school in america

Thanks for all these helpful responses! I think I understand a bit better now. I had sort of thought that the Japanese system (where I lived for a few years) was the same as the US. They have six years of elementary school, three of junior high, and three of senior high, followed by an exam which can get you into uni, where the degrees are generally four years long. (The exam is hard, but university is practically impossible to fail...) It seems that it is not exactly the same after all. And then in Ireland it seems it's different again!

High school is very important in this state. We don't actually have a university entrance exam. Rather, the results of almost all your exams from the final two years of school (grade 11 & 12) are combined (and normalised in comparison to other schools and subjects) to give you a final score. (It's a pain for teachers, but I think a fairer system overall than an exam which depends on your performance on a single day of your life.) Each degree then has cut-off scores which are adjusted according to the requirements of the course and the demand for the degree.

[Vanquisher]

The U.S. has "entrance exams," but they aren't pass/fail. The better you do on them (S.A.T. and A.C.T.) combined with your performance throughout high school (G.P.A., volunteer service, clubs, etc.), the better liklihood you will get into a university/4-year college, get scholarships, or go to a big name program.

If you want to go to medical school or vetinary, law, business etc your career is based on the your leaving certs result, everything, your whole life on one exam, its a lot of pressure, there are back doors for a lot of other careers but not the above.