some upper or high schools (German: Hochschule), which describe colleges and universities. In Eastern Europe modern schools (after World War II), of both primary and secondary educations, often are combined. In contrast, secondary education might be split into accomplished or not. The schools are classified as middle schools of general education. For the technical purposes, they include "degrees" of the education they provide out of three available: the first – primary, the second – unaccomplished secondary, and the third – accomplished secondary. Usually, the first two degrees of education (eight years) are always included. In contrast, the last one (two years) permits the students to pursue vocational or specialized educations. North America and the United States In North America, the term school can refer to any educational institution at any level and covers all of the following: preschool (for toddlers), kindergarten, elementary school, middle school (also called intermediate school or junior high school, depending on specific age groups and geographic region), high school (or in some cases senior high school), college, university, and graduate school. In the United States, school performance through high school is monitored by each state's department of education. Charter schools are publicly funded elementary or secondary schools that have been freed from some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools. The terms grammar school and grade school are sometimes used to refer to a primary school. In addition, there are tax-funded magnet schools which offer different programs and instruction not available in traditional schools. Africa In West Africa, "school" can also refer to "bush" schools, Quranic schools, or apprenticeships. These schools include formal and informal learning. Bush schools are training camps that pass down cultural skills, traditions, and knowledge to their students. Bush schools are semi-similar to traditional western schools because they are separated from the larger community. These schools are located in forests outside of the towns and villages, and the space used is solely for these schools. Once the students have arrived in the forest, they cannot leave until their training is complete. Visitors are prohibited from these areas. Instead of being separated by age, Bush schools are separated by gender. Women and girls cannot enter the boys' bush school territory and vice versa. Boys receive training in cultural crafts, fighting, hunting, and community laws among other subjects. Girls are trained in their own version of the boys' bush