The ages of the Preschool/ PreK (PreKindergarten) students varies from
school district to district, but in my school district a child has to
be 4 years old by December 31 to be eligible to attend PreK (there is
no program offered in the public schools in my district for students
younger than that). By the way, the cut off point to determine the
age:grade varies from district to district, e.g. some use September 1
rather than December 31.

Ignoring the Preschool/PreK programs, here's the typical age/grade
breakdown in the U.S.A.:

Kindergarten= 5 years old
1st grade= 6 years old
2nd grade= 7 years old
3rd grade= 8 years old
4th grade= 9 years old
5th grade= 10 years old
6th grade= 11 years old
7th grade= 12 years old
8th grade= 13 years old
Freshman in high school=14 years old
Sophmore in high school=15 years old
Junior in high school=16 years old
Senior in hight school=17 years old
Freshman in college (undergraduate)=18 years old
Sophmore in high school=19 years old
Junior in high school=20 years old
Senior in hight school=21 years old

My school happens to be a very traditional elementary school that
services K-8th grade building and also houses a federally funded PreK
program. In September, then, counting in the PreK students, we could
have students who are 3 years old (they'd have to turn 4 by Dec. 31)
up to 15 (some students might have been retained during their school
career). Many schools, even in my own district, service far fewer
grade levels, but might have more classes per level. For example,
there are "Early Childhood Centers" that service only PreK-2nd grade.
There are Middle Schools that service 6th-8th grades (some Middle
Schools include 5th graders; there probably are other variations of
this theme, too). Their are Junior High Schools that service just 7th
and 8th grades. This variation is probably what confuses you when you
hear the terms being used. If you have any other questions that
don't have to do with Webquests per se, feel free to contact me offlist.

-Patricia
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/elementary-lesson-plans


--- In webquest@yahoogroups.com, "Suzanne Tate" <suz00@i...> wrote:
> ...Can I ask a basic question that will help with utilizing online
resources and certainly with communicating with this group - I would
like to clarify the ages for the various schools stages in the US.
Whenever I think I have a handle on it I get confused again.
>
>
> Here, kids start at kindergarten - maybe 3 yr kinder or 4 yr or both.
> Children generally start Primary School at 5. They start in Prep,
then move
> through grade 1 -6. (so 7 years at primary). They then go to High School
> (generally at aprox 12 yrs) which has year 7 - 12. year 11 & 12 is
called
> VCE here in Victoria, but its the high school certificate - some
kids leave
> at the end of year 10 and get jobs or apprenticeships. After that
there is
> university for a degree course (or alternatives like TAFE - technical &
> further education).
>
>
>
> How does that translate to elementary, high school, college etc in
the US?
> I can never work out if college is high school, or uni?
>
>
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Suz
>