A Rough Guide to US High Schools [Glee focused]
I don't know if anyone is even going to see this but I figured I'd type this up as it's been bothering me.
Based on my own experiences as well as those of my family & friends. Now Glee writers, I know Glee makes shit up all the time but the little things really throw me out of a fic. Here's the caveat: I went to a private Catholic high school 2001-2005 in Michigan (close to the Ohio border, like 20 minutes with traffic from Toledo which is roughly 1.5/2 hrs from Lima) and things should be similar for Ohio but may be off.
The basics, grade levels: freshmen = 9th grade, sophomore = 10th grade, junior = 11th grade, and senior = 12th grade. Most kids start high school at 14 years old, turning 15 at some point in their freshmen year. Now obviously this isn't always true. I went to high school with individuals who were 15 at the start so they were technically a year older and there were others who started at 13 years old. There's a little bit of leeway depending on birthdays & county cut-offs in addition to parental choice. So generally students turn 16 sometime sophomore year meaning they can drive. This one seems to be a doozie for the Glee fandom but we'll come back to it later. Junior year is when you turn 17 & senior year is the 18th birthday.
Standardized Tests: For a state like Ohio, the students are probably going to take the PSAT sophomore year, the ACT in the spring of junior year (most schools offer at least one test date for their students) so they can apply to colleges in the fall of senior year. If the student is looking at particular schools that require the SAT, they tend to sign up for that their own or take SAT Subject tests. School guidance counselors would be the ones to help a college-bounds student figure this all out. There's also standardized State tests set forth by the Ohio Department of Education.
School dances: Usually Homecoming is the big fall dance, open to all 4 grades. There's usually some sort of winter formal that is also open to all students before Prom season. My school held 1 prom that was open to juniors & seniors. The local public high school (being a much larger school) held a separate prom for each grade. Neither my school or the public HS held prom at our school but clearly McKinley does. We always rented out a separate venue that would provide a meal before the dance portion with a hired DJ and photographer. We held proms at convention centers, halls, or other venues that are popular wedding reception sites. My school tended to avoid hosting prom at a venue that was connected to a hotel because of our religious affiliation but the public school did host a few proms at a very nice hotel. Venues are predominately figured out by the class officers & the class advisor (sometimes if prom committee got set up early enough, they got a say too) who base it on how much money the class has raised. This in turn determines ticket prices.
Driving: Ohio has a Bureau of Motor Vehicles which is the best place to research their actual laws. Ohio and Michigan both have Graduated Driver Licensing. This basically means there are 3 stages to being a fully-licensed driver:
Stage 1: Temporary permit which you can get at age 15 1/2 in Ohio (valid 1 year only)
Stage 2: Probationary license eligible at age 16 if the individual passes the appropriate tests/requirements
Stage 3: Full license
From the BMV website: Ohio’s GDL law states that all temporary permit holders between the ages of 15½ and 18 must receive a minimum of 24 hours of classroom instruction and eight hours of behind-the-wheel instruction in driver training. In addition, they must complete 50 hours of driving with a parent or legal guardian, including at least 10 hours of nighttime driving. Parents or guardians must verify the hours in writing, under penalty of falsification. When driving with a temporary permit, you must be accompanied by a parent, guardian or licensed driving instructor seated in the front passenger seat until you turn 16 years old..
This basically means driver's ed is mandatory in Ohio. I looked and couldn't find an option for individuals living in a rural area to get this permit or a license early but it may exist in Ohio. I only found something about how if the individual has to do driving because a parent is incapacitated but the parent must surrender their license & there are restrictions for the teen.
If a teen has completed the 50 hours & held the permit for at least 6 months, they can apply for a probationary license once they're 16 years old. They have to pass the Ohio driving and maneuverability tests. This license is valid until 18 years of age and has different restrictions for 16-&-17-year-olds.
16-year-old license holders are prohibited from operating a motor vehicle between midnight and 6 a.m., unless accompanied by a parent or guardian, with the following exceptions: The license holder is driving to or from work (must have in immediate possession written documentation from the employer), to or from a school activity, or in an emergency situation. Licensed drivers who are 17 years old are restricted from driving between the hours of 1 a.m. and 5 a.m., unless accompanied by a parent or guardian, with the same exceptions as above.
License holders who are 16 years old shall not operate a motor vehicle with more than one person who is not a family member occupying the vehicle unless accompanied by a parent, guardian or legal custodian. But once they're 17, they can drive how ever many people the car legally holds (basically how ever many seat/seat-belts are available).
As far as I can, there's nothing special required to have a full license upon turning 18.
Thanks for reading. Just remember this is filtered through my life experiences and may differ for others. If someone actually from Ohio says differently, listen to their advice if you're writing Glee fic :) I have been to Lima many a time but clearly have never lived there and the actual resemblance Glee's Lima has to the real town depends on if it fits the show's needs. Feel free to ask a question if you have one. I'll try my best to answer :)
Based on my own experiences as well as those of my family & friends. Now Glee writers, I know Glee makes shit up all the time but the little things really throw me out of a fic. Here's the caveat: I went to a private Catholic high school 2001-2005 in Michigan (close to the Ohio border, like 20 minutes with traffic from Toledo which is roughly 1.5/2 hrs from Lima) and things should be similar for Ohio but may be off.
The basics, grade levels: freshmen = 9th grade, sophomore = 10th grade, junior = 11th grade, and senior = 12th grade. Most kids start high school at 14 years old, turning 15 at some point in their freshmen year. Now obviously this isn't always true. I went to high school with individuals who were 15 at the start so they were technically a year older and there were others who started at 13 years old. There's a little bit of leeway depending on birthdays & county cut-offs in addition to parental choice. So generally students turn 16 sometime sophomore year meaning they can drive. This one seems to be a doozie for the Glee fandom but we'll come back to it later. Junior year is when you turn 17 & senior year is the 18th birthday.
Standardized Tests: For a state like Ohio, the students are probably going to take the PSAT sophomore year, the ACT in the spring of junior year (most schools offer at least one test date for their students) so they can apply to colleges in the fall of senior year. If the student is looking at particular schools that require the SAT, they tend to sign up for that their own or take SAT Subject tests. School guidance counselors would be the ones to help a college-bounds student figure this all out. There's also standardized State tests set forth by the Ohio Department of Education.
School dances: Usually Homecoming is the big fall dance, open to all 4 grades. There's usually some sort of winter formal that is also open to all students before Prom season. My school held 1 prom that was open to juniors & seniors. The local public high school (being a much larger school) held a separate prom for each grade. Neither my school or the public HS held prom at our school but clearly McKinley does. We always rented out a separate venue that would provide a meal before the dance portion with a hired DJ and photographer. We held proms at convention centers, halls, or other venues that are popular wedding reception sites. My school tended to avoid hosting prom at a venue that was connected to a hotel because of our religious affiliation but the public school did host a few proms at a very nice hotel. Venues are predominately figured out by the class officers & the class advisor (sometimes if prom committee got set up early enough, they got a say too) who base it on how much money the class has raised. This in turn determines ticket prices.
Driving: Ohio has a Bureau of Motor Vehicles which is the best place to research their actual laws. Ohio and Michigan both have Graduated Driver Licensing. This basically means there are 3 stages to being a fully-licensed driver:
Stage 1: Temporary permit which you can get at age 15 1/2 in Ohio (valid 1 year only)
Stage 2: Probationary license eligible at age 16 if the individual passes the appropriate tests/requirements
Stage 3: Full license
From the BMV website: Ohio’s GDL law states that all temporary permit holders between the ages of 15½ and 18 must receive a minimum of 24 hours of classroom instruction and eight hours of behind-the-wheel instruction in driver training. In addition, they must complete 50 hours of driving with a parent or legal guardian, including at least 10 hours of nighttime driving. Parents or guardians must verify the hours in writing, under penalty of falsification. When driving with a temporary permit, you must be accompanied by a parent, guardian or licensed driving instructor seated in the front passenger seat until you turn 16 years old..
This basically means driver's ed is mandatory in Ohio. I looked and couldn't find an option for individuals living in a rural area to get this permit or a license early but it may exist in Ohio. I only found something about how if the individual has to do driving because a parent is incapacitated but the parent must surrender their license & there are restrictions for the teen.
If a teen has completed the 50 hours & held the permit for at least 6 months, they can apply for a probationary license once they're 16 years old. They have to pass the Ohio driving and maneuverability tests. This license is valid until 18 years of age and has different restrictions for 16-&-17-year-olds.
16-year-old license holders are prohibited from operating a motor vehicle between midnight and 6 a.m., unless accompanied by a parent or guardian, with the following exceptions: The license holder is driving to or from work (must have in immediate possession written documentation from the employer), to or from a school activity, or in an emergency situation. Licensed drivers who are 17 years old are restricted from driving between the hours of 1 a.m. and 5 a.m., unless accompanied by a parent or guardian, with the same exceptions as above.
License holders who are 16 years old shall not operate a motor vehicle with more than one person who is not a family member occupying the vehicle unless accompanied by a parent, guardian or legal custodian. But once they're 17, they can drive how ever many people the car legally holds (basically how ever many seat/seat-belts are available).
As far as I can, there's nothing special required to have a full license upon turning 18.
Thanks for reading. Just remember this is filtered through my life experiences and may differ for others. If someone actually from Ohio says differently, listen to their advice if you're writing Glee fic :) I have been to Lima many a time but clearly have never lived there and the actual resemblance Glee's Lima has to the real town depends on if it fits the show's needs. Feel free to ask a question if you have one. I'll try my best to answer :)