Students currently enrolled in education college programs will find it helpful to look at the difference between middle school and secondary education before they graduate. College programs typically allow students to pick the subject or subjects they want to teach as well as the age range of the students they will work with in schools too. Teachers can work in elementary, middle, junior high or high schools. It’s important to look at the differences between high school and middle school as well as middle school and junior high.
Junior High
Though many people use junior high and middle school to describe the same types of schools, both are different. A junior high is a school that falls between elementary school and high school. Elementary school usually educates students as young as kindergarten, though some schools have classes for students even younger. These schools educate students up through the sixth grade. A junior high school will educate both seventh and eighth grade kids. Students take classes designed to help them succeed in high school and classes that teach them the fundamentals they need in their later classes.
Middle School
Middle schools educate a wider range of students than junior highs do. These schools typically offer classes for students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades. Some schools offer classes for students in ninth grade too and provide students with one extra year of classes they can take before entering high school. According to Mary Tamer, middle schools make sense because these schools separate older children from younger kids. Middle schools make it easier for students to make the transition from elementary to high school and helps them understand what their teachers will expect from them later.
Secondary Education
Secondary education refers to high schools and prep schools. These schools specifically prepare students for studying at the college level. The main difference between middle school and secondary education is that middle school helps students prepare for high school and secondary schools prepare students for college and whatever else comes next. Vocational schools are a type of secondary education school. Students attend vocational training programs that teach them how to do basic tasks and duties associated with different types of jobs. They can enroll in programs to work in the medical field, automotive industry and other fields. High school includes ninth grade through 12th grade, while vocational schools usually offer programs for students at the junior and senior levels.
Post Secondary Level
In addition to the lower levels of education, there is also a post secondary level. This includes all schools designed for high school graduates and those who have an equivalency diploma like the GED. Students can enroll in community colleges and junior colleges that offer two-year degree programs. These programs award students degrees they can use to find work in a specific industry and degrees that let them transfer credits to a full college or university. Students with higher degrees can enroll in graduate, business, law and medical schools.
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Schools help students learn new skills and build off the knowledge they learned at a lower level. Students typically go from elementary school to junior high or middle school and then either high school or vocational school. The primary difference between middle school and secondary education is the age of the students in each one.
