Comprehensive high schools are the most common form of public high schools in the United States and are meant to serve the needs of all students, as compared to the common practice in other nations in which examinations are used to sort students into different high schools for different populations. Some high schools specialize in University-preparatory school academic preparation, some in remedial instruction, and some in vocational instruction. A typical comprehensive high school offers more than one course of specialization in its program. Comprehensive high schools usually have a college preparatory course and one or more scientific or vocational courses.
Many school districts in the US also have schools tailored to high-performing students and other students who do not succeed best in a comprehensive environment. However, these schools may also have varying numbers of high-performing student classes. This can lead to unpreparedness in post-secondary education.
Famous quotes containing the words high and/or school:
“O mistress mine, where are you roaming?
O stay and hear, your true love’s coming,
That can sing both high and low.
Trip no further, pretty sweeting.
Journeys end in lovers meeting,
Every wise man’s son doth know.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“I go to school to youth to learn the future.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)