In 2012, Israel was named the second most educated country in the world according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Education at a Glance report, released in 2012.
The report found that 78% of the money invested in education is from public funds and 45% of the population has a university or college diploma.
Israeli schools are divided into four tracks:
1. State (Mamlachti)
2. State-religious (Mamlachti dati)
3. Independent (Haredi) schools (Chinuch Atzmai)
4. Arab schools
There are also private schools which reflect the philosophies of specific groups of parents.
The Israeli education system consists of three tiers:
1. Primary education (grades 1-6, approx. ages 6–12)
2. Middle school (grades 7-9, approx. ages 12–15)
3. High school (grades 10-12, approx. ages 15–18).
Compulsory education takes place from kindergarten through to 12th grade.
The school year begins on the last Sunday of August, ending for elementary school pupils on 30 June, and for middle school and high school pupils on 20 June.
Eight Israeli Universities generally require a certain grade average and a good grade in the Psychometric Entrance Test, which is similar in many respects to the American SAT. All of Israel's eight public universities, and some of its colleges, are subsidized by the state, and students pay only a small part of the actual cost of tuition.
According to the Webometrics ranking, six of Israel's universities place in the top 100 schools of Asia. Four universities place in the top 150 in the world according to the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Academic Ranking of World Universities, and three are in the Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings (i.e. amongst the “Top 200 World Universities”).
Additional information
Central bureau of statistics
www.cbs.gov.il/webpub/pub/text_page_eng.html?publ=71&CYear=2008&CMonth=1
OECD
www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/israel
YNET
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4217180,00.html
The Israel Project
www.theisraelproject.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=hsJPK0PIJpH&b=689705&ct=1164561&printmode=1
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