Ninth Grade - United States

United States

In the United States, ninth grade is usually the first year in high school (called "upper secondary school" in other countries). In this system, ninth graders are also often referred to as freshmen. It can also be the last year of junior high school.

In the mathematics curriculum, ninth graders are usually taught Algebra (known as Integrated Algebra in some parts of the country), an Honors Algebra course, or Geometry. Most students usually take Pre-Algebra in their last year of middle school. Advanced courses (such as Geometry in the US) are usually available to ninth graders who are prepared for a more rigorous curriculum, depending on the school district. In some cases, the upcoming tenth graders will take Algebra II. Some districts across the country allow their 10th graders to take Trigonometry or AP Statistics, or even Calculus if the district provides. In 8th grade, average(academic) students will have Algebra topics A. Basic students will be taught the same thing as the average students, but with an extra teacher. Honors students will have Algebra 1 in 8th grade.

In the English curriculum, ninth graders are taught the fundamentals of Literature and touches the fundamentals of speech and debate. They may also read Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare as it correlates with current teenage life and issues.

In the social studies curriculum, ninth graders are typically taught geography, government, and history. In most areas, students are open to taking more advanced history courses like world history or U.S. history with the consent of the pupil's previous social studies teacher.

In the science curriculum, ninth grade students are required, in most areas, to take earth science, or biology. Physical science may be taught as well in some schools. It is often a pre-requisite for most other lab sciences available at the high school level, and is often a requirement for graduation. In some cases, the upcoming ninth grader may choose to take the tenth grade course. Chemistry can also be taken in 9th grade, depending on the district. In some localities, a health class can also be taken for half of the year, and PE is replaced.

Read more about this topic:  Ninth Grade

Famous quotes related to united states:

    Fortunately, the time has long passed when people liked to regard the United States as some kind of melting pot, taking men and women from every part of the world and converting them into standardized, homogenized Americans. We are, I think, much more mature and wise today. Just as we welcome a world of diversity, so we glory in an America of diversity—an America all the richer for the many different and distinctive strands of which it is woven.
    Hubert H. Humphrey (1911–1978)

    Printer, philosopher, scientist, author and patriot, impeccable husband and citizen, why isn’t he an archetype? Pioneers, Oh Pioneers! Benjamin was one of the greatest pioneers of the United States. Yet we just can’t do with him. What’s wrong with him then? Or what’s wrong with us?
    —D.H. (David Herbert)

    We are told to maintain constitutions because they are constitutions, and what is laid down in those constitutions?... Certain great fundamental ideas of right are common to the world, and ... all laws of man’s making which trample on these ideas, are null and void—wrong to obey, right to disobey. The Constitution of the United States recognizes human slavery; and makes the souls of men articles of purchase and of sale.
    Anna Elizabeth Dickinson (1842–1932)

    Because of these convictions, I made a personal decision in the 1964 Presidential campaign to make education a fundamental issue and to put it high on the nation’s agenda. I proposed to act on my belief that regardless of a family’s financial condition, education should be available to every child in the United States—as much education as he could absorb.
    Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)

    Madam, I may be President of the United States, but my private life is nobody’s damn business.
    Chester A. Arthur (1829–1886)