Germany: Between a quarter and a third of ninth graders below the minimum standards in German
The free fall of the “educational nation” continues. There are more and more ninth graders who cannot read, listen, or spell correctly. And: At the same time, the deficits vary greatly depending on the federal state. Although the trend in reading, listening and spelling is downward in all German states, it is particularly strong in Bremen, Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia. Bavaria and Saxony recorded improvements compared to the national average, and Hamburg caught up. Problem groups with a growing proportion are students with a migration background. In other words: a significant part of the educational problems are imported.
The catastrophic reports about the “educational nation” do not stop. And it has been for around twenty years. It doesn't matter whether the tests are called Pisa (Program for International Student Assessment), Igloo (International Primary School Reading Examination), Vera (COMPARISON WORK) or IQB-Bildungstrend (IQB = Institute for Quality Development in Education). And it doesn't matter whether it's elementary school students or ninth graders. Officially it is said: Increased immigration, a shortage of teachers and, most recently, the pandemic-related closures are responsible for this. But that is only half the truth. Because: The requirements were lowered, the students were still rewarded with pleasantly good grades, and the Abitur [high school graduation] became a discount product. So why bother?
Now, on Friday, October 13th, the Institute for Quality Development in Education (IQB) at Berlin's Humboldt University presented its educational trend for ninth graders for the third time after 2009 and 2015. This applies to the subjects German and the first foreign language, usually English, with a smaller proportion of students of French. The test surveys took place between April and July 2022. 32,990 students from 1,610 schools from all 16 countries took part in the subject of German. In the subject of English, the sample included 31,159 students from 1,542 schools. In addition, a total of 2,489 students from 142 schools were tested in French in the states of Baden-Württemberg, Berlin, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland.
The catastrophic main result: The proportion of ninth graders who fail to meet the minimum standards for the intermediate school leaving certificate (MSA) in German has increased sharply since 2015: 33 percent remain below the minimum requirements in reading, 34 percent in listening and 22 in orthography Percent. Consolation: The students are getting a little better at English. The proportion of students who achieve at least the standards for the intermediate school leaving certificate increased by eleven percentage points in reading comprehension and by a good ten percentage points in listening comprehension between 2015 and 2022. The latter could have something to do with the fact that adolescents use digital media more frequently and this probably often takes place in English.
Below we present the most important individual results, as summarized by the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK).
Detailed results in German
- In the subject of German, 49 percent of ninth graders who are aiming for the intermediate school leaving certificate (MSA) reach or exceed the standard reading standard for this school leaving certificate. In listening it is 53 percent and in spelling it is 65 percent. Compared to the comparable year 2015, this means a significant decrease of 9 percentage points in reading, 19 percentage points in listening and 12 percentage points in spelling.
- When reaching the minimum standards for the first school leaving certificate (ESA), the following results: In German, around 15 percent of ninth graders fail to meet the minimum standards for the ESA in the area of reading, almost 18 percent in the area of listening and around 8 percent in the area of orthography. This means a significant increase of 6 percentage points in reading compared to 2015, 10 percentage points in listening and 4 percentage points in spelling.
- The minimum standards for the MSA are not achieved by 33 percent of young people in the overall group of all ninth graders in reading German. In listening it is 34 percent, in spelling it is 22 percent. Compared to 2015, there is a significant increase of 9 percentage points in reading, 16 percentage points in listening and 9 percentage points in spelling. However, it must be taken into account that the students in the ninth grade were tested more than a year before completing the MSA and were therefore not able to achieve these achievements at the time of the test.
- If you set the competency scores for the comparison year 2015 to an average of 500 points, ninth graders in 2022 will lose an average of 25 competency points in reading, 44 points in listening and 31 points in orthography in German compared to 2015. (TE note: 40 to 50 competency points roughly correspond to one school year!)
- The results in German vary considerably between federal states. For example, the proportion of ninth graders who fail to meet the minimum standard for the ESA in reading German is between 8 and 24 percent, depending on the state.
Detailed results in English
- In English, 60 percent of ninth graders pursuing the MSA meet or exceed mainstream reading comprehension standards. That is 11 percentage points more than in the comparable year 2015.
- In English, 24 percent of all ninth graders do not yet reach the minimum standard for the MSA in reading comprehension. When it comes to listening comprehension, the figure is 14 percent of young people. This is a decrease of 3 percentage points compared to 2015.
- If you look at the mean competency values in English, an average of 22 competency points in reading comprehension and 23 points in listening comprehension were gained nationwide.
“Immigration-related disparities”
- In 2022, a total of 38 percent of ninth graders in Germany will have an immigrant background, although this proportion varies significantly between the individual countries (from around 12 percent to over 57 percent). This is an increase of 9 percentage points compared to 2015 and an increase of 11 percentage points compared to 2009. (TE note: The proportion of migrants increased massively, especially after 2015. Keyword: border opening!)
- The proportion of families in which German is never or rarely spoken has increased significantly: to 32 percent in 2022. This development has accelerated greatly; While the share only grew by one percentage point between 2009 and 2015, it increased by 11 percentage points between 2015 and 2022. Young people who only sometimes or never speak German in their families show, on average, a lower level of competence in reading and listening than young people who always speak German in their families.
- There are significant gaps in both German and English for young people with an immigrant background. These are strongest in the subject of German. The extent of this negative trend varies considerably between individual countries.
- Particularly among immigrant young people (first generation), the level of competence in German has declined significantly compared to the comparable year 2015 (minus 46 competency points in reading, minus 62 points in listening, minus 53 points in orthography).
Source: Tichys Einblick
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