Top 6 differences between Spanish high schools and American high schools

Spanish high schools are quite different from American high schools. You may wonder what some of the main differences are:

1. Students remain in the same classroom and the teachers are the ones who switch classrooms.
2. The subject English means English as a Second Language and not the English class American students receive in the US.
3. US history is not a subject taught in Spain. It is mostly going to be History about Europe or World History.
4. Spanish students are placed in a grade depending on the year they were born. So Spanish schools look at the calendar/natural year. Students would be place in the same level either they were born in January or December. So, depending on the student´s age, students need to be in a specific grade. This is standardized by the Spanish government. So, for example, a student who is 14 years old can´t never be placed in 11th grade.
5. Spanish schools cannot cater subjects a la carte. This means that students cannot design their schedule as they would in an American high school. Subjects are given-again, by the Spanish government, and there are no different levels of for example, math, there would be only be one level.
6. If students don´t need credits for certain subjects, they would still need to go to those classes as they are minors and cannot be outside of school without an adult to pick them up.

At first, it is quite a shock, especially because everything is in Spanish! However, CIEE students get used to quickly and Spanish students tend to be good hosts. Spanish students study every day during weekdays. Some CIEE students say that Spanish students study more than Americans, and some say the opposite. It just depends what you are used to at your home school. Whatever it is, CIEE is here to help you with the transition the best we can.

In the photos above you see some of our students at different schools: private, charter or public. CIEE  loves visiting students during recess, recreo, to check how things are going.

It will be challenging but it will be worth it!