¿How to study in an American school while in Panama?
More and more parents are realizing the great benefits of having their children receive an American education, which offers a rich set of options for foreign students.
That is why in our blog today, we will provide you with the necessary information to familiarize yourself with the American educational system, so that you can better understand how to study in an American school while in Panama effectively.
How to study in an American school while in Panama: American educational system
To know how to study in an American school while in Panama is important to know the American educational system is very different from that of Latin American countries for many reasons that we will discuss below. However, it also has many similarities, especially in the pre-university stages.
Degrees
Kindergarten. Between 3 and 6 years old.
- Elementary School. Between 6 and 11 years old. It consists of first grade through fifth grade.
- Middle School. Between 11 and 14 years old. It consists of sixth grade through eighth grade.
- High School. Between 14 and 18 years old. It consists of ninth grade through twelfth grade.
Ratings
How to study in an American school while in Panama implies a change in the grading system, since they do not work as in the Latin American system.
In the study system of the United States, it is not evaluated from 1 to 5, from 3 to the approved in Panama, but a scale of 1 to 4 is used where 1 corresponds to a D, 2 to a C, the 3 to a B, and four to an A.
The American system of grades or grades is based on the so-called “Grade Point Average” or by its acronym “GPA” is soething that also changes and have to know before looking for how to study in an American school while in Panama, is it a commonly followed by all the departments of education of all the states. That is why for all foreign students who try to take a school course in the United States, they will be required to somehow not only prove that they have their previous course approved, but also some clear way to show the equivalence of their grades of your home country with the GPA.
And as is already known by almost everyone, the United States is a country with a large number of universities among the best in the world in all Rankings, and this makes the competitiveness of Secondary education in the country very high, with in order to facilitate access to the best of each High School to the best universities. This also gives prestige to the High Schools, and therefore they compete for these accesses and for having the best grades in their students.
In addition, as in the Anglo-Saxon model, Americans highly value personal effort and work, and that is why they give points or “credits” to the amount of work done by students. The selection to enter or obtain scholarships in North American universities is very tough and is based in large part on the grades obtained throughout high school education.
The certificate of studies or Transcript gives the average grade of each student’s transcript or GPA calculated as a combination of the credits obtained in each subject (valued as we have said by the amount of work done or the “effort”) and the grade itself in exams. Lets see about How to study in an American school while in Panama grades…
High School Scoring System
| A+ | 4.00 | Excellent |
| A | 3.67 | Outstanding |
| B+ | 3.33 | Notable (high) |
| B | 3.00 | Notable |
| B- | 2.67 | Notable (low) |
| C+ | 2.33 | Good |
| C | 2.00 | Enough |
| C- | 1.67 | Enough (low) |
| D+ | 1.33 | Insufficient |
| D | 1.00 | Insufficient |
| D- | 0.67 | Insufficient |
| F- | 0.00 | Very poor – Fail |
To pass a course, the student must be between the grades of A and C. Since the D and F are failures.
Calendar
In the American educational system, the academic year typically consists of two 18-week semesters, each divided into two nine-week examination periods (or semesters) or three six-week examination periods, and consisting of between 170 and 186 days of classes (with an average of 180).
A school week consists of five days of classes from Monday to Friday in all schools. Grades are generally given for each exam period, but major exams are given once per semester or per year.
The traditional start date for the school year in the USA is usually the Tuesday following the first Monday in September (the day after Labor Day). Although some High Schools in the USA still maintain this tradition, many open in the last two weeks of August and some colleges may start at the end of September or the first week of October.
The school year has 42 weeks, so the school year usually ends at the beginning of June for those who start at the beginning of September. Additionally, some schools are shifting their start of the school year to the first Wednesday in September (usually two days after Labor Day, unless it falls on September 1 or 2) to give students a short week to adjust. to the new school year.
The American educational system is usually divided into two semesters:
- Fall, from August to December
- Spring, from January to May
How to study in an American school while in Panama: Study at QLU Academy / Keystone School
If you and your family are in Panama and want your child to receive the highest quality American education while in Panama, then we present QLU Academy / Keystone School, the new way of doing school in Panama following the American educational system that you are looking for so much.
Calendar
How to study in an American school while in Panama, Unlike traditional American colleges, the QLU Academy calendar is very flexible, with class times starting from March through December. This is beneficial for students, since it follows the same calendar as the schools in Panama.
There are 2 semesters that are divided from March to July and from July to December. As previously mentioned, our calendar is very flexible, as there is no predetermined schedule in a day. The student is free to decide what time of day she wants to study, but the default time per study week is 5 hours.
Virtual mode
How to study in an American school while in Panama from QLU Academy / Keystone School is completely virtual. Learn more about the advantages of virtual education for your child by clicking here.
Subjects
Regarding the selection of subjects, how to study in an American school while in Panama allows both students and parents to receive training regarding the subjects that the student can choose.
The subjects validated by the Ministry of Education are many and have general nomenclature (mathematics, history, biology, etc.). American colleges offer many subjects that correspond to each generic group; for example geometry or arithmetic is mathematics, world history, or government is history etc. In this way, the options of subjects in American schools are assured to be valid. How to study in an American school while in Panama.
Depending on the degree in question, there are certain compulsory subjects and optional subjects. As the grade progresses, the variety of subjects that a High School can offer can be extremely extensive. Let’s see how studying in an American school while in Panama offers you a wide variety of subjects for the educational training of your child.
Middle school stage | Compulsory subjects
Mathematics Area:
- General mathematics
- Pre-Algebra
- Algebra
- Geometry
English Area:
- English and reading reinforcement
Science Area:
- General and advanced sciences
Social Sciences Area:
- General and advanced social sciences
Physical Education Area:
- Physical education
Middle school stage | Optative subjects
- Foreign language
- Art
- Technology
- Business
- Family sciences (nutrition, sewing, consumption habits …)
- Performing arts (theater, marching band, choir, orchestra)
- Creative writing
High school stage | Compulsory subjects
Language Area (normally it is required to take at least the English subject within the language area)
- English
- Literature
- Foreign language (Spanish, French, Chinese …)
- Writing (technical and creative)
- Debate
- Public speech
- Poetry
Science area (normally it is required to take 3 subjects between the area of science and social sciences)
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Physical
- Physiology
- Anatomy
- geology
- Astronomy
- Environmental sciences
- Forensic Science
Social Sciences area (normally it is required to take 3 subjects between the area of science and social sciences)
- World history
- American history
- Government model
- Economy
- Right
- Sociology
- Psychology
Mathematics Area (normally it is required to take 1 subject in the area of mathematics)
- Pre-Algebra
- Algebra
- Geometry
- Trigonometry
- Precalculus
- Calculation
- Statistics
Health Area (normally it is required to take 1 subject in the health area)
- Nutrition
- First aid
- Sex education
- Illegal drugs
- Tobacco
- Alcohol
- Physical education
High school stage | Optative subjects
Art Area
- History of art
- Painting
- Sculpture
- Artistic drawing
- Cinema
- Theater
- Chorus
- Dance
Computing Area
- Graphic design
- App programming
- General programming
- Web design
- Video Game Design
- Musical production
- 3d design
Personal Development Area
- Carpentry
- Vial education
- Mechanics
- farming
- Metallurgy
Foreign Languages Area
- Spanish
- French
- Chinese
- German
- Italian
- Japanese
- Russian
- Portuguese
Economics and Marketing Area
- Marketing
- Advertising
- yearbook
- Accounting
- Finance
Health and Home Economics Area
- Kitchen room
- Sex education
- Domestic accounting
- Nutrition
- Nursing
- Dietary training
How are the tasks?
About how to study in an American school while in Panama, the tasks are assigned so that the students develop them at home, providing them with all the necessary guides so that they can fulfill the assignments correctly, as well as the accessibility of contacting their teachers and tutors to resolve any query.
American education while in Panama is the option of the future
QLU Virtual Academy is a secondary educational institution whose mission is focused on educating and developing talented and motivated students who will become respected leaders and responsible citizens. Prepared to succeed academically and professionally by practicing high personal ethics. We take care of preparing highly academic students for college.
We hope the information has been practical for you and that we have been able to answer your question about How to study in an American school while in Panama?
