Definition of grade school

The term "grade school" has its origins in the United States education system, particularly in the second half of the 19th century. At the time, there was a growing demand for expanding education opportunities beyond elementary school (which taught reading, writing, and arithmetic), but the curriculum and teaching methods were not yet defined for these higher grades. In response, educators developed a grading system to organize the curriculum by learning levels. Students progressed through a series of "grades" or levels, with each grade building upon the skills learned in the previous one. This system not only allowed for a more systematic approach to education but also provided a clear pathway for students to advance through the system. The term "grade school" emerged as a convenient way to refer to this new system of education, which focused on the intermediate levels of learning (beyond the elementary level) but before the more advanced secondary or high school levels. The use of "grade" to denote different levels of learning has since spread to other educational contexts, such as college and university courses, where students also progress through a series of grades or levels. In summary, "grade school" is a term that refers to the middle stages of education, focused on intermediate levels of learning that build upon the skills learned in elementary school, and come before the more advanced secondary or high school levels.