Ah, I see that "grade school" is sometimes defined as just to 6th grade or so. I have always used it to include all schooling up to college.

So, apologies on that. I am referring to the same stuff you are mentioning. I don't think that changes my point, at all?

No it doesn’t, I was just curious. And yeah in the US grade school is just through 5th grade, and 6th grade in most of the rest of the world. Synonymous with elementary school AFAIK.

I think the US is far too slow in introducing algebra, with it standardly being taught in 9th grade. So that made me curious.

I don't remember my school days, oddly. For my kids, they don't have an "algebra" class until later. But they do basic symbolic math far sooner. I know they have done what we would call linear systems of equations as early as 6th grade. Different number systems even earlier.

My 9th grader is in an algebra class. I don't remember if it is 1 or 2.

I'm still not entirely clear I see the obvious path from the things they are doing to algebraic types.

> in the US grade school is just through 5th grade, and 6th grade in most of the rest of the world

Be careful with this. Where I grew up in the US, "Grade school" was usually through 6th grade with a grade 7-8 middle school or just 1-8.