Germany

• Public education compulsory from ages 6 to 16
• After 4 years of primary school, testing determines subsequent schooling
• 3 schooling options after grade 4, based on academic ability and wishes of family:
• Gymnasium - the most academic track, culminating in the Abitur exam. The Abitur diploma is almost always required for entrance into German universities. Preparation begins in grade 7, though a student usually formally enters the Abitur track in grade 11. Gymnasium prepares students for either university study or for a dual academic and vocational credential. [Recently, many states have changed the curriculum so students can get the Abitur at the end of 12th grade, while other states are transitioning to this but may still require a 13th grade.]
• Realschule - grades 5-10 in most states. Further general education, some pre-vocational courses, English-language study. At 16, students finish their studies and transfer to a vocational school or enter apprenticeship training. Possible for students with high academic achievement at Realschule to switch to a Gymnasium on graduation.
• Hauptschule - grades 5-9. Essentially a continuation of elementary education, proceeding with study of language, arithmetic, geography, history, science, music, art and P.E. for 5 years - same subjects as the Realschule and Gymnasium, but at a slower pace and with some vocational-oriented courses. Followed by 3-year part-time enrollment in a vocational school combined with apprenticeship training until the age of 18.

• Gesamtschule - comprehensive school, grades 5-10. In some states, this takes the place of both the Hauptschule and the Realschule. Those who satisfactorily complete Gesamtschule through grade 9 receive the Hauptschule certificate, while those who complete through grade 10 receive the Realschule certificate.

• Berufsschule - after Hauptschule and Realschule. Combines part-time academic study and apprenticeship. Successful completion of an apprenticeship program leads to certification in a particular trade or field of work. Control of these schools lies with federal government, industry, and trade unions.
• Schools for special needs students - Sonderschule or Förderschule. Some special needs students are integrated into a Hauptschule or Gesamtschule. 
• Germany's 2012 PISA results
  

France

• First cycle of education up to grade 5
• Grades 6 and 7 are transitional
• Grades 8 and 9 are the 'guidance cycle,' in which students pursue a certain core curriculum, a second foreign language, and a collection of electives. By the end of grade 9, they have to decide whether to pursue academics or vocational options.
• Students ages 15-18 enter one of two lycées
• lycée d’enseignement général et technologique, or LEGT - general and technological education, the successor to the traditional academic lycée of the past
• "The curriculum of the LEGT begins in grade 10 with certain tracked basic courses that lead in grades 11 and 12 to specializations in any one of five subject areas: literary-philosophical studies, economics and social sciences, mathematics and physical sciences, earth sciences and biological sciences, and scientific and industrial technology. In grades 10 and 11 there is a common core of subjects plus options, but in grade 12 all subjects, being optional, are oriented toward the student's major area of study. The baccalauréat examination taken at the end of these studies qualifies students for university entrance."

•  lycée d’enseignement professionnel, or LEP - vocational-educational, encompassing a range of vocational-technical studies and training

• "Vocational-technical secondary education includes a three-year selection of optional courses leading to one of the 30 or so technical baccalauréats. A student may instead opt for a one-year course conferring no particular qualification or may opt for apprenticeship training in the workplace."

(Encyclopedia Britannica)

Great Britain

• Primary education includes students from ages 5 (4 in Northern Ireland) to 11 (12 in Scotland).
• About 90% of students then attend comprehensive schools, which are organized in various ways, serving ages 11 to 18; 11-12 to 16; or 12-14 to 16-18.
• Most of the remaining students receive secondary education in secondary modern or grammar schools, to which they are assigned after selective procedures at age 11.
• Students wishing to go to university must successfully complete a series of examinations that result in the General Certificate of Education. There are two levels of these examinations:
• GCSE - General Certificate of Secondary Education
• A-level - Advanced
• Sixth form - final two years of secondary education, typically between 16 and 18 years of age, where students prepare for their A-level examinations
• Further Education (FE) is any study after secondary education that is not part of higher education (i.e. not taken as part of an undergraduate or graduate degree)
• if you are 16 or 17, you can study an FE course full-time at school or college, or while at work
• A student may leave school on the last Friday in June as long as they will turn 16 by the end of that year's summer holidays. The student must stay in some form of education or training until their 18th birthday. After 16, their options are:
• Full-time education
• An apprenticeship or traineeship
• Part-time education or training - as well as being employed, self-employed, or volunteering for 20 hours or more a week

Australia - NSW

• School is compulsory between the ages of 6 and 16 (Year 1 to Year 9 or 10)
• Primary school - seven or eight years, starting at Kindergarten/Preparatory through Year 6 or 7
• Secondary school - three or four years, from Years 7 to 10 or 8 to 10
• Senior secondary school - two years, Years 11 and 12
• Higher School Certificate (HSC) - the highest educational award in New South Wales schools, awarded to students who successfully complete Years 11 and 12
• Eligible students who leave school before receiving their HSC will receive the NSW Record of School Achievement (RoSA), a cumulative credential in that it allows students to accumulate their academic results until they leave school

• Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualifications are provided by government institutions called Technical and Further Education (TAFE) schools, as well as by private institutions.
• TAFE colleges are owned, operated and financed by the various state and territory governments.
• TAFE colleges award Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) qualifications accredited in the VET sector.

• New 2010 law in NSW requires students to complete school to Year 10 and then to continue in either education, full-time paid employment, or a combination of these until at least the age of 17.
• Options after Year 10 in NSW:
• Stay at school to complete Years 11 and 12
• Do a full-time course at TAFE NSW or another Registered Training Organisation (RTO)
• Get a full-time job
• Take up an apprenticeship or traineeship
• Undertake a combination of work and study to make a full-time workload

Finland

• 9-year basic education (comprehensive school), preceded by one year of voluntary pre-primary education
• Followed by upper secondary education, comprising general education and vocational education & training
• General upper secondary education (approx. 16-19 years old) is designed to last three years, but students may complete it in 2 to 4 years
• About 54.5% of students choose this option
• Students have a good deal of freedom to decide on their individual study schedules; instruction is organized in modular form, not tied to year classes.
• When a student has completed the required number of courses, which include compulsory and elective studies, he or she receives a general upper secondary school certificate. 
• General upper secondary education ends with a national matriculation examination. After completing the entire upper secondary school syllabus and passing the exam, students are awarded a separate certificate that shows details of the examinations passed and the levels and grades achieved.
• Vocational education and training
• About 38.5% of students choose this option
• Three years of study (120 credits) built on the basic education syllabus. Each qualification includes at least half a year of on-the-job learning in workplaces.
• Vocational education and training can be completed in the form of school-based training or apprenticeship training.
• The vocational qualification has been designed to respond to labour market needs.
• A vocational qualification gives general eligibility for polytechnic and university studies.

Denmark

• 10 years of compulsory education, age 6 to 16
• Upper secondary education begins at the end of full-time compulsory education, usually covers ages 16 to 19, and has two tracks:
• General education, qualifying for access to higher education
• Vocational or technical education, qualifying primarily for access to the labour market
• Four upper secondary general education programs:
• Gymnasium (STX)
• Takes 3 years to complete; admits people who have completed 9 years of basic school
• Covers a broad range of subjects in the fields of the humanities, natural science and social science
• Higher Preparatory Examination (HF)
• Takes 2 years to complete; admits people who have completed 10 years of basic school
• Covers a broad range of subjects in the fields of the humanities, natural science and social science
• Higher Technical Examination Programme (HTX)
• Takes 3 years to complete; admits people who have completed 9 years of basic school
• Focuses on technological and scientific subjects in combination with general subjects
• Higher Commercial Examination Programme (HHX)
• Takes 3 years to complete; admits people who have completed 9 years of basic school
• Focuses on business and socio-economic disciplines in combination with foreign languages and other general subjects

• Vocational upper secondary school lasts three years

New Zealand

• Schooling is compulsory from ages 6 to 16
• Compulsory National Curriculum from Years 1 to 10
• Primary school from Years 1 to 8 (ages 5 to 12)
• Secondary school from Years 9 to 13 (ages 13 to 18)
• Broad and balanced curriculum, but some specialization is possible especially in Years 11 to 13
• Students may begin courses of a more vocational nature, but no direct separation of the programs into academic and vocational streams
• Entry to work or further study is not limited by the type of secondary school a student attends
• The National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) is New Zealand's main national qualification at secondary school level.
• NCEA has three levels
• Students study course modules at these levels in their last three years at school, most taking five subjects each year
• High-achieving students at each level are recognised with 'Merit' and 'Excellence' endorsements.
• Some schools also offer IGCSE/A Levels (often called the Cambridge International Examinations) and the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB).

Tracking

• Bol, T., et al. (2014). Curricular tracking and central examinations: Counterbalancing the impact of social background on student achievement in 36 countries. Social Forces.
• LeTendre, G.K., Hofer, B.K., & Shimizu, H. (2003). What is tracking? Cultural expectations in the United States, Germany, and Japan. American Educational Research Journal, 40(1): 43-89.
• Montt, G. (2011). Cross-national differences in educational achievement inequality. Sociology of Education, 84(1): 49-68.
• OECD. (2011). The impact of the 1999 education reform in Poland. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 49, OECD Publishing.
• van Elk, R., van der Steeg, M., & Webbink, D. (2011). Does the timing of tracking affect

School leaving age

• The impact of the raised school leaving age. New South Wales Auditor-General's report. Audit Office of New South Wales, 2012.
• New school leaving age: Consulting young people. A student feedback project for the NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2012.

• Raising the participation age in education and training to 18: Review of existing evidence of the benefits and challenges. National Foundation for Educational Research (UK), 2007.
• "School leaving age set to be 18," BBC News, 12 Jan. 2007.
• "Children of parents who stay at school longer get better GCSEs, new study shows," The Daily Mail, 15 Jan. 2013
• "Rise in school leaving age is predicted to cut number of teenage pregnancies," The Guardian, 7 April 2013

• High school graduation: The new school leaving age. The findings and recommendations of the School Leaving Age Task Force. New Brunswick Department of Education, 1998