Comparing the school systems in Russia and the U.S.
Written by Viktoria Balyanova, Former Student on Thursday, January 8, 2015
I want to tell you about some the most noticeable differences between Russian and American educational systems. First of all, I’d like to emphasis on the fact that there is no education system that can be called universally best. Every country establishes its own unique education system.
There is no percentage in your grades.
Your grade can be 2 through 5. Russia doesn’t use letters.
Your parents are not involved in your academics.
The habit of school in Russia to call or text your parents if you don’t study well is not popular. Your mom and dad can only check your grades in "parent meetings."
There is no privacy in your grades.
U.S. student’s grades are not revealed to the whole class, in Russia it’s the opposite. It’s common to put your grades publicly in the presence of the whole class. Also it’s common for teachers to put grades and names on their office door, so everyone can see all of the students’ grades.
Exams are the most important.
Exams in Russia are certainly more stressful than in the U.S., because in many cases a final exam is worth 90 or 100 percent of the grade. The exam format is similar for all majors and class years. During the exam, a student receives a few random questions based on the content of the entire course.
Classes won't contain students from different years, and different majors.
Unlike in the U.S., in Russia, you will never see students of different class years in the same class. All students, after they have been admitted to a college, are assigned to groups according to their major and class year. Students then attend classes with the same group until they graduate.
“Helping each other” takes place and is very popular.
There is something about the Russian culture that is responsible for students’ tendency to collaborate in many situations in which American students don’t, for example, during exams. As student’s progress from their first year to their last, they develop more and more creative ways of “helping” each other without being caught by teachers.
