The way the schools are organized on the inside is also very different from American elementary schools. Rather than having grades 1-12 and then college, the French system has CP, CE1, CE2, CM1, CM2, grades 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, premiere, and terminale, in that order. Students in the high-school equivalent (grade 2 to terminale) also have the opportunity to declare their interest for the future and study a specific track, as a result of that preference. This is usually what university students do in America, too, but in France students are encouraged to pick a life plan earlier on than we are in the USA. Overall, the French school system is effective and rigorous, but varies greatly from the system in America.
