Education in the United States

The United States does not have a unified national or federal educational system. Although there are more than fifty independent systems of education (one run by each state and territory, the Bureau of Indian Education, and the Department of Defense Dependents Schools), there are a number of similarities between them. Education is provided in public and private schools and by individuals through homeschooling. Educational standards are set at the state or territory level by the supervising organization, usually a board of regents, state department of education, state colleges, or a combination of systems. The bulk of the $1 trillion in funding comes from state and local governments, with federal funding accounting for about $250 billion in 2024 compared to around $200 billion in past years.

During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, most schools in the United States did not mandate regular attendance. In many areas, students attended school for no more than three to four months out of the year. By state law, education is compulsory over an age range starting between five and eight and ending somewhere between ages sixteen and nineteen, depending on the state. This requirement can be satisfied in public or state-certified private schools, or an approved home school program. Compulsory education is divided into three levels: elementary school, middle or junior high school, and high school. As of 2013, about 87% of school-age children attended state-funded public schools, about 10% attended tuition and foundation-funded private schools, and roughly 3% were home-schooled. Enrollment in public kindergartens, primary schools, and secondary schools declined by 4% from 2012 to 2022 and enrollment in private schools or charter schools for the same age levels increased by 2% each. Numerous publicly and privately administered colleges and universities offer a wide variety of post-secondary education. Post-secondary education is divided into college, as the first tertiary degree, and graduate school. Higher education includes public and private research universities, usually private liberal arts colleges, community colleges, for-profit colleges, and many other kinds and combinations of institutions. College enrollment rates in the United States have increased over the long term. At the same time, student loan debt has also risen to $1 trillion. The large majority of the world's top universities, as listed by various ranking organizations, are in the United States, including 19 of the top 25, and the most prestigious – Harvard University. Enrollment in post-secondary institutions in the United States declined from 18 million in 2010 to 15 million in 2021. Total expenditures for American public elementary and secondary schools amounted to $927 billion in 2020–21 (in constant 2021–22 dollars). In 2010, the United States had a higher combined per-pupil spending for primary, secondary, and post-secondary education than any other OECD country (which overlaps with almost all of the countries designated as being developed by the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations) and the U . education sector consumed a greater percentage of the U . gross domestic product (GDP) than the average OECD country. In 2014, the country spent 6 % of its GDP on all levels of education—1 percentage points above the OECD average of 5 %. In 2014, the Economist Intelligence Unit rated U . education as 14th best in the world. The Programme for International Student Assessment coordinated by the OECD currently ranks the overall knowledge and skills of American 15-year-olds as 19th in the world in reading literacy, mathematics, and science with the average American student scoring 495, compared with the OECD Average of 488. In 2017, 46 % of Americans aged 25 to 64 attained some form of post-secondary education. 48% of Americans aged 25 to 34 attained some form of tertiary education, about 4% above the OECD average of 44%. 35% of Americans aged 25 and over have achieved a bachelor's degree or higher.