1. Rather than describing school grade levels as 1 to 12, it is sometimes common to describe the year of the current school. For example grade 8 might be described as 初中 二年级.

2. Note the verb 读 used to describe studying in:

a. 是从一年级读到六年级的这段时间.

b. 像在台湾，要读高中之前，要先参加一种特别的考试.

c. 如果他们的成绩不好，学生就没办法读最好的高中.

One could also use the verb 念 as seen in:

a. 当然，到最近的学校念书对学生比较方便.

b. 而且要是他们要念大学，他们也要准备考大学联考.