User:Unmusically.me/Elementary schools in the United States

Lead- DONE UPDATING
An elementary school is a primary school which is the main point of delivery of primary education in the United States, for children between the ages of 5–11 and coming between pre-kindergarten and secondary education.

In 2017, there were 106,147 elementary schools (73,686 public, 32,461 private) in the United States, a figure which includes all schools that teach students from First Grade through Eighth Grade (add citation from https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=84). According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in the fall of 2020 almost 32.8 million students attended public primary schools. It is usually from kindergarten through fifth grade, although the NCES displays this data as kindergarten through eighth grade. (CITE https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=372)

Standardized testing- I don't have enough time or resources to update this one
''Most, if not all, teachers are held accountable for testing scores towards the end of the academic year. This pressure compromises the pedagogy of teachers and the extent to which other subjects are taught. Moreover, it is reported that the desire for accountability in education requires teachers to contradict their pedagogy by teaching students in ways they don't consider professional, conducive, and successful. This new unwanted adjustment in pedagogy, which reduces the extent to which teachers teach other subjects, leads them to emphasize the specific information that is likely to appear in multiple-choice standardized tests. Consequently, the enormous amount of information that students need, and tend, to memorize for these multiple-choice tests, leads to neglect of material that involves critical thinking and problem-solving skills.''

Teaching
Elementary School teachers are trained with emphases on human cognitive and psychological development and the principles of curriculum development and instruction. Teachers typically earn either a Bachelors or master's degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education.

Certification standards for teachers are determined by individual states, with individual colleges and universities determining the rigor of the college education provided for future teachers. Some states require content area tests, as well as instructional skills tests for teacher certification in that state.

Public Elementary School teachers typically instruct between twenty and thirty students of diverse learning needs. A typical classroom will include children with a range of learning needs or abilities, from those identified as having special needs of the kinds listed in the Individuals with Disabilities Act to those that are cognitively, athletically or artistically gifted.

Teachers use a variety of ways to teach, with a focus on getting pupils attention. Humor is sometimes used. Cartoons, for example, can capture ideas in one image.

A study of seven industrialized nations found that in 2006, the average starting salary of American public primary school teachers with minimum qualifications was $34,900. In this regard the United States was second only to Germany (non-U.S. salaries were converted to U.S. dollars at purchasing power parity).

The 2007 a survey conducted by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) reported that the average salary for an American teacher was $51,009; this is also recorded as the first time in history the average pay for teachers has exceeded the $50,000 mark.

'''The National Center for Education Statistics found that as of the 2019-2020 school year, the average American teacher made $63,645. Mississippi had the lowest average teacher's salary at $45,192, and New York had the highest average teacher's salary at $87,543. (CITE: https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d20/tables/dt20_211.60.asp?current.asp )'''

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are roughly 1.4 million primary school teachers employed in the United States, with average earnings of $55,270, and median earnings of $52,840.