Depends a lot on the school, or possibly more specifically: the ___location or demographics of the school. Many high schools with motivated students (eg where I went) have few issues and good education outcomes. Some others are little better than prisons with dysfunctional students.
In slovenia, you first go to elementary/grade school (used to be 1+8, now 9 years) until you're ~15yo, then you apply for high schools, and depending on your grades and other stuff, you get accepted to your chosen school (either "gymansium" - basically 'everything', or some kind of specific/trades school (mechanics, electricians, construction,...)).
Usually if you're good in school, you get to a good high school and also have good classmates (atleast on your level)... but even in shitty, no-limit school (eg. 3year construction school), discipline is not really a major issue, and really shitty students either fail or get expelled very soon.
- you are assigned a school and changing schools varies from moderately difficult to impossible
- kids under 16 cannot get to any high school other than their assigned one because they can’t drive (and at 16 they’d need a car, which not everyone can afford)
- everyone HAS to be in school all day. It’s day care so parents can work.
What you described in Slovenia sounds much better. It sounds like college in the US: people are there because they want to be there. High School in the US is just… a mess. There are people who think the point is to perform in the school band, or on the sports team, or in cheerleading etc. There are people who think the point is to hang out and have friends. There are people who think there is no point. And there are a few who think the point is to learn.
Schools very a lot and in a place this big you can find all kinds of schools, but from everyone I’ve known the typical experience is academically a waste of time, and people’s feelings about High School are almost entirely determined by how many friends they had and thus how much fun they thought it was.
> - kids under 16 cannot get to any high school other than their assigned one because they can’t drive (and at 16 they’d need a car, which not everyone can afford)
Is the density of high schools _that_ low and availability of transport _that_ bad?
Not from the US, but I had a choice of 3 local public + one local private and like 5 or 6 that I'd considered on the train line and a few more that were further away by bus.
It varies by population density. Where i grew up, a small town surrounded by many rural and semi-rural areas, the nearest high school to mine was about 20mi away, and most attendees did not live in reasonable walking distance to any high school. So you had to drive, be driven, or take the school bus.
Where I live now, a very rural area, there are only two high schools in a 100 mile radius.
Distance and local regulations can make this tricky. Most people are zoned to a school based on where they live, and alternatives can be inconveniently far. Main exceptions are magnet or charter programs, but these can be competitive.
