When did free public education start in the US?

How familiar are you with the history of education in the United States? Did you know the first schools focused on religious studies, not math or reading? Or that public schools as we know them didn’t come into vogue until the 1930s?

We’ve compiled 11 facts about the history of education in America, from the founding of the country to present day. Read below to learn more.

11 Facts About the History of Education in America

1. The first schools in the 13 colonies opened in the 17th century. The Boston Latin School was the first public school opened in the United States, in 1635. To this day, it remains the nation’s oldest public school.

2. Early public schools in the United States did not focus on academics like math or reading. Instead they taught the virtues of family, religion, and community.

3. Girls were usually taught how to read but not how to write in early America.

4. By the mid-19th century, academics became the sole responsibility of public schools.

5. In the South, public schools were not common during the 1600s and the early 1700s. Affluent families paid private tutors to educate their children.

6. Public Schooling in the South was not widespread until the Reconstruction Era after the American Civil War.

7. Common Schools emerged in the 18th century. These schools educated students of all ages in one room with one teacher. Students did not attend these schools for free. Parents paid tuition, provided housing for the school teacher, or contributed other commodities in exchange for their children being allowed to attend the school.

8. By 1900, 31 states had compulsory school attendance for students from ages 8-14. By 1918, every state required students to complete elementary school.

9. The idea of a progressive education, educating the child to reach his full potential and actively promoting and participating in a democratic society, began in the late 1800s and became widespread by the 1930s. John Dewey was the founder of this movement.

10. Through the 1960s, the United States had a racially segregated system of schools. This was despite the 1954 Brown vs. Board Supreme Court ruling. By the late 1970s segregated schooling in the United States was eliminated.

11. In 2001, the United States entered its current era of education accountability/reform with the institution of the No Child Left Behind law. *Update: The Every Student Succeeds Act has replaced No Child Left Behind. Learn more about the change here.

Surprised by any of these facts? Let us know why in the comments below!

The goals and purpose of an educational system have been debated since the first settlers arrived in the American colonies. In the United States, tax-supported public institutions of elementary, secondary and higher learning have replaced the early system of private or religious schooling. The idea of a universal K through 12 educational system available free of charge to all citizens was slowly implemented.

Explore this article

1 Colonial History

The American educational system began with the establishment of Congregationalist and Puritan religious schools in the 1600s. Their purpose was to provide religious-oriented instruction to the upper-class children of Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire. Reading, writing and arithmetic were taught with Bibles, primers and wooden paddle-shaped hornbooks. The system's Latin Grammar Schools prepared the sons of high social standing for eventual leadership roles in colonial life. The schools specialized in preparing male students for entrance into college.

2 Public Education

By the 1840s educational reformers pushed for the goal of establishing a free public education system open to children of all genders and social classes. Thomas Jefferson, Horace Mann, Harry Barnard and others proposed the concept of schooling freed of religious bias. The purpose of public education was to train students to become skilled workers while teaching them the traditional core academic disciplines. The supporters of universal public education believed it would create better citizens and a culturally uniform American society.

3 High Schools

The first publicly paid for secondary schools of the 1600s were Latin grammar schools, geared for preparing students from wealthy families to enter Harvard College, America's first institution of higher education. Students learned Greek and Latin to read classical texts and literature in their original language. The demand for technical and contemporary knowledge led Benjamin Franklin to start an alternative type of American secondary school. It was more focused on teaching current skills and information to ordinary students.

4 Progressivism

As the population grew more diverse in the 1890s, progressive principles of education began to take hold. The goals and purpose of the American educational system were adapted to meet the needs of a diversifying population. The progressive approach attempted to teach critical thinking skills to an engaged and informed citizenry. Child-centered curricula were devised to address the artistic, imaginative and creative aspects of the students. Traditional academic learning combined with vocational training would produce citizens better prepared to understand and participate in community life.

Where did free public schooling begin in the US?

When did education become free?

Who started free public education?

When did public education start?