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On a completely different note: I have found myself working out an entire theory and history of Arithmancy, as well as a system of magical education in America. Harry Potter universe, why can't I quit you?
(The US doesn't really do the Magic High School thing; people learn from their families or through community programs or the lady who runs the magic bookstore, and then they can go to magic college or not, whatever they want. There is a set of government-sponsored tests, about six, for each major discipline of magic, and these cover absolute beginner up to pre-Master's level*. There are also separate master's tests, usually sponsored by one or two of the national/international guilds and sometimes by universities, which are a bit different from the Master's you would get from a university. However, unlike the Europeans, the U.S. has gone and split the standard mastery up into two levels, master's and doctorate, to match the muggle university levels. A doctorate may only be obtained from a university; anyone who comes from the European apprenticeship model will have to attend a university to get the credentials even if their work is more than up to scratch. --The official level of journeyman is nonexistent in the United States.)
*based on language tests such as the HSK and the JLPT, which are the closest equivalent I can think of -- tests that are not required, nor part of a particular school system, but give a big boost to your CV if you've passed a high enough level. And you can get exam preparation books at your local magic bookstore!
(The US doesn't really do the Magic High School thing; people learn from their families or through community programs or the lady who runs the magic bookstore, and then they can go to magic college or not, whatever they want. There is a set of government-sponsored tests, about six, for each major discipline of magic, and these cover absolute beginner up to pre-Master's level*. There are also separate master's tests, usually sponsored by one or two of the national/international guilds and sometimes by universities, which are a bit different from the Master's you would get from a university. However, unlike the Europeans, the U.S. has gone and split the standard mastery up into two levels, master's and doctorate, to match the muggle university levels. A doctorate may only be obtained from a university; anyone who comes from the European apprenticeship model will have to attend a university to get the credentials even if their work is more than up to scratch. --The official level of journeyman is nonexistent in the United States.)
*based on language tests such as the HSK and the JLPT, which are the closest equivalent I can think of -- tests that are not required, nor part of a particular school system, but give a big boost to your CV if you've passed a high enough level. And you can get exam preparation books at your local magic bookstore!
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Intriguing idea about qualifications tests; as far as I know, HSK, JLPT and their ilk are set up by the relevant country, though a USA company does the TOEFL. There's the Bar for lawyers, which some states allow people to take without a degree, but I otherwise don't know of any USA testing-as-substitute-for-school. We tend to be pretty bad at making standardized tests, actually, especially for knowledge (oh, SATs, how my Japanese friends boggle at you). What made the USA magical population slant differently from the non-magical one?
is this coherent I'm not sure
The higher-level guilds & groups each started holding a test to see if someone was qualified to join. Today's standardized tests are a rather recent development, since the Department of Magic changed its name from Dept. for the Management and Control of Magic* and overhauled its ethics; they're (varyingly simplified) amalgamations of different guild tests, since that was actually less work than attempting to create and manage a real education system. Magic is treated like something in-between a Real And Serious Academic Subject and a side hobby.
--and of course there's no /need/ to actually take the tests, they're just officially sponsored measurements of your knowledge created because the government felt like they should do something to acknowledge that they're not actively trying to suppress people's magical education. There's a sub-department working on simplifying and re-writing the tests to be more useful and less of a 'do you know the secret handshake' thing, but it's still got a ways to go.
*I have no idea if 'department' is the accurate title. I really do not know enough about how my government works.