Deciphering the code that is American grade levels | It Started in LA | itstartedinla.com
Differences between America & Australia, Moving to LA, Posts

Understanding American Grade Levels

Ever wondered what those funny terms are they use on TV or on the movies?  You know the ones I’m talking about right? It’s the same for College: Freshmen, Juniors, Seniors and Sophomores.  I thought it was time to take you through understanding American Grade levels.

The differences between Americans and Australians: grade level names

You may not have sat down to try to work it out but what do these terms actually mean? And, in fairness you may not even care.  But do they actually use them?  Why do they use them? (OK, I’m not answering that one as I plain & simple don’t know).

Understanding American Grade Levels (for dummies–like me)

9th Grade/Year 9          Freshmen

10th Grade/Year 10      Sophomores

11th Grade/Year 11       Juniors

12th Grade/Year 12      Seniors

Basically life only starts at High School (we all know the number of movies made about Middle School (formerly known as Junior High) and just how “awful” it is.  There is in fact one coming out very soon called Middle School Movie–quite the imaginative title don’t you think?)  Again, I don’t know why this is.

When you finish being a “Senior” at High School you start all over again to be a Freshmen at College.  And yes, the American College system is a four-year program.  That’s so they can make more money.

Meanwhile in Australia …

Well it’s not too difficult to work out. In a nutshell we just keep counting.

School Workloads

We were talking to friends in Australia about years 11 & 12–the critical years that affect what score you get which determines what Uni and course you can get into.  As you’d expect years 7 to 10 get harder by the year but the marks you get in this time don’t get used to calculate your score, nor do they get shared with the Uni or College you’re applying to.

In America there is a lot of talk about how your grade counts the minute you start Year 9.  Kids rush to take Honours classes (which helps get your GPA up if you get good marks) and there is an incessant amount of study and (some might say unnecessary for their age) late nights.

You see, here in good old US of A Colleges get sent your High School transcript.  I’m not really sure if the panic to exceed and succeed so you lose all sense of fun and your childhood is worth it but that’s how it rolls here.

Along with the late nights comes a rush to pick Community Service projects to outdo everyone else’s and find extra curricular activities that might make them attractive to College Admissions team.  Burn out much?

Anyways, more about all that in my series on Colleges–the beast it is here but at least know you know (as I know you’ve always wanted to) about those Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors.

Have a good weekend–and be thankful you’re no longer at school.

xx It Started in LA xx

Previous Post Next Post

You Might Also Like

6 Comments

  • Reply Kat @AnAussieinSF September 30, 2016 at 4:14 pm

    I didn’t believe my boyfriend when he said that all your high school grades count towards university. I guess I’ll have to eat my words now… dammit! That whole ordeal sounds like a nightmare. When do they have time to just be teenagers?

    • Reply ItStartedInLA October 1, 2016 at 10:07 am

      It’s just plain stoopid. Exactly–too much continuous pressure from such a young age. I think the whole world might just spontaneously combust.

  • Reply You have to pay how much to go to College here? - It Started In LA October 6, 2016 at 12:32 pm

    […] son is now a Junior and the talk is seemingly nothing but “Does he know where he wants to go to […]

    • Reply ItStartedInLA October 18, 2016 at 8:35 pm

      Love your insight Adam and couldn’t agree more on getting lumbered with College debt.

      I was talking to friends about this on the weekend and the difference is that parents here start saving for College when their kids are born–much like your scholarship fund. The problem is even their money won’t go to the distance to a Stanford or Harvard etc and that’s my bug bear. Still, my bitching & moaning isn’t going to change the system. I think that’s why Bernie Sanders was so popular–he really did want America to be great again.

      Here’s cheers to our US stints being fruitful so our kids get choices.
      Oh, and I’ll have some of that valium!

  • Reply Mind, body & spirit: the difference between Australian & American private schools - It Started In LA October 23, 2016 at 4:03 pm

    […] Struggling to know what the grade levels in America are all about? I’ve got the answer here for […]

  • Reply How to do an "Ask" for a School Formal - It Started In LA February 10, 2017 at 3:11 pm

    […] PS: If you’re still struggling with American year-level terminology this might help you. […]

  • Why not tell me what you think & comment below

    %d bloggers like this: