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In the United States, the law requires all children to go to school. Elementary, middle, and high school are all free if your child attends public school. The ages of the students for each grade can vary from state to state.
School Ages and Grade Levels. The table below outlines the child age for each school grade in the US. At the start of Elementary school, students are 5 or 6 years old in Kindergarten. In 1st Grade students are 6 or 7 years old. And at the end of Elementary School in 5th Grade, students are 10 or 11 years old.
The following grades, from first through twelfth, usually have age ranges of six to seven years for each grade. This means that first graders are usually six or seven years old, while twelfth graders are usually 17 or 18 years old. The K-12 system is designed to provide a structured learning environment that builds upon itself each year.
How old should a 1st-grader be? In many countries, the labeling is altogether different. In the UK, for example, ‘grades’ might be called ‘years’ as in Year 1, Year 2, and so on. So, the following list of ages by grade levels is based on the United States but should roughly apply to the formal education system for most countries.
The ACS-ED data describe the conditions and characteristics of school-age children and their families in the United States at the national, state, and school district levels. These custom NCES files are updated annually and are based on ACS five-year period estimates.
By state law, education is compulsory over an age range starting between five and eight and ending somewhere between ages sixteen and eighteen, depending on the state. [13] . This requirement can be satisfied in public or state-certified private schools, or an approved home school program.
Most children begin elementary education with kindergarten (usually five to six years old) and finish secondary education with twelfth grade (usually 17–18 years old). In some cases, pupils may be promoted beyond the next regular grade. Parents may also choose to educate their own children at home; 1.7% of children are educated in this manner.
