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SCHOOL
In the United States, the standard school system developed from an uncoordinatedconglomeration of dame schools, reading and writing schools, private academies, Latin grammar schools, and colleges into a well-organized system in which a child may progress fromkindergartento college in a continuous and efficient free public system. By 1890 there hadevolved the now common twelve-grade system whereby the child enters kindergarten at the ageof five, goes to grammar or elementary school for grades one through eight, high or secondaryschool for grades nine through twelve, and then enters college. Compulsory attendance at schoolhas been legislated in all states, although standards of age and length of the school year varyconsiderably.To meet the psychological and social stresses of early adolescence, the junior high school wasintroduced (1890–1920) in many systems for grades seven through nine. This organization,sometimes called the six-three-three plan, was designed to ease the transition period by havingthe junior high school introduce its students to many aspects of the high school, such as studentgovernment and separate classes for different subjects. Critics of the junior high school, however,contended that it merely copied the program of the high school, which they believed to beinappropriate for the age group that attends the junior high. In response, many districts haveestablished intermediate, or middle, schools, usually encompassing grades five through eight.To provide opportunity for advanced training beyond high school without a full college course,the junior or community college, which generally includes the first two years of college, hasgained wide popularity. Not only does it prepare students for technical careers, it allows statesand municipalities to fulfill their commitment toopen enrollment,whereby any high-schoolgraduate may enter a specified institution of higher education. More recently, a few high schoolshave combined a community college curriculum with the last two years of high school. Such a program is designed to encourage bright or disadvantaged students to remain in high school byenabling them to earn an associate degree in conjunction with a high school diploma.Although in the United States schools are primarily the responsibility of state and localauthorities, the federal government has passed a number of measures intended to assist schoolsand their students. The National Defense Education Act (1958) and the Higher Education Act(1965) were designed to provide financial assistance to college and university students. TheElementary and Secondary Education Act (1965, amended 1966, 1967) was the first nationalgeneral-aid education program in the United States. It provided funds for school library andtextbook services, the education of poor and handicapped children, and educational innovationsand construction by local school districts.Public school services have been extended, in some communities, into the sponsorship of community centers, adult education, summer schools, and recreation programs. In addition, withthe increase in the number of households where both parents work and in the number of single- parent households, programs such asHead Starthave been established to care for preschoolchildren. Special programs have been established for the deaf, the blind, and the mentally and physically handicapped and in some instances for the gifted. In large cities special high schoolsare sometimes set up to serve special student needs; e.g., there may be separate schools for artistic, industrial, scientific, and classical subjects. In the latter part of the 20th cent. public
 
schools, particularly in economically depressed urban areas, suffered from economic cutbacks,an increase in student crime, and an inability to find qualified administrators and teachers.Efforts to revitalize public school systems have included such varied approaches as decentralizedcommunity control in large urban areas, privatization of public school administration,schoolvouchers,andcharter schools. In theUnited Kingdom, the term
 school 
refers primarily to pre-universityinstitutions, and these can, for the most part, be divided intopre-schoolsor nursery schools, primary schools(sometimes further divided intoinfant schooland junior school
 
), andsecondary schools. There are various types of secondary schools which includegrammar schools,comprehensives, secondary modernsand city academies. In Scotland school  performance is monitored byHer Majesty's Inspectorate of Education. Ofsted reports on performance in England and Wales.In the United Kingdom, most schools are publicly funded and known asstate schoolsor maintained schools in which tuition is provided free. There are also private schools or independent schoolsthat charge fees. Some of the most selective and expensive private schoolsare known as public schools,a usage that can be confusing to speakers of  North American English. In North American usage, a public schoolis one that is publicly funded or run. In much of theCommonwealth of Nations,includingAustralia, New Zealand,India,Pakistan,  Bangladesh,Sri Lanka,Kenya,andTanzania, the term
 school 
refers primarily to pre-university institutions.
EUROPE
In much of continentalEurope, the term
 school 
usually applies toprimary education,with primary schools that last between six and nine years, depending on the country. It also applies tosecondary education,with secondary schools often divided between
Gymnasiums
andvocationalschools, which again depending on country and type of school educate students for betweenthree and six years. The term school is rarely used for tertiary education, except for some
upper 
or 
high
schools (German: Hochschule) which are used to describecollegesand universities.
NORTH AMERICA AND THE UNITED STATES
In North America, the term
 school 
can refer to any educational institution at any level, andcovers all of the following: preschool(for toddlers),kindergarten,elementary school,middle school(also called intermediate school or junior high school, depending on specific age groupsand geographic region),senior high school, college,university, andgraduate school. In theUS, school performance through high school is monitored by each state'sDepartment of  Education.Charter schoolsare publicly funded elementary or secondary schools that have been freed from some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools. Thetermsgrammar schooland
 grade school 
are sometimes used to refer to a primary school. Theconcept of grouping students together in a centralized location for learning has existed sinceClassical antiquity. Formal schools have existed at least sinceancient Greece(seeAcademy), ancient India(seeGurukul
 
) andancient China(seeHistory of education in China
 
). TheByzantine Empirehad an established schooling system beginning at the primary level. Accordingto
Traditions and Encounters
, the founding of the primary education system began in 425 A.D.and "…military personnelusually had at least a primary education …". The Byzantine educationsystem continued until the empire's collapse in 1453 AD.
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Islamwas another culture to develop a schooling system in the modern sense of the word.Emphasis was put on knowledge and therefore a systematic way of teaching and spreadingknowledge was developed in purpose built structures. At first,mosquescombined both religious performance and learning activities, but by the ninth century, theMadrassawas introduced, a proper school built independently from the mosque. They were also the first to make the
Madrassa
system a public domain under the control of theCaliph.The Nizamiyyamadrasa is considered by consensus of scholars to be the earliest surviving school, built towards 1066 CE byEmir  Nizam Al- Mulk .
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Under theOttomans,the towns of BursaandEdirnebecame the main centers of learning. The Ottoman system of Kulliye,a building complex containing a mosque, a hospital, madrassa, and public kitchen and dining areas, revolutionized the education system, making learning accessibleto a wider public through its free meals,health careand sometimes free accommodation.
One-room school in 1935Alabama.
The nineteenth century historian, Scott holds that a remarkable correspondence exists betweenthe procedure established by those institutions and the methods of the present day. They had their collegiate courses, their prizes for proficiency in scholarship, their oratorical and poeticalcontests, their commencements and their degrees. In the department of medicine, a severe and prolonged examination, conducted by the most eminent physicians of the capital, was exacted of all candidates desirous of practicing their profession, and such as were unable to stand the testwere formally pronounced incompetent.
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InEuropeduring theMiddle Agesand much of theEarly Modernperiod, the main purpose of  schools (as opposed to universities) was to teach theLatin language.This led to the termgrammar schoolwhich in the United States is used informally to refer to a primary school but inthe United Kingdom means a school that selects entrants on their ability or aptitude. Followingthis, the school curriculum has gradually broadened to include literacy in the vernacular languageas well as technical, artistic, scientific and practical subjects.Many of the earlier public schools in the United States wereone-room schoolswhere a singleteacher taught seven grades of boys and girls in the same classroom. Beginning in the 1920s,
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