Writing Feedback / 'Education system and culture, traditions, and economy' - Compare/Contrast Essay [2]

Below is my essay for a compare/contrast essay. The topic was to compare/contrast the US and Germany. I felt that the topic was broad so I narrowed it down to just the educational systems of both countries.

An educational system is develops in a country based off its culture, traditions, and economy. Some people think that the United States and Germany would have many similarities in their educational systems. However, with a bit of research, you quickly learn that there are few similarities and many differences between the schools in Germany and the United States.

In Germany students attend an elementary school called Grundschule for grades one through four. Then after they finish grade four, the students are split into three different schools called Hauptschule, Realschule, and Gymnasium. Hauptschule leads to vocational education and goes from grades five to nine. Realschule leads to technical and business school and lasts from grade five to ten. Gymnasium is the most academically oriented and is the only school that leads to a German high school diploma and a university education. In comparison, all students in the United States attend the same school for twelve years and obtain high school diplomas upon completing all twelve years.

Another difference between the two educational systems is the time they are in school. School is usually over by 1 p.m. in Germany whereas in the US school is over at 3 p.m. German schools do not serve lunch and have very few extra-curricular activities unlike the US. German students receive less vacation time. They receive six weeks for summer vacation, two weeks for fall vacation, two weeks for Christmas, and two weeks for spring break. American students receive twelve weeks for summer, two weeks for Christmas, and one week for spring break.

The grading systems and homeschooling are also different in both countries. The grading system in Germany is based on a scale of one to six, with one being the best score and six being the worst. In America, the grading system starts at zero and goes up to one hundred where zero is the worst and one hundred is the best. Homeschooling is perfectly okay in the United States whereas in Germany it is banned by law but is allowed on rare occasions.

There are a few similarities between the two educational systems. German students begin school in Kindergarten. Similarly American students start in Kindergarten as well. The same subjects are thought in both schools. Lastly, the students are separated by grades according to their age.

Although there are many similarities between the United States and Germany, their educational systems could not be more different. I cannot say for sure which system is better but each system works for their own country.

Is there anything I need to change, add, or delete? Any grammar issues? Thanks in advance!