POST-READING ACTIVITY

1. Answer the following questions.

1. What are the principal stages of the education in the United States?
Pre-school education, elementary education, secondary education, postsecondary education
2. What role does the federal government play in the education system of the country?
Unlike most other nations, the United States does not operate a national education system. Neither does the
federal government approve nor administer a national curriculum.
3. How many students are enrolled in public and private schools in the United States?
Today, almost 90 percent of American students attend public elementary and secondary schools, which do not
charge tuition. The other ten percent attend private schools.
4. What are three main types of educational institutions at the post-secondary level?
Junior or community colleges, 4-year colleges, universities
5. What is the difference between a college and a university?

2. Each word in the box makes a rhyming pair with one of the words in the column. Find the words which go
together.

award board musician tuition

boast most on-line design
bye high peer year
enforce course renew review
feature teacher repeat complete
grow though rule school
growth both speech reach
higher entire staff half
knowledge college subdue pursue
known loan turn earn

3. Combine the words with the appropriate quantifiers and use the word combinations to make the sentences of
your own.

much / little / a little / a lot of many / few / a few / a lot of

assistance class
research fee
support skill
information tax
education standard
tuition requirement

4. Divide the following words and word combinations into groups according to stages of education.
Pre-school education _ children aged 5, kindergarten, pre-school programs, half-day classes
Primary education _ children from 6 to 12, Grades 1-6, six-grade school, elementary school, compulsory education,
private school, eight grades
Secondary education ___ junior high school, middle school, Grades 9-12, high school, private school, vocational
classes, high school diploma
Post-secondary education vocational diploma, junior college, undergraduate study, university, earn a degree, graduate
degree, associate degree,

5. Transform the sentences using reported speech.

1. The President said that schools in the United States had been, and remained, overwhelmingly a state and local
responsibility
2. The state officials stated that local boards of education administered the nation’s school districts and provided
their funding from local property taxes.
3. The report indicated that four out of five private schools were run by religious groups.
4. Students’ parents often ask what vocational classes are developed for.
5. Then the school graduate asked if there were undergraduate courses in Chemical and Physical Biology in that
college.