What does it mean when people (e.g.americans) say --th grade?

[Lauren jayne]

Hi! im from england.. and i dont understand how school/college works in america when people say stuff like 8th grade, 7th grade? is it like UK where 11-12year olds are year 7, 12-13 year 8, 13-14 year 9, 14-15 year 10, 15-16 year 11? when im on twitter i notice alot of people using 'grade' .. i was just wondering how it all works over there? THANKs xoxo

[Sawyer]

Same thing every year in school is a grade

[Hello]

Yes, grades are the same as 'years' in the UK, however 7th grade is actually year 8. So people in 7th grade will have students aged 12-13, and in the UK kids aged 12-13 are in year 8. This is because in the UK we have one extra year of schooling than the US, yet we both finish at age 18, so we start earlier. So in the US the last year of schooling is 12th grade, which is year 13 in the UK.

[Steve A]

The first year of school in the US is called kindergarten. The children usually start when they're 5 years old.
Then comes 1st grade, which is 6 year olds.

Different US states have different rules about starting. It usually involves the child's birthday. It could be that the child has to be 5 by July 1 to start kindergarten that year. Some parents hold their child back for a year so they'll be more mature.

In high school, the first year is 9th grade or freshman, then 10th grade sophomore, 11th grade junior, 12th grade senior. The four years of college use those terms again. Some have started to say first years instead of freshmen to not be sexist.