High school is a type of school, a place where people go to learn skills for future jobs. In a three-part system such as in the United States, children go to high school after middle school (“junior high”). In the United States, a high school is a school that students go to usually for grades 9 through 12, from the ages of about 13-15 to about 17-19. It is also the last school that the law requires the student to go to. Some states have an age or certain grade where a student does not have to attend school, this is called the compulsory age, for example in New York, students below 17 years of age are required to attend school unless the child is excused. Some people may choose to take some tests called GED (General Education Development) as another way to finish high school. A student is allowed by law to stop going to high school after a certain age without having graduated.