schools offer education between the kindergarten level and, typically, a grade between 4th and 8th. The most common grade range is kindergarten through 5th grade.citation needed Elementary schools in the United States are also commonly called "grade schools".
India
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In India, elementary school includes primary school years ranging from class I to class IV, catering for children between the ages of four and ten. Children start school at any time between four and six depending on the policy in the state in which they live. Before starting school children attend kindergarten or nursery schools.
See also
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