What is "elementary school"

Grammar \Gram"mar\, n. [OE. gramere, OF. gramaire, F. grammaire Prob. fr. L. gramatica Gr ?, fem. of ? skilled in grammar, fr. ? letter. See Gramme, Graphic, and cf. Grammatical, Gramarye.]

1. The science which treats of the principles of language; the study of forms of speech, and their relations to one another; the art concerned with the right use and application of the rules of a language, in speaking or writing.

   Note: The whole fabric of grammar rests upon the classifying of words according to their function in the sentence.
   --Bain.

2. The art of speaking or writing with correctness or according to established usage; speech considered with regard to the rules of a grammar.

   The original bad grammar and bad spelling.
   --Macaulay.

3. A treatise on the principles of language; a book containing the principles and rules for correctness in speaking or writing.

4. treatise on the elements or principles of any science; as, a grammar of geography. Comparative grammar, the science which determines the relations of kindred languages by examining and comparing their grammatical forms. Grammar school.

   1. A school, usually endowed, in which Latin and Greek grammar are taught, as also other studies preparatory to colleges or universities; as, the famous Rugby Grammar School. This use of the word is more common in England than in the United States.

      When any town shall increase to the number of a hundred families or householders, they shall set up a grammar school, the master thereof being able to instruct youth so far as they may be fitted for the University.
      --Mass. Records (1647).

   2. In the American system of graded common schools, at one time the term referred to an intermediate school between the primary school and the high school, in which the principles of English grammar were taught; now, it is synonymous with primary school or elementary school, being the first school at which children are taught subjects required by the state educational laws. In different communities, the grammar school (primary school) may have grades 1 to 4, 1 to 6, or 1 to 8, usually together with a kindergarten. Schools between the primary school and high school are now commonly termed middle school or intermediate school.

n. (context North America schools English) A school for children, typically older than toddlers and younger than adolescents. In the U.S., elementary schools cover grades 1 through 5, and the ages of the children are usually 6-11 years. At a minimum, elementary schools will teach basic reading, writing, arithmetic, and history. Historically used in the UK.

n. a school for young children; usually the first 6 or 8 grades [syn: grade school, grammar school, primary school]

Elementary school is a school for students at their first school years, before they enter secondary education. The exact ages vary by country. Elementary school is usually part of the compulsory education, especially in the Western countries.

Elementary schools (sometimes Higher elementary schools) were the first schools in England which were funded by taxation. They operated between 1870 and 1944 and provided an education for children between the ages of 5 and 14. In some areas older children were educated in separate 'Higher Elementary Schools'. Many of these schools converted to Primary schools after 1944.

An elementary school is the main point of delivery of primary education in the United States, for children between the ages of 4–11 and coming between Pre-Kindergarten and secondary education.

In 2001 there were 92,858 elementary schools (68,173 public, 24,685 private) in the United States, a figure which includes all schools that teach students from grade one through grade eight. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in the fall of 2009 almost 3.5 million students attended public primary schools. It is usually from Kindergarten through Third Grade, Fourth Grade, Fifth Grade, and Sixth Grade.