Education in Germany

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The Evangelical
Seminaries of Maulbronn and Blaubeuren (picture showing church and
courtyard) form a combined Gymnasium and boarding
school

A master chimney sweep and
apprentice

The responsibility for the German education system lies primarily with
the states (Länder)
while the federal government plays only a minor role. Optional Kindergarten (nursery school) education
is provided for all children between three and six years of age, after which
school attendance is compulsory, in most
cases for 11 to 12 years.[1]
The system varies throughout Germany because each state (Land) decides
its own educational policies. Most children, however, first attend Grundschule
from the age of six to ten or 12.

German secondary education
includes four types of school. The Gymnasium is
designed to prepare pupils for university education and finishes with the final
examination Abitur, after grade 12 or 13.
The Realschule has a broader
range of emphasis for intermediate pupils and finishes with the final
examination Mittlere Reife, after
grade 10; the Hauptschule prepares pupils
for vocational education and finishes with the final examination Hauptschulabschluss,
after grade 9 or 10 and the Realschulabschluss
after grade 10. There are two types of grade 10: one is the higher level called
type 10b and the lower level is called type 10a; only the higher level type 10b
can lead to the Realschule and this
finishes with the final examination Mittlere Reife after
grade 10b. This new path of achieving the Realschulabschluss at a
vocationally-oriented secondary school was changed by the statutory school
regulations in 1981 - with a one-year qualifying period. During the one-year
qualifying period of the change to the new regulations, pupils could continue
with class 10 to fulfil the statutory period of education. After 1982, the new
path was compulsory, as explained above. Other than this, there is the Gesamtschule,
which combines the approaches. There are also Förderschulen/Sonderschulen.
One in 21 pupils attends a Förderschule.[2][3]
Nevertheless the Förderschulen/Sonderschulen
can also lead, in special circumstances, to a Hauptschulabschluss
of both type 10a or type 10b, the latter of which is the Realschulabschluss.
German children only attend school in the morning. There is no provision for
serving lunch. There is a lot more homework, heavy emphasis on the "three R's"
and very few extracurricular activities.

A very low-cost or free higher education could lie beyond a German Abitur.
Many of Germany's hundred or so institutions charge little or no tuition. But,
students must prove through examinations that they are qualified.

In order to enter university, students are, as a rule, required to have
passed the Abitur examination; since 2009, however, those with a Meisterbrief (master
craftman's diploma) have also been able to apply.[4][5]
Those wishing to attend a "university of applied
sciences" must, as a rule, have Abitur, Fachhochschulreife or
a Meisterbrief. Lacking those qualifications, pupils are eligible to
enter a university or university of applied sciences if they can present
additional proof that they will be able to keep up with their fellow students
(see: Begabtenprüfung
and Hochbegabtenstudium)

A special system of apprenticeship called Duale Ausbildung allows
pupils on vocational courses to do in-service training in a company as well as
at a state school.[3]
Recent PISA
student assessments demonstrated serious weaknesses in German pupils'
performance. In the test of 43 countries in the year 2000,[6]
Germany ranked 21st in reading and 20th in both mathematics and the natural sciences,
prompting calls for reform.[7]
In 2006, German schoolchildren improved their position compared to previous
years, being ranked (statistically) significantly above average (rank 13) in
science skills and statistically not significantly above or below average in
mathematical skills (rank 20) and reading skills (rank 18).[8][9]

The PISA Examination also found big differences in achievement between
students attending different types of German schools.[10]
According to Jan-Martin-Wiadra: Conservatives prized the success of the
Gymnasium, for them the finest school form in the world – indeed, it is by far
the number one in the PISA league table. But what they prefer to forget is that
this success came at the cost of a catastrophe in the Hauptschulen.[11]

Some German teachers' representatives and a number of scientists disputed the
PISA findings.[12]
Claiming among other things that the questions have been ill-translated, that
the samples drawn in some countries were not representative, that Germans (most
of whom had never done a multiple choice tests in their lives before) were
discriminated against by the multiple choice questions, that the PISA-questions
had no curricular validity and that the PISA was "in fact an IQ-test", which
according to them showed that dysgenic fertility was taking
place in Germany.[13][14][15][16][17][18][19]

A 2008 statistic from Nordrhein-Westfalen
shows that 6.4 percent of all students did not earn even the Hauptschulabschluss,
however not all of them were high school dropouts, as many of them were children
with special needs, who received special school leaving certificates. Only 3.3
percent dropped out of school without earning any kind of diploma.[20]

Contents

1 Overview of the German
school system

1.1 Public (state-funded)
and private schools

2 The education of children
with special needs

3 The education of
intellectually gifted children

4 Church and
state

5 History of German
education

5.1 The Prussian era
(1814–1871)

5.2 German Empire
(1871–1918)

5.3 Weimar Republic
(1919–1933) to the present

5.3.1 Education in East
Germany

6 Participation in
international assessments

7 Determinants of academic
attainment in Germany

7.1 Who is least likely to
succeed in German school?

7.2 IQ

7.3 Gender

7.4 Socioeconomic
factors

7.5 Studies on factors
determinating academic performance

7.5.1 ELEMENT-study
Multiple Regression Analysis

7.5.2 ELEMENT-long term
study of the development of mathematical
ability

7.6 Helping children at
risk

7.6.1 Kindergarten

7.6.2 Home-visits to
families in need

7.6.3 Bias against
working class pupils

7.6.4 Affirmative
Action

7.6.5 Other
quotas

7.6.6 Berlin's Gymnasium
Lottery

7.7 Differences between
western Germany and the former GDR

7.8 Differences between
rural parts of Germany and cities

8 Life in a German
school

9 The school
year

10 Model
timetables

11 Organizational
aspects

12 Recent
developments

13 Gesamtschulen vs.
streaming

14 The education of
craftspeople

15 College and
University

15.1 Application for
Fachhochschule or University

15.2 The admission
process

15.3 Tuition
fees

15.4 Student
Population

16 See also

17 References

18 External
links

[edit]
Overview of the
German school system

Grade

Average ages of Pupils

School level
(Berlin/Brandenburg)

School level
(rest of Germany)

1

6/7

primary

primary

2

7/8

primary

primary

3

8/9

primary

primary

4

9/10

primary

primary

5

10/11

primary

secondary

6

11/12

primary

secondary

7

12/13

secondary

secondary

8

13/14

secondary

secondary

9

14/15

secondary

secondary

10

15/16

secondary

secondary

11

16/17

secondary

secondary

12

17/18

secondary

secondary

13

18/19

secondary

secondary

Parents looking for a suitable school for their child have a wide choice of
elementary schools:

State school. State schools do not charge tuition fees. The majority of
pupils attend state schools in their neighbourhood. Schools in affluent areas
tend to be better than those in deprived areas. Once children reach school
age, many middle class and working class families move away from deprived
areas.

or, alternatively

Waldorf School (206
schools in 2007)

Montessori method
school (272)

Freie Alternativschule (Free Alternative Schools) (65)

Protestant
(63) or Catholic (114)
parochial
schools

After children have completed their primary education (at 10 years of age, 12
in Berlin and Brandenburg), there are four options for secondary schooling:

Hauptschule (the least
academic, much like a modernized Volksschule
[elementary school]) until grade nine (with Hauptschulabschluss
and in some cases Mittlere Reife = Realschulabschuss as exit exam); in some
States of Germany the Hauptschule does not exist and pupils are mainstreamed
into a so called Intermediate
School instead.

Realschule until grade
ten (with Mittlere Reife
(Realschulabschluss) as exit exam);

Gymnasium
(grammar school) until grade 12 or 13 (with Abitur as exit exam,
qualifying for university); and

Gesamtschule
(comprehensive school)

Intermediate
School - a comprehensive school that offers regular and remedial
classes, but no college preparatory classes

After successfully passing through any of the above schools, pupils can
start a career with an apprenticeship in the Berufsschule
(vocational school). The Berufsschule is normally attended twice a week
during a two, three, or three-and-a-half year apprenticeship; the
other days are spent working at a company. This is intended to provide a
knowledge of theory and practice. The company is obliged to accept the
apprentice on its apprenticeship scheme. After this, the apprentice is
registered on a list at the Industrie- und
Handelskammer IHK (chamber of industry and commerce). During the
apprenticeship, the apprentice is a part-time salaried employee of the
company. After passing the Berufsschule and the exit exams of the IHK, a
certificate is awarded and the young person is ready for a career up to a low
management level. In some areas, the schemes teach certain skills that are a
legal requirement (special positions in a bank, legal assistants).

Some special areas provide different paths. After attending any of the above
schools and gaining a leaving certificate (Hauptschulabschluss) - Mittlere Reife
(FOR) or Mittlere Reife, (Realschulabschuss from a Realschule); or Abitur from a
Gymnasium or a Gesamtschule,
school leavers can start a career with an apprenticeship at a Berufsschule (vocational
school). Here the student is registered with certain bodies, e.g. e.g. German Bar Association
Deutsche Rechtsanwaltskammer GBA (board of directors). During the
apprenticeship, the young person is a part-time salaried employee of the
institution, bank, physician or attorney’s office. After leaving the
Berufsfachschule and passing the exit examinations set by the German Bar
Association or other relevant associations, the apprentice receives a
certificate and is ready for a career at all levels except in positions which
require a specific higher degree, such as a doctorate. In some areas, the
apprenticeship scheme teaches skills that are required by law, including certain
positions in a bank or those as legal assistants. The 16 states have exclusive
responsibility in the field of education and professional education. The federal
parliament and the federal government can influence the educational system only
by financial aid to the states. There are many different school systems, but in
each state the starting point is always the Grundschule (elementary school) for
a period of four years; or six years in the case of Berlin and Brandenburg.

Percentage of jobholders holding Hauptschulabschluss,
Realschulabschluss or
Abitur in Germany [21]:

1970

1982

1991

2000

Hauptschulabschluss

87,7 %

79,3 %

66,5 %

54,9 %

Realschulabschluss

10,9 %

17,7 %

27 %

34,1 %

Abitur

1,4 %

3 %

6,5 %

11 %

The monument in Rostock depicting a teacher and a
student honours teachers

Grades 5 and 6 form an orientation phase (Orientierungsstufe) during
which pupils, their parents and teachers decide which of the above-mentioned
paths the pupils should follow. In all states except Berlin and Brandenburg, this
orientation phase is embedded into the program of the secondary schools.[22]
In Berlin and Brandenburg, the orientation is embedded into that of the
elementary schools. Teachers give a so-called educational (path)
recommendation (Bildungs(gang)empfehlung) based on scholastic
achievements in the main subjects (mathematics, German, natural sciences,
foreign language) and classroom behaviour, with details and legal implications
differing from state to state: in some German states, those wishing to apply for
a Gymnasium or Realschule need such a recommendation stating that the pupil is
likely to make a successful transition to that type of school; in other cases
anybody may apply. In Berlin 30% - 35% of Gymnasium places are allocated by
lottery. A pupil's performance at primary school is immaterial.

The eastern states Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia combine Hauptschule
and Realschule as Sekundarschule, Mittelschule and
Regelschule respectively. All German states have Gymnasium as one
possibility for the more able children, and all states - except Saxony - have
Gesamtschule, but in different forms. The states of Berlin and Hamburg
have only two types of schools: comprehensive schools and Gymnasium (see: Education in Berlin
and Education in
Hamburg).

English is compulsory throughout the state in secondary schools, however it
is not always the first foreign language; pupils at Gymnasium are often
required to learn Latin as their first foreign language. In some states, foreign
language education starts in the Grundschule (primary school). For
example, in North
Rhine-Westphalia, English is started in the third year; Brandenburg starts with
either English or Polish, and Baden-Württemberg
starts English in the first year. The list of available second and third foreign
languages, as well as the hours of compulsory foreign language study, differs
from state to state. French, Spanish, ancient Greek and Latin are most
frequently taken as the second and third foreign language. Many schools also
offer voluntary study groups for the learning of other languages.

It may be problematic in terms of school studies for families to move from
one state to another because there are quite different curricula for almost
every subject.

Adults who did not obtain a Realschulabschluss or Abitur or
reached it equivalent, have the option of attending evening classes at an Abendgymnasium or
Abendrealschule.

[edit]
Public
(state-funded) and private schools

In 2006, six percent of German children attended private schools.[23]

In Germany,
Article 7, Paragraph 4 of the Grundgesetz,
the constitution of Germany,
guarantees the right to establish private schools. This article belongs to the
first part of the German basic law, which defines civil and human
rights. A right which is guaranteed in this part of the Grundgesetz can only
be suspended in a state of emergency,
if the respective article specifically states this possibility. That is not the
case with this article. It is also not possible to abolish these rights. This
unusual protection of private schools was implemented to protect them from a
second Gleichschaltung or
similar event in the future.

Ersatzschulen are ordinary primary or secondary schools which are run
by private individuals, private organizations or religious groups. These schools
offer the same types of diplomas as in public schools. However, Ersatzschulen
lack the freedom to operate completely outside government control. Teachers at
Ersatzschulen are required to have at least the same qualifications as those at
state schools; by the same token, their salaries are at least those of teachers
at state schools. An Ersatzschule must have at least the same academic standards
as those of a state school and Article 7, Paragraph 4 of the Grundgesetz, also
forbids the segregation of pupils according to the means of their parents (the
so called Sondierungsverbot). Therefore, most Ersatzschulen have very low
tuition fees compared to those in most other Western European
countries; scholarships are also often available. However, it is not possible to
finance these schools with such low tuition fees: accordingly all German
Ersatzschulen are subsidised with public funds.

Furthermore, in some cases, the education of a pupil at a private school is
funded by the so-called youth welfare office. This is often the case if a pupil
is considered to be a child at risk: pupils who have learning disabilities,
special emotional needs or come from broken homes fall into this category.

After allowing for the socio-economic status of the parents, children
attending private schools are not as able as those at state schools. At the Programme
for International Student Assessment (PISA) for example, after allowing for
socioeconomic class, pupils at private schools underperformed those at state
schools.[24]
One has, however, to be careful interpreting that data: it may be that such
pupils do not underperform because they attend a private school, but that they
attend a private school because they underperform. Some private Realschulen and
Gymnasien have lower entrance requirements than public Realschulen and
Gymnasien.

There are special private schools for emotionally disturbed children.

[edit]
The
education of children with special needs

A special school for children with special
emotional needs in Kötitz, Germany

Most German children with special needs attend a school called Förderschule
or Sonderschule (special school) that serves only such children. There are
several types of special schools in Germany such as:

The "Sonderschule für Lernbehinderte" - a special school serving children
who suffer from learning difficulties

The "Schule mit dem Förderschwerpunkt Geistige Entwicklung" - a special
school serving children who suffer from very severe learning difficulties

The "Förderschule Schwerpunkt emotionale und soziale Entwicklung" - a
special school serving children who have special emotional needs

Only one in 21 German children attends a special school. Teachers at those
schools are qualified professionals who have specialized in special-needs
education while at college. Special schools often have a very favourable
student-teacher ratio and facilities compared with other schools. Special
schools have been criticized. It is argued that special education separates and
discriminates against those who are disabled or different. Some special-needs
children do not attend special schools, but are mainstreamed into a Hauptschule or Gesamtschule (comprehensive
school) and/or, in rare cases, into a Realschule or even a Gymnasium.

[edit]
The
education of intellectually gifted children

St. Afra is one a few specialist schools that serve
only gifted children

There are very few specialist schools for gifted children. Also German
schools do not IQ-test children and, as a result, most intellectually gifted
children remain unaware that they fall into this category. The German
psychologist, Detlef H. Rost, carried out a pioneer long-term study on gifted
children called the Marburger Hochbegabtenprojekt. In 1987/1988 he tested 7000
third graders on the CFT 20, Culture Fair Intelligence Test III (Cattell Culture
Fair III). Those who scored at least two standard deviations above the mean
were categorised as gifted. A total of 151 gifted subjects participated in the
study alongside 136 controls.[25]
All participants in the study were tested blind with the result that they did
not discover whether they were gifted or not. The study revealed that the gifted
children did very well in school. The vast majority later attended a Gymnasium
and achieved good grades. However, 15 percent, were classified as underachievers
because they attended a Realschule (two cases) or a
Hauptschule (one case), had
repeated a grade (four cases) or had grades that put them in the lower half of
their class (the rest of cases). The report also concluded that most gifted
persons had high self-esteem and good psychological health.[26]
Rost said that he was not in favour of special schools for the gifted. Gifted
children seemed to be served well by Germany's existing school system.[27]

[edit]
Church and state

German states that have banned teachers from
wearing headscarves (red)

Church and state are separated in Germany.[citation
needed] Compulsory school prayers and compulsory attendance at
religious services are against the constitution. In 1995, it was ruled that the
Christian cross was not allowed in classrooms[citation
needed], as it violates the religious freedom of non-Christian
students. The cross is allowed if none of the pupils objects, but must be
removed in the event of an objection.[28]
Some German states have banned teachers from wearing headscarves.

[edit]
History of German
education

[edit]
The Prussian
era (1814–1871)

Historically, the Lutheran denomination had a
strong influence on German culture, including its education. Martin
Luther advocated compulsory schooling so that all people would independently
be able to read and interpret the Bible. This concept became a model for schools
throughout Germany.

During the 18th century, the Kingdom of Prussia was among the
first countries in the world to introduce free and generally compulsory primary
education, consisting of an eight-year course of basic education, Volksschule. It provided
not only the skills needed in an early industrialized world (reading, writing,
and arithmetic), but also a strict education in ethics, duty, discipline and
obedience. Children of affluent parents often went on to attend preparatory
private schools for an additional four years, but the general population had
virtually no access to secondary education.

In 1810, after the Napoleonic wars, Prussia
introduced state certification requirements for teachers, which significantly
raised the standard of teaching. The final examination, Abitur, was
introduced in 1788, implemented in all Prussian secondary schools by 1812 and
extended to all of Germany in 1871. The state also established teacher training
colleges for prospective teachers in the common or elementary grades.

[edit]
German Empire
(1871–1918)

Gymnasium pupils in 1904

When the German Empire was formed
in 1871, the school system became more centralized. In 1872, Prussia recognized
the first separate secondary schools for girls. As learned professions demanded
well-educated young people, more secondary schools were established, and the
state claimed the sole right to set standards and to supervise the newly
established schools.

Four different types of secondary schools developed:

A nine-year classical Gymnasium
(focusing on Latin and Greek or Hebrew, plus one modern language);

A nine-year Realgymnasium (focusing on Latin, modern languages,
science and mathematics);

A six-year Realschule (without university entrance qualification,
but with the option of becoming a trainee in one of the modern industrial, office or
technical jobs); and

A nine-year Oberrealschule (focusing on modern languages, science
and mathematics).

By the turn of the 20th century, the four types of schools had achieved equal
rank and privilege, although they did not have equal prestige.

[edit]
Weimar Republic (1919–1933) to the present

Pupils of the Gymnasium Nonnenwerth, an all-girls
school in 1960

A pupil standing up to answer the teacher's
question in 1961. On the wall the Christian cross can be seen. This was common
in a classroom at that time

After World War I, the Weimar Republic
established a free, universal 4-year elementary school (Grundschule).
Most pupils continued at these schools for another 4-year course. Those who were
able to pay a small fee went on to an Intermediate school (Mittelschule)
that provided a more challenging curriculum for an additional one or two years.
Upon passing a rigorous entrance exam after year four, pupils could also enter
one of the four types of secondary school.

During the Nazi era (1933–1945), indoctrination of Nazi
ideologies was added to the education programme; however, the basic education
system remained unchanged. See also: Nazi
university.

After World War II, the Allied powers (Soviet
Union, France, Britain, and the USA)
ensured that Nazi ideology was eliminated from the curriculum. They installed
educational systems in their respective occupation zones that reflected their
own ideas. When West Germany gained partial independence in 1949, its new
constitution (Grundgesetz) granted
educational autonomy to the state (Länder) governments. This
led to widely varying school systems, often making it difficult for children to
continue schooling whilst moving between states.

More recently, multi-state agreements ensure that basic requirements are
universally met by all state school systems. Thus, all children are required to
attend one type of school on a full-time basis (i.e. five or six days a week)
from the age of 6 to the age of 16. A pupil may change schools in the case of
exceptionally good (or exceptionally poor) ability. Graduation certificates from
one state are recognized by all the other states. Qualified teachers are able to
apply for posts in any of the states.

[edit]
Education in East
Germany

Main article: Education in East
Germany

The German Democratic
Republic (East Germany) started its own standardized education system in the
1960s. The East German equivalent of both primary and secondary schools was the
Polytechnic
Secondary School (Polytechnische Oberschule), which all students
attended for 10 years, from the ages of 6 to 16. At the end of the 10th year, an
exit examination was set. Depending upon the results, a pupil could choose to
come out of education or undertake an apprenticeship for an additional two
years, followed by an Abitur. Those who performed very well and displayed
loyalty to the ruling party could change to the Erweiterte Oberschule
(extended high school), where they could take their Abitur examinations
after 12 school years. Although this system was abolished in the early 1990s
after reunification, it continues to influence school life in the eastern German
states.

[edit]
Participation in international assessments

The Programme
for International Student Assessment, coordinated by the OECD,
assesses the skills of 15-year-olds in OECD countries and a number of partner
countries. In 2006, German schoolchildren improved their position compared to
previous years, being ranked (statistically) significantly above average (rank
13) in science skills and statistically not significantly above or below average
in mathematical skills (rank 20) and reading skills (rank 18).[8][9]
The socio-economic gradient was very high in Germany, the pupils' performance in
Germany being more dependent on socio-economic factors than in most other
countries.[8][9]

performance on PISA 2003 (points earned) by
school attended and social class

type school

social class „very low“

social class „low“

social class „high“

social class „very high“

Hauptschule

400

429

436

450

Gesamtschule

438

469

489

515

Realschule

482

504

528

526

Gymnasium

578

581

587

602

PISA
2003 – Der Bildungsstand der Jugendlichen in Deutschland – Ergebnisse des
2. internationalen Vergleiches.[29]

[edit]
Determinants of academic attainment in Germany

[edit]
Who is least likely to succeed in German school?

A generation ago the person least likely to attend a Gymnasium was a
"catholic working class girl from the rural parts of Germany". Nowadays however
the person least likely to attend a Gymnasium is a "minority youngster from the
ghetto",[30]
who is "the son of immigrants"[31]

[edit]
IQ

IQ is a very good predictor of educational attainment in Germany. The
correlation between IQ and secondary school leaving certificate (Hauptschulabschluss,
Realschulabschluss,
Abitur) is r=0,7.
Even when social class of a students family is controlled for IQ still is still
positively associated with years of schooling.[32]

According to an older study students needed a minimum IQ of 115 (one standard
deviation above the mean on the test used) in order to be able to benefit from
attending a Gymnasium and they needed an IQ of at least 125 in order to be able
to benefit from German University (not to be confused with the Fachhochschule, the
required IQ is lower in that case).[33]
However this might have changed and the requirements might be lower today, since
more students attend Gymnasien and universities.

[edit]
Gender

Educational achievement varies more in German males than it does in German
females: boys are more likely to attend special education schools but also more
likely to be postgraduate students; 63% of pupils attending special education
programs for the academically challenged are male. Males are less likely to meet
the state-wide performance targets, more likely to drop out of school and more
likely to be classified emotionally disturbed. 86% of the pupils receiving
special training because of emotional disturbance are male.[34]
Research shows a class-effect: native middle-class males perform as well as
middle-class females in terms of educational achievement but lower-class males
and immigrant males lag behind lower-class females and immigrant females. A lack
of male role models contributes to a low academic achievement in the case of
lower-class males .[34]
On the other hand 58% of all postgraduate students and 84% of all German college
professors were male in 2010.[35]

[edit]
Socioeconomic
factors

See also: Poverty in
Germany

See also: German
Gymnasium: Great Equalizer or Breeding Ground of Privilege?

See also: Academic
achievement among different groups in Germany

The Rütli School, Berlin-Neukölln is
believed to be one of Germany's worst schools. It has become a symbol of
violence, despair and unequal opportunities[36]

The Schule Schloss
Salem is considered as one of the most prestigious elite schools in Germany,
but many think schools like this serve only the rich.

Children from poor immigrant or working class families are less likely to
succeed in school than children from middle or upper-class backgrounds. This
disadvantage for the financially challenged of Germany is greater than in any
other industrialized nation.[37]
However, the true reasons stretch beyond economic ones. The poor also tend to be
less educated. After allowing for parental education, money does not play a
major role in children's academic outcomes.[38][39]

Immigrant children and youths, mostly of lower-class background, are the
fastest-growing segment of the German population. So their prospects bear
heavily on the well-being of the country. More than 30% of Germans aged 15 years
and younger have at least one parent born abroad. In the big cities, 60% of
children aged 5 years and younger have at least one parent born abroad.[40]
Immigrant children academically underperform their peers.[41]
Immigrants have tended to be less educated than native Germans. After
controlling for parental education, ethnic group does not play a role in
children's academic outcomes.[42]

Immigrants from China and Vietnam perform exceptionally well. In eastern
Germany, Vietnamese and Chinese of lower-class backgrounds outperform students
from European backgrounds despite the fact that in most cases their parents are
poorer and less educated than the parents of their European-born peers. Teachers
in eastern Germany have also been shown to be more motivated than teachers in
western Germany. That might be another reason for this Asian achievement.[43]

[edit]
Studies on factors determinating academic
performance

[edit]
ELEMENT-study Multiple Regression Analysis

Factors determinating mathematical performance in 6th-graders attending a
Berlin primary school

Variable

Beta (strength of influence)

mathematical performance in 4th grade

0,540

general cognitive ability

0,236

parents hold the Abitur (as compared to
children of parents without school diploma)

0,144

parents hold the Mittlere Reife (as
compared to children of parents without school diploma)

0,096

Number of books present in the child's home

0,055

male gender

no influence could be found

German is spoken in the child's home

no influence could be found

parents hold the Hauptschulabschluss (as compared to children of
parents without school diploma)

no influence could be found

The ELEMENT study dealt with determinants of academic achievement in Berlin.
It was carried out in Berlin, where some of the pupils started at a Gymnasium
after the 4th grade, while others stayed in primary school until 6th grade and
started at different schools after the 6th grade. Factors correlated with
academic achievement tend to be intercorrelated (that means that they are also
correlated with other factors that determine academic achievement). The number
of books owned by a pupil's parents, for example, is correlated with the
parents' education. Because of this Multiple Regression
Analysis was used. Multiple Regression allows us to understand the influence
of one variable when the other variables are held fixed.

It was revealed by the study that the most important variable determining
mathematical performance in the 6th grade was mathematical performance in the
4th grade. Children who have a head start in the 4th grade keep it until the 6th
grade. It was also revealed by the study that some variables were immaterial. If
a language other than German is spoken in the home that was correlated with poor
mathematical performance in other studies. However correlation
does not imply causation and the ELEMENT-study revealed that if other
factors were taken into account for the language spoken at home, this had no
effect on mathematical performance.

[edit]
ELEMENT-long term study of the development of mathematical
ability

Development in mathematical ability of children attending a Berlin primary
school by parents' education

education of parents

mathematical ability by 4th grade

mathematical ability by 6th grade[44]

no school diploma

89,7

105,4

Hauptschulabschluss
or similar diploma

91,1

108,2

Mittlere Reife or
similar diploma

94,8

112,8

Abitur

101,0

120,8

Development in mathematical ability of children attending a Berlin
Gymnasium by parents education

education of parents

mathematical ability by 4th grade (while still in primary school)

mathematical ability by 6th grade (Gymnasium)[44]

no school diploma

104,2

123,3

Hauptschulabschluss
or similar diploma

111,0

128,8

Mittlere Reife or
similar diploma

111,6

131,3

Abitur

114,5

135,2

The aim of another ELEMENT-study was to monitor the development of general
mathematical ability. The findings of the study can be seen in the table. One
finding is that those admitted to a Gymnasium after the fourth grade had showed
better mathematical ability than those who stayed in primary school, ab initio.
That was true for all social classes. Another finding was that children of all
social classes did better in the sixth grade when they were at a Gymnasium. By
the end of the sixth grade, those attending a Gymnasium were two years ahead of
those attending a primary school. Did the Gymnasium boost students ability?
There are different opinions about this. Some argue that this is the cases and
even after testing performance in grade four, those who were admitted to a
Gymnasium outperformed their peers who were not at grade six.[45]
That was also the interpretation of Prof. Dr. Dr. Lehman, who did the study. He
stated: The findings indicate that the Gymnasium help students of all social
classes reach their full mathematical potential.[46]
Others however, who have reanalized the data, claimed that those attending a
Gymnasium were different ab initio and could not properly be compared to those
attending a primary school. The data is of high political relevance as those who
are in favour of the tripartite system and those who are in favour of
comprehensive schools both use it to proof their point. Those, who are in favour
of comprehensive schools, claim that the data shows that the primary schools
which resembles a comprehensive schools boost children's ability, while those in
favour of the tripartite system argue that the data shows the Gymnasium boost
students ability.

[edit]
Helping children at
risk

Children whose families receive welfare, children whose parents dropped out
of school, children of teenage parents, children raised by a lone parent,
children raised in crime-ridden inner-city neighbourhoods, children who have
multiple young siblings, and children who live in overcrowded substandard
apartments are at risk of poor educational achievement in Germany. Often these
factors go together, making it very hard for children to overcome the odds. A
number of measures have been assessed to help those children reach their full
potential.[47]

[edit]
Kindergarten

Kindergarten in Hessen

Kindergarten has been shown to improve school readiness in children at risk.
Children attending a kindergarten were less likely to have impaired speech or
impaired motor development. Only 50% of children whose parents did not graduate
from school are ready for school at age six. If such children were enrolled in a
high-quality three-year Kindergarten programme, 87% were ready for school at age
six. Thus Kindergarten helps to overcome unequal opportunities.[48]

[edit]
Home-visits to
families in need

Families whose children are at risk for low academic achievement may be
visited by trained professionals. They offer a wide variety of services that
relate to each child's and each family's background and needs. Such
professionals may visit pregnant low-income women and talk with them about
positive health-related behaviors, such as following a healthy diet or
refraining from the use of alcohol or tobacco while pregnant. Positive
health-related behavior may have a major impact on children's school
performance.

Home visitors may provide information on childcare and social services, help
parents in crisis and model problem-solving skills. They may help implement the
preschool/school curriculum at home or provide a curriculum of educational games
designed to improve language, development and cognitive skills. In most cases,
such support is offered to families on a voluntary basis. Families who are
eligible for the program may decide for themselves whether or not they want to
participate. There are no penalties if they decide against it or against
continuing with the program.[47]

[edit]
Bias against
working class pupils

In Germany most children are streamed by ability into different schools after
fourth grade. The Progress
in International Reading Literacy Study revealed that working class children
needed better reading abilities than middle-class children to be nominated for
the Gymnasium. After
allowing for reading abilities, odds to be nominated to Gymnasium for upper
middle-class children were still 2.63 times better than for working-class
children.

Points needed to be nominated for Gymnasium[49]

Teachers nominating
child for Gymnasium

Parents wanting child
to attend Gymnasium

children from upper-middle class backgrounds

537

498

children from lower-middle class backgrounds

569

559

children of parents holding pink collar jobs

582

578

children of self-employed parents

580

556

children from upper working class backgrounds

592

583

children from lower working class backgrounds

614

606

[edit]
Affirmative Action

Germany's Left Party
brought up the discussion about affirmative action.
According to Stefan Zillich, quotas should be "a possibility" to help working
class children who did not do well in school gain access to a Gymnasium.[50]
Headmasters of Gymnasien have objected, saying that this type of policy would
"be a disservice" to poor children, that they would not be able to academically
keep up with their classmates and that they would not feel welcome at a
Gymnasium. Wolfgang Harnischfeger, headmaster of a well known Berlin Gymnasium,
stated: "It can be noticed in children as young as kindergarten-age, that
children take after their parents. They emulate their language, their way of
dressing, their way of spending their freetime. Children from Neukölln (a poor
neighbourhood) would not feel good about themselves if they had to attend that
type of school that mainly serves pupils from social classes different from
their own. They will not be able to integrate. Every field-day, every school
party will show that very soon." He also said that "this kind of policy would
weaken the Gymnasium" and that this would be dangerous, because "German society
could not afford to do without the truly educated adults the Gymnasium
produces".[51]
Stefan Zillich has answered to this, saying that "German society can not afford
having only so few adults who were truly educated".[51]
While affirmative action laws were not passed (status: January 2010) sought
after schools have been guaranteed the right to employ their own quotas since
the 1970s (see below).

[edit]
Other quotas

A prominent example for a heavily oversubscribed school that chose to
establish a quota is the Laborschule
Bielefeld, which chose to establish a working class quota. It was decided
that 50 percent of the pupils should come from working class backgrounds. Also
the school chose to guarantee children from single parent families and children
from immigrant families preferential treatment. The school tried to persuade
working class parents to enroll their children, but they were not successful. In
2005 only 1.6 percent of the children had a father who was an unskilled worker
and only 3.2 percent had a father who was a skilled worker.[52]
In 2009 a representative of the school said that the school still had the goal
of enrolling as many working class and immigrant children as possible and that
it was decided children from those backgrounds could be guaranteed a slot if
they chose to enroll.[53]
The school, however, was successful in enrolling children from single parent
families. Nearly 45 percent of its pupils come from a family headed by a single
female.[54]

[edit]
Berlin's Gymnasium
Lottery

In 2009 the Berlin Senate decided that
Berlin's gymnasium schools should no longer be allowed to pick all of their
students. It was ruled that while they would be able to pick 70% to 65% of their
students, the other places were to be allocated by lottery. Every child is able
to enter the lottery, no matter how he or she performed in primary school. It is
hoped that this policy will increase the number of working class students
attending a gymnasium.[55]
The Left proposed
that Berlin gymnasiums should no longer be allowed to expel students who
perform poorly, so that students who won a gymnasium place in the lottery have a
higher chance of graduating from that school.[55]
It is not clear yet whether Berlin's senate will decide in favour of The Left's
proposal.

[edit]
Differences between western Germany and the former
GDR

The influence of social class on educational achievement is much greater in
western Germany than it is in eastern Germany (former
GDR). In western Germany the child of an academic is 7.26 times as likely as the
child of a skilled worker to attend a Gymnasium, while in eastern Germany a
child from an academic background is only 2.78 times as likely as a working
class child to attend a Gymnasium.[56]

The reasons for this are unclear. Some people have the opinion that
immigrants were to blame for this because more uneducated immigrant families
lived in western Germany than in eastern Germany. This assumption however could
not be confirmed. The difference between eastern and western Germany was even
stronger when only ethnic German children were studied.[57]

[edit]
Differences between rural parts of Germany and
cities

Social class differences in educational achievement are much more marked in
Germany's big cities than they are in the rural parts of Germany. In cities with
more than 300,000 inhabitants, children of academics are 14.36 times as likely
as children of skilled workers to attend Gymnasium.[56]

[edit]
Life in a German
school

Standard classroom at a secondary school in Germany
in 1998

The choir of the
Carl-von-Ossietzky-Gymnasium

The Witten-Annen Freiligrathschule, a
Hauptschule

The Kolleg St. Blasien
resides in a former Benedictine monastery

Stella Matutina in Feldkirch

The Aloisiuskolleg

Cadets of the German Navy taking exercises in front
of one of the gyms of Germany's naval officers school, the Marineschule
Mürwik

Although German students are not very different from other students across
the world, there are organizational differences. The main points are outlined
below; however, it should be noted that there are additional differences across
the 16 states of Germany.

Every Bundesland has its own school system

Each group of pupils born in the same year forms one grade or class, which
remains the same for elementary school (years 1 to 4), orientation school (if
there are orientation schools in the state) or orientation phase (at
Gymnasium years 5 to 6), and secondary school (years 5 to 10 in
"Realschulen" and "Hauptschulen"; years 5 to 11 (differences between states)
in "Gymnasien"). Changes are possible, though, when there is a choice of
subjects, e.g. additional languages, and the class is split.

Most subjects (except PE, art, sciences, music and the subjects which are
taught in courses, like French) are taught in the pupils' own classroom
(similar to a "home room"); the pupils stay in their room whilst the teachers
move from class to class. This is common throughout school up to year 11 (5 in
Saxony, 7 in Brandenburg).

Sometimes there is also a "Sanitätsdienst" (medical service), where pupils
voluntarily perform first aid.[citation
needed]

Pupils sit at tables, not desks (usually two at one table), sometimes
arranged in a semi-circle or another geometric or functional shape. During
exams in classrooms, the tables are sometimes arranged in columns with one
pupil per table (if permitted by the room's capacities) in order to prevent
cheating; at many schools, this is only the case for some exams in the two
final years of school, i.e. some of the exams counting for the final grade on
the high school diploma.

There normally is no school uniform or dress
code other than the most basic rules of decency. Many private schools have
a very simple dress code consisting of, for example, "no shorts, no sandals,
no clothes with holes". Some schools are trying out school uniforms, but those
are not as formal as seen in for example the UK. They mostly consist of a
normal pullover/shirt and jeans of a certain color, sometimes with the
school's symbol on it. (It is a common custom to design graduation class
shirts for final examination in Gymnasium.)

Pupils who graduate from a Gymnasium will receive their Abitur-T-shirt,
which carries the year of graduation, name of the school and a slogan.

School usually starts between 7.30 a.m. and 8:15 a.m. and can finish as
early as 12; instruction in lower classes almost always ends before lunch. In
higher grades, however, afternoon lessons are very common and periods may have
longer gaps without teacher supervision between them. Ordinarily, afternoon
classes are not offered every day and/or continuously until early evening,
leaving pupils with large parts of their afternoons free of school; some
schools (Ganztagsschulen), however, offer classes or mainly supervised
activities throughout the afternoons in order to offer supervision of the
pupils rather than an increase in teaching. Afternoon lessons can continue
until 6 o'clock.

Depending on the school, there are breaks of 5 to 10 minutes after each
period. There is no lunch break as school usually finishes before 1:30 for
junior school. However, at schools that have "Nachmittagsunterricht" (=
afternoon classes) ending after 1:30 there's sometimes a lunch break of 45 to
90 minutes, though many schools lack any special break in general. Some
schools that have regular breaks of 5 minutes between periods have additional
15 or 20 minute breaks after the second and fourth period.

In German state schools, periods are exactly 45 minutes. Each subject is
usually taught for two to three periods every week (main subjects like
mathematics, German or foreign languages are taught for four to six periods)
and usually no more than two periods consecutively. The beginning of every
period and, usually, break is announced with an audible signal such as a
bell.

Exams (which are always supervised) are usually essay based, rather than
[[multiple

choice]]. As of 11th grade, exams usually consist of no more than three
separate exercises. While most exams in the first grades of secondary schools
usually span no more than 90 minutes, exams in 11th to 13th grade may span four
periods or more (without breaks).

At every type of school, pupils study one foreign language (in
most cases English) for at least five years. The study is, however, far more
rigorous in Gymnasium. Students leaving Hauptschule rarely attain fluency. In
Gymnasium, students can choose from a wider range of languages (mostly
English, French, Russian (mostly in east German Bundesländer) or Latin) as the
first language in 5th grade, and a second mandatory language in 6th or 7th
grade. Students are required to study English either as a first or second
foreign language. Some types of Gymnasium also require an additional
third language (such as Spanish, Italian, Russian, Latin or Ancient Greek) or
an alternative subject (usually based on one or two other subjects, e.g.
English politics (English & politics), dietetics (biology) or media
studies (arts & German) in 9th or 11th grade. Gymnasiums ordinarily offer
further subjects starting at 11th grade, with some schools offering a fourth
foreign language.

A small number of schools have a Raucherecke (smokers' corner), a
small area of the schoolyard where students over the age of eighteen are
permitted to smoke in their breaks. Those special areas were banned in the
states of Berlin, Hessen and Hamburg, Brandenburg at the
beginning of the 2005-06 school year. (Bavaria, Schleswig-Holstein,
Lower
Saxony 2006-07)). From now on schools in these states forbid smoking for
pupils and teachers and offences at school will be punished. Some other states
in Germany are planning to introduce similar laws.

As state schools are public, smoking is universally prohibited inside the
buildings. Smoking teachers are generally asked not to smoke while at or near
school.

Students over 14 years are permitted to leave the school compound during
breaks at some schools. Teachers or school personnel tend to prevent younger
pupils from leaving early and strangers from entering the compound without
permission.

Tidying up the classroom and schoolyard is often the task of the pupils.
Unless a group of pupils volunteers, individuals are picked
sequentially.

Many schools have AGs or Arbeitsgemeinschaften (clubs) for
afternoon activities such as sports, music or acting, but participation is not
necessarily common. Some schools also have special mediators, who are student
volunteers trained to resolve conflicts between their classmates or younger
pupils.

Only few schools have actual sports teams that compete with other
schools'. Even if the school has a sports team, most students are not very
aware of it.

While student newspapers used to be very common until the late 20th
century, many of them are now very short-lived, usually vanishing when the
team graduates. Student newspapers are often financed mostly by
advertisements.

Usually schools don't have their own radio stations or TV channels. Larger
universities often have a local student-run radio station, however.

Although most German schools and state universities do not have classrooms
equipped with a computer for every student, schools usually have at least one
or two computer rooms and most universities offer a limited number of
rooms with computers on every desk. State school computers are usually
maintained by the same exclusive contractor in the entire city and updated
slowly. Internet access is often provided by phone companies free of charge.
Especially in schools the teachers' computer skills are often very
low.

At the end of their schooling, students usually undergo a cumulative
written and oral examination (Abitur in Gymnasiums or
Abschlussprüfung in Realschulen and Hauptschulen).
Students leaving Gymnasium after 9th grade do have the leaving
examination of the Hauptschule and after 10th grade do have the Mittlere Reife
(leaving examination of the Realschule).

After 10th grade Gymnasium students may quit school for at least
one year of job education if they do not wish to continue. Realschule
and Hauptschule students who have passed their Abschlussprüfung
may decide to continue schooling at a Gymnasium, but are sometimes
required to take additional courses in order to catch up.

Corporal
punishment was banned in West Germany in 1973 and at least officially in
East Germany in 1949.

Fourth grade (or sixth, depending on the state) is often quite stressful
for students of lower performance and their families. Many feel tremendous
pressure when trying to achieve placement in Gymnasium, or at least when
attempting to avoid placement in Hauptschule. Germany is unique compared to
other western countries in its early segregation of students based on academic
achievement.

[edit]
The school year

The school year starts after the summer break (different from state to state,
usually end/mid of August) and is divided into two terms. There are typically 12
weeks of holidays in addition to public holidays. Exact dates differ between
states, but there are generally 6 weeks of summer and two weeks of Christmas
holiday. The other holiday periods are given in spring (usually around Easter Sunday) and autumn
(the former "harvest holiday", where farmers used to need their children for
field work). Schools can also schedule two or three special days off per
term.

[edit]
Model timetables

Students have about 30-40 periods of 45 minutes each per week, but especially
secondary schools today switch to 90 minutes lessons (Block) which count
as two 'traditional' lessons. To manage classes that are taught three lessons
per week there is still one 45 minute lesson each day, mostly between the first
two blocks. There are about 12 compulsory subjects: two or three foreign
languages (one to be taken for 9 years, another for at least 3 years), physics,
biology, chemistry and usually civics/social studies (for at least 5, 7, 3, and
2 years, respectively), and mathematics, music, art, history, German, geography,
PE and religious education/ethics for 9 years. A few afternoon activities are
offered at German schools – mainly choir or orchestra, sometimes sports, drama
or languages. Many of these are offered as semi-scholastic AG's
(Arbeitsgemeinschaften – literally "working groups"), which are
mentioned, but not officially graded in students' report cards. Other common
extracurricular activities are organized as private clubs, which are very
popular in Germany.

Sample grade 10 Gymnasium timetable

Time

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

07.30–08.15 am

English

Physics

Biology

Physics

French(course)

08.20–09.05 am

History

English

Chemistry

Maths

Chemistry

09.05–09.25 am

break

09.25–10.10 am

Latin (course)

French (course)

Maths

Latin (course)

Maths

10.15–11.00 am

German

French (course)

Religious studies (course)

Latin (course)

German

11.00–11.15 am

break

11.15–12.00 am–pm

Music

Mathematics

P.E.

German

Biology

12.05–12.50 pm

Religious studies (course)

History

P.E.

English

Latin (course)

This timetable reflects a school week at a normal 9-year Gymnasium in North
Rhine-Westphalia (which should change to 8 years by 2013). There are three
blocks of lessons where every "hour" takes 45 minutes. After each block, there
is a break of 15–20 minutes, also after the 6th hour (the number of lessons
changes from year to year, so it's possible that one would be in school until
four o'clock). "Nebenfächer" (= minor fields of study) are taught two times a
week, "Hauptfächer" (=major subjects) are taught three times. (Latin is taught
four times a week because it is the newly-started third language.)

Typical grade 10 timetable at a middle school in
2003

In grades 11–13, 11–12, or 12–13 (depending on the school system), each
student majors in two or three subjects ("Leistungskurse",
"Grundkurse"/"Profilkurse"). These are usually taught five hours per week. The
other subjects are usually taught three periods per week.

Sample grade 12 Gymnasium timetable

Time

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

08.00–08.45 am

Spanish

Chemistry

Psychology

08.50–09.35 am

Spanish

Biology

Chemistry

Psychology

09.50–10.35 am

Arts

Mathematics

Spanish

Mathematics

Chemistry

10.40–11.25 am

Arts

Mathematics

Spanish

Mathematics

Chemistry

11.35–12.20 pm

Geography/Social Studies+

German

History

English

Biology

12.25–1.10 pm

Geography/Social Studies+

German

History

English

Choir

1.10–1.55 pm

2.00–2.45 pm

English

Religious studies

2.50–3.35 pm

English

Religious studies

3.50–4.35 pm

German

4.40–5.25 pm

Physical Education

German

5.30–6.15 pm

Physical Education

+Geography in the first part of the year, Social Studies in the second

Example of Baden-Württemberg

Sample grade 12 Gymnasium timetable (Lower-Saxony)

Time

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

08.00–08.45 am

English

Religious studies

French

Physics

German

08.50–09.35 am

English

Religious studies

French

Physics

German

09.55–10.40 am

German

Geography/Social Studies (taught in English)

Mathematics

Geography/Social Studies (taught in English)

Mathematics

10.45–11.30 am

German

Geography/Social Studies (taught in English)

Mathematics

Geography/Social Studies (taught in English)

Mathematics

11.50–12.35 pm

Physics

Politics-Economy

History

English

French

12.40–1.25 pm

Physics

Politics-Economy

History

English

French

1.40–2.25 pm

Arts

"Seminarfach"+

History

PE (different sports offered as courses)

2.30–3.15 pm

Arts

"Seminarfach"+

History

PE (different sports offered as courses)

+"Seminarfach" is a compulsory class in which each student is prepared to
turn in his/her own research paper at the end of the semester. The class is
supposed to train the students' scientific research skills that will be
necessary in their later university life.

There are many differences in the 16 states of Germany and there are
alternatives to this basic pattern, e.g. Waldorfschulen or
other private schools. Adults can also go back to evening school and take the
Abitur exam.

Sample grade 10 timetable (Gymnasium specialiced on Music,
Bavaria)

Time

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

08.00–08.45 am

Latin

Biology

R.E.

Math

Biology

08.45–09.30 am

German

Physics

R.E.

Politics-Economy

Instrument

09.50–10.35 am

English

English

Politics-Economy

P.E.

Chemistry

10.35–11.20 am

History

Latin

Mathematics

P.E.

Music

11.30–12.15 pm

Art

Social-science

Latin

Geography

English

12.15–1.00 pm

Art

Mathematics

English

German

German

2.00–2.45 pm

Chemistry

Physics

2.45–3.30 pm

Geography

Latin

3.30–4.15 pm

Music

Latin (extra course)

4.15–5.00 pm

Mathematics (extra course)

[edit]
Organizational
aspects

In Germany, education is the responsibility of the states (Länder) and part
of their constitutional sovereignty (Kulturhoheit der Länder). Teachers
are employed by the Ministry of Education for the state and usually have a job
for life after a certain period (verbeamtet) (which, however, is
not comparable in timeframe nor competitiveness to the typical tenure track,
e.g. at universities in the US). This practice depends on the state and is
currently changing. A parents' council is elected to voice the parents' views to
the school's administration. Each class elects one or two "Klassensprecher"
(class presidents, if two are elected usually one is male and the other female),
the class presidents meet several times a year as the "Schülerrat" (students'
council). A team of school presidents is also elected by the pupils each year,
their main purpose is organizing school parties, sports tournaments and the like
for their fellow students. The local town is responsible for the school building
and employs the janitorial and secretarial staff. For an average school of 600 –
800 students, there may be two janitors and one secretary. School administration
is the responsibility of the teachers, who receive a reduction in their teaching
hours if they participate.

[edit]
Recent developments

After much public debate about Germany's perceived low international ranking
in Programme
for International Student Assessment (PISA), some things are beginning to
change. There has been a trend towards a less ideological discussion on how to
develop schools. These are some of the new trends:

Establishing federal standards on quality of teaching

More practical orientation in teacher training

Transfer of some responsibility from the Ministry of Education to local
school

Since 1990s, a few changes have already been taking place in many
schools:

Introduction of bilingual
education in some subjects

Experimentation with different styles of teaching

Equipping all schools with computers and Internet access

Creation of local school philosophy and teaching goals ("Schulprogramm"),
to be evaluated regularly

Reduction of Gymnasium school years (Abitur after grade 12)
and introduction of afternoon periods as in many other western
countries

[edit]
Gesamtschulen vs.
streaming

There has been a public debate about streaming students
by ability. Opponents of streaming by ability claim that streaming is unfair and
have pointed out that countries that performed very well in PISA, such as
Finland, do not stream by ability. Proponents of streaming have pointed out that
German comprehensive schools ranked below other German schools on PISA and that
children from the lower socio-economic groups attending comprehensive schools
fare worse in PISA than middle-class students attending the same schools.

[edit]
The education of
craftspeople

A Meisterbrief (master craftsman's certificate)
from the Berliner Handwerkskammer (Berlin chamber of handicrafts), the motto on
the certificate reads "Work is the ennoblement of the citizen; boon will be the
reward for his labour

Apprentices are having a break and discussing the
newspaper

Carpenters on the apprenticeship journey,
1990

Journeyman in traditional costume

A master discusses a vacuum compressor with his
apprentice and several other craftspersons

A German roofer thatching a roof with reeds (he is
wearing the traditional waistcoat and trousers of a craftsman)

Carpentry is one of the trades considered a craft
in Germany

Germany has high standards in the education of craftspeople. Historically
very few people attended college. In the 1950s for example, 80 percent had only
Volksschule ("primary school")-Education of 6 or 7 years. Only 5 percent of
youngsters entered college at this time and still less graduated. In the 1960s,
6 percent of youngsters entered college. In 1961 there were still 8,000 cities
in which no youngsters received secondary education.[58]
However, this does not mean that Germany was a country of uneducated people. In
fact, many of those who did not receive secondary education were highly skilled
craftspeople and members of the upper middle class. Even though more people
attend college today, a craftsperson is still highly valued in German
society.

Historically (prior to the 20th century) the relationship between a master
craftsman and his apprentice was paternalistic. Apprentices were often very
young when entrusted to a master craftsman by their parents. It was seen as the
master's responsibility not only to teach the craft, but also to instill the
virtues of a good craftsman. He was supposed to teach honour, loyalty,
fair-mindedness, courtesy and compassion for the poor. He was also supposed to
offer spiritual guidance, to ensure his apprentices fulfilled their religious
duties and to teach them to "honour the Lord" (Jesus Christ) with their lives.
The master craftsman who failed to do this would lose his reputation and would
accordingly be dishonoured - a very bad fate in those days. The apprenticeship
ended with the so called Freisprechung (exculpation). The master announced in
front of the trade heading that the apprentice had been virtuous and
God-loving.[59]
[60]
[61]
The young person now had the right to call himself a "Geselle" (journeyman). He
had two options: either to work for a master or to become a master himself.
Working for another master had several disadvantages. One was that, in many
cases, the journeyman who was not a master was not allowed to marry and found a
family. Because the church disapproved of sex outside of marriage, he was
obliged to become a master if he did not want to spend his life celibate.[62]
Accordingly, many of the so-called "Geselle" decided to go on a journey in order
to become a master. This was called "Waltz" or Journeyman years.

In those days, the crafts were called the "virtuous crafts" and the
virtuosness of the craftspersons was greatly respected. For example, according
to one source, a person should be greeted from "the bricklayer craftspersons
in the town, who live in repectability, die in respectability, who strive for
respectability and who apply repectability to their actions"[63]
In those days, the concept of the "virtuous crafts" stood in contrast to the
concept of "academic freedom" as Brüdermann and Jost noticed.

Nowadays, the education of craftspersons has changed - in particular self
esteem and the concept of respectability.[64]
Yet even today, a craftsperson does sometimes refer to the "craftspersons codex
of virtues" and the crafts sometimes may be referred to as the "virtuous crafts"
and a craftsperson who gives a blessing at a roofing ceremony may, in many
cases, remind of the "virtues of the crafts I am part of". Also certain virtues
are ascribed to certain crafts. For example a person might be called "always on
time like a bricklayer" to describe punctuality.[65]
On the other hand, "virtue" and "respectability", which in the past had been the
center of the life of any craftsperson became less and less important for such
education. Today, a young person who wants to start an apprenticeship must first
find an "Ausbilder": this may be a master craftsperson, a master in the
industrial sector (Industriemeister) or someone else with proof of suitable
qualifications in the training of apprentices. The "Ausbilder" must also provide
proof of no criminal record and proof of respectability. The Ausbilder has to be
at least 24 years of age. The Ausbilder has several duties, such as 1) teach the
craft, 2) teach the techniques, 3) instill character, 4) instill social skills.
In some cases, the Ausbilder must also provide board and lodging. Agreement is
reached on these points before the apprenticeship begins. The apprentice will
also receive payment for his work. According to §17 Berufsbildungsgesetz, a
first year apprentice will be paid less than someone who has been an apprentice
for longer. An Ausbilder who provides board and lodging may set this off against
the payment made. In the past, many of those who applied for an apprenticeship
had only primary school education. Nowadays, only those with secondary school
education apply for apprenticeships because secondary school attendance has
become compulsory. In some trades, it has even become difficult for those
holding the Hauptschulabschluss
to find an apprenticeship because more and more pupils leave school with the Realschulabschluss or
Abitur. The
apprenticeship takes three years. During that time, the apprentice is trained by
the Ausbilder and also attends a vocational school. This is called the "German
model" or "dual education
system" ("Duale Ausbildung").

[edit]
College and
University

See also: Academic degree

See also: List of
universities in Germany

[edit]
Application for Fachhochschule or University

There are numerous ways to achieve admission to German colleges.[66]
The most traditional route has always been graduation from a Gymnasium with the
Abitur; however this has become less common over time. As of 2008, less than
half of university freshmen in some German states had graduated from a
Gymnasium. Even in Bavaria (a state with a policy of strengthening the
Gymnasium) only 56 percent of freshmen had graduated from a Gymnasium.[67]
The rest were awarded the Abitur from another school or did not hold the Abitur
certification at all. Any person with the prerequisite qualifications may apply
for Fachhochschule or University in Germany, regardless of race, gender,
religion or political opinion.

Students wishing to attend university in Germany must, as a rule, hold the
Abitur or Fachabitur certification. Lacking this, they must present additional
proof that they will be able to keep up with their fellow students. This may
take the form of a test of cognitive functioning or evidence of passing
the "Begabtenprüfung" ("Aptitude Test", consisting of a written and oral exam).
In some cases, students that do not hold the Abitur may enter university even if
they do not pass the aptitude or cognitive functioning tests if they 1) have
received previous vocational training, and 2) have worked at least three years
and passed the "Eingangsprüfung" (entrance exam). Such is the case, for
example, in Hamburg.[68]

High school diplomas received from states outside of Germany (such as
American or Canadian high school diplomas) are, in many cases, not considered
equivalent to an Abitur, but rather a Realschulabschluss
and therefore do not qualify the bearer for admission to a German university.
However, it is still possible for such students to apply to a German university
if they can provide proof of the requisite qualifications. For example, foreign
students with a combined math and verbal score of 1300 on the SAT or 28 on the ACT may
qualify for university admission.[69]

Students who wish to attend a Fachhochschule must hold
the Abitur or the Fachhochschulreife
or other evidence that they will be able to keep up with their fellow
students.

[edit]
The admission
process

There are several quotas ensuring that the university admission process in
Germany is fair.[70][71][72]

at least 2 percent of the students at any university must be so called
"Härtefälle" cases (hardship cases or disadvantaged students). A student may
be counted as a hardship case if 1) he or she suffers from an severe illness
or disability or 2) he or she is socially disadvantaged (or from a
disadvantaged family) or 3) he or she is of partial German ancestry born
outside of Germany ("Spätaussiedler") and attended a university in the country
of origin. Other conditions may also qualify a student as a hardship case;
hardship cases are granted preferential treatment and admission

20 percent of available admission slots must be granted to students who
graduated from school in the top 20% of their class (as determined by
GPA)

20 percent of slots must be granted to students who have been on the
waiting list the longest

The other admission slots may be awarded at the university's discretion.
Criteria universities commonly apply are: 1) grade point average (used most
often), 2) personal character as evaluated in interviews, 3) personal
character as evidenced through essays or letters, and 4) performance on
entrance exams.

According to German law universities are not permitted to discriminate
against or grant preferential treatment to persons on basis of race, ethnic
group, gender, or social class unless in the "hardship cases", which must
be granted preferential treatment.

[edit]
Tuition fees

Most colleges are state-funded. In 2010, five of the 16 states of Germany
charged tuition fees at state-funded colleges, while in 11 states tuition was
provided free of charge. There are no university-sponsored scholarships in
Germany, but a number of private and public institutions award scholarships,
usually to cover living costs and books. Moreover, there is a law (BAFöG or
Bundesausbildungsförderungsgesetz) which ensures that needy people can
get up to 650€ per month for 4–5 years if they or their parents cannot afford
all the costs involved with studying. Part (typically half) of this money is an
interest-free loan which has to be repaid. Many universities planning to
introduce tuition fees have announced their intention to use part of the
refunded money to create scholarship programmes, although the exact details are
mostly vague.

Bundesland

Percentage of college, university or Fachhochschule graduates in
employment by Bundesland in 2009; expressed as a percentage of all those
in employment, percentage in the general population might be lower as
college graduates are the group least likely to be out of work[73]

Schleswig-Holstein

6,4 %

Rheinland-Pfalz

7,4 %

Saarland

7,9 %

Niedersachsen

7,9 %

Sachsen-Anhalt

8,8 %

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

8,9 %

Nordrhein-Westfalen

9,5%

Brandenburg

9,6%

Bayern

10,0 %

Thüringen

10,1 %

Baden-Württemberg

10,7 %

Bremen

11,2 %

Hessen

11,7 %

Hamburg

13,0 %

Sachsen

13,0 %

Berlin

13,9 %

[edit]
Student Population

Since the end of World War II, the number of
young people entering university has more than tripled, but university
attendance is still lower than that of many other European nations. This is
partly because of the dual education
system, with its strong emphasis on apprenticeships (see also
German
model) and because many jobs which do require a college degree in other
countries (such as nursing) require only a qualification from a school (such as
Krankenschwesternschule), which does not count as college.

The rate of college graduates varies by Bundesland. It is the highest in Berlin and the
lowest in Schleswig-Holstein.

While the organizational structure claims to go back to the university
reforms introduced by Wilhelm von
Humboldt in the early 19th century(Humboldt
University of Berlin), it has been criticized by some (including the
German-born, former Stanford University
president Gerhard Casper) for
having an unbalanced focus, more on education and less on research, and the lack
of independence from state intervention. Indeed many of today's German public
universities bear less resemblance to the original Humboldt vision than, for
example, a typical US institution.

The Humboldt
University of Berlin is the first modern university in the
world.

The University of
Heidelberg is the oldest university in Germany.

Two college students sharing a room at the Deutsche
Hochschule für Körperkultur in Leipzig, 1956

Students attending a colloqium and discussing,
DHfK, 1970

Vietnamese students eating at a German university
canteen in 1958

Handball-Mixed-Tournament at the 4th
Eurokonstantia, the international sports tournament at the university sports
centre in Konstanz in 2009

German university students largely choose their own programme of study and
professors choose their own subjects for research and teaching. This elective
system often results in students spending many years at university before
graduating, and is currently under review. There are no fixed classes of
students who study together and graduate together. Students change universities
according to their interests and the strengths of each university. Sometimes
students attend two, three or more different universities in the course of their
studies. This mobility means that at German universities there is a freedom and
individuality unknown in the USA, the UK, or France. While the overall mobility
is high, the number of west Germans entering universities in the former east is
low, whereas many students from the former east matriculate in west German
institutions, raising doubts about the status of the "inner reunification"
of the two parts of the country. The weekly Die Zeit dubbed the former East
as the "despised paradise".[74]

Upon leaving school, students may choose to go on to university; however,
most male students will have to serve nine months of military or
alternative service (Zivildienst)
beforehand.

While at Gymnasium a pupil cannot take courses leading to university
credits. This might have to do with the fact that the credit system is thus far
unknown in Germany, although it is being introduced with the Bologna process that is
intended to unify education and degrees for all EU states. What counts at the end of
schooling are certificates ("Scheine") issued by teachers proving that the
required courses (and/or exams) were successfully taken. Exceptionally, pupils
might not receive certificates for courses they had attend before officially
matriculating at the university (i.e. while at Gymnasium), although their
attendance may sometimes be counted as such. Usually there are few required
specific courses, rather students choose from a more or less broad range of
classes in their field of interest, while this varies greatly depending upon the
choice of subject. Once a pupil has acquired the prescribed number of such
certificates and can (if a Magister student) verify regular attendance at
a minimum number of optional courses, the pupil can decide to register for the
final examinations. In many cases, the grades of those certificates are
discarded and the final diploma grade consists only of the grades of the final
exams and master thesis. This can potentially impair motivation to achieve
excellence, although most try to aim for higher scores in order to comply with
requirements for BAFöG or scholarships.

At Gymnasium, pupils are under strict observation by teachers, and
their attendance at all courses is checked regularly. At German universities,
however, class attendance is only checked for courses in which the student
requires a certificate, and attendance checks are usually a lot more liberal
(usually a signature or initials are considered proof of attendance, even if the
signing is not supervised) and sporadic, although repeated failure to attend a
course without a proper excuse (i.e. sick note) usually results in a failure to
get a certificate. Life at German universities may seem anonymous and highly
individual at first, but most students find a group of fellow students with
common interests in their first year, and then often take courses together and
remain in this group up to the final examinations.

While there are curricula for the first two or three years in the sciences,
in the liberal arts, every student selects lectures and seminars (usually
admission to the Zwischenprüfung requires three certificates, which may
each be earned in one of several different seminars), and takes the exams at the
end of the study period. Each student decides when the time has come to take the
final exam. Some take the minimum 4 years, most take 5–6 years, some may even
spend 10 years at university (often because they changed subjects several
times). After 13 years at school plus maybe 1 year in the armed forces,
graduates may sometimes be almost 30 years old when they apply for their first
real job, although most will have had a number of part-time jobs or temporary
employments between semesters.

If they have successfully studied at university for two years (after a
Zwischenprüfung/Vordiplom), students can transfer to other
countries for graduate studies. Usually they finish studies after 4–6 years with
a degree called the Diplom (in the sciences) or
Magister (in the arts),
which is equivalent to a M.Sc. or M.A., or a Magister Artium.

A special kind of degree is the Staatsexamen. This is a
government licensing examination that future doctors, teachers, lawyers, judges,
public prosecutors and pharmacists are required to pass to be allowed to work in
their profession. Students usually study at university for 4–8 years before they
take the first Staatsexamen. Afterwards teachers and jurists go on to work in
their future jobs for two years, before they are able to take the second
Staatsexamen, which tests their practical abilities. The first Staatsexamen is
equivalent to a M.Sc., M.A, LL.M. or LL.B.

However, there is another type of post-Abitur university training in
Germany: the Fachhochschulen
(Universities of Applied Science), which offer degrees similar to those at a
traditional university, but often concentrate on applied science (as the English
name suggests). At a traditional university, it is an important to study "why" a
method is scientifically right: however, this is less important at Universities
of Applied Science. Here the emphasis is placed on what systems and methods
exist, where they come from, their advantages and disadvantages, how to use them
in practice and when are they should be used and when not. Students start their
courses together and graduate (more or less) together and there is little choice
in their schedule (but this must not be at several studies). To get on-the-job
experience, internship semesters are a
mandatory part of studying at a Fachhochschule. Therefore the students at
U-o-A-S are better trained in transferring learned knowledge and skills into
practice while students of traditional universities are better trained in method
developing. But as professors at U-o-A-S have done their doctorate at
traditional universities, and such universities are have regard to the
importance of practice, both types are coming closer and closer. It is nowadays
more a differentiation between practice orientation and theoretical orientation
of science.

After about 4–5 years (depending on how a student arranges the courses taken,
and whether courses have to be repeated) a Fachhochschule student has a
complete education and can go right into working life. Fachhochschule
graduates traditionally received a title that starting with "Dipl." (Diploma)
and ends with "(FH)", e.g. "Dipl. Ing. (FH)" for a graduate engineer from a
Fachhochschule. The FH Diploma is roughly equivalent to a Bachelor
degree. An FH Diploma does not usually qualify the holder for a Ph.D. program
directly—many universities require an additional entrance exam or participation
in theoretical classes from FH candidates. The last point is based on history.
When FHs or U-o-A-S were set up, the professors were mainly teachers from higher
schools but did not hold a doctorate. This has completely changed since the end
of the eighties, but professors of traditional universities still regard
themselves as "the real professors", which indeed is no longer true. Due to the
Bologna process, bachelor and master degrees are being introduced to traditional
universities and universities of applied sciences in the same way.

All courses at the roughly 250 traditional universities and universities of
applied sciences used to be free - like any school in Germany. One might also
say the government offered a full scholarship to everyone. However, students
that took longer than the Regelstudienzeit ("regular length of studies",
a statistically calculated average that is the minimum amount of time necessary
to successfully graduate) did have to pay Langzeitstudiengebühren
("long-time study fees") of about 500 EUR per semester, in a number of states.
Today there are a few private institutions (especially business schools) that
charge tuition fees, but they do not enjoy the same high recognition and high
standards as public universities. Another negative impact of private
institutions in Germany is that they usually offer only one (or a few) subjects
- a situation that results in their failure to achieve high recognition in
international competition.

A student has to pay for board and lodging plus books. Above a certain age,
student health insurance (50 EUR per month) is compulsory, and there are always
other service charges (40-100 EUR per semester). Students often enjoy very cheap
public transport (Semesterticket) in and around the university town.
Inexpensive accommodation is available from the Studentenwerk, an
independent non-profit organization partially funded by the state. This may cost
150 EUR per month, without food. Otherwise an apartment can cost 500 EUR, but
often three to five students share an apartment. Food is about 100 EUR (figures
for 2002). Many banks provide free accounts to students up to a certain age
(usually around 25).

The German
Constitutional Court recently ruled that a federal law prohibiting tuition
fees is unconstitutional, on the grounds that education is the sole
responsibility of the states. Following this ruling many state legislatures have
passed laws that allow, but do not officially force, universities to demand
tuition up to a limit, usually €500. In 2010 tution fees at statefunded
universities existed in five States of Germany. In preparation to comply with
several local laws aiming to give universities more liberty in their decisions
but requiring them to be more economical (effectively privatising them), many
universities hastily decided to introduce the fees, usually without any
exceptions other than a bare minimum. As a direct result, student demonstrations
in the scale of 100 to 10000 participants are frequent in the affected cities,
most notably Frankfurt in Hesse, where the state officially
considered introducing universal tuition fees in the €1500 range.

Most students will move to the university town if it is far away. Getting
across Germany from Flensburg to Konstanz takes a full day (1000 km or 620
miles). But, as mentioned above, there is no university-provided student housing
on campus in Germany, since most campuses are scattered all over the city for
historical reasons. Traditionally, university students rented a private room in
town, which was their home away from home. This is no longer the standard, but
one still finds this situation. One third to one half of the students works to
make a little extra money, often resulting in a longer stay at university.

Figures for Germany are roughly:

1,000,000 new students at all schools put together for one year

400,000 Abitur graduations

30,000 doctoral dissertations per year

1000 habilitations per year
(qualification to become a professor)

Degrees:

Recently, changes relating to the so-called Bologna Agreement have started to
come into effect to install a more internationally acknowledged system, which
includes new course structures - the (hitherto unknown) Bachelor degree and the
Master degree - and ECTS credits.

In the majority of subjects, students can only study for Bachelor, as
"Diplom", or "Magister" courses do not accept new enrollments, and are available
to"Diplom" students who are in their final year. (These student are under a
limit unlike before.)

The bachelor/master system has been under a lot of criticism especially by
students, as the curriculum are often accused of just the same courses as under
the old system squeezed into the 3 years that most Bachelor courses are in
Germany, or that they only cover the curriculum to the previous "Vordiplom" an
examination taken at about half point of the course.

In either case a major complain is the workload, and the lack of
compatibility within subjects not only through out Europe or the World but also
within Germany, or even within Universities. This leaves many students unable to
go for a year abroad as they don't have time because of time limited modules and
the lack of compatibility of courses.

In addition, there are the courses leading to Staatsexamen (state
examinations), e. g. for lawyers and teachers, that qualify for entry into
German civil service, but which are not recognized elsewhere as an academic
degree (although the courses are sometimes identical). Some "Diplom" courses
still prevail.[75]

On the whole though, while German universities are internationally
recognized, they perform poorly in rankings based on objective standards such as
publication rates. This is demonstrated by their positioning in international university rankings.
Despite the country's size and investment in education, merely ten German
universities were listed in the top 200 universities in the world in the 2006 THES -
QS World University Rankings.[76]

[edit]
See also

Abitur after
twelve years

Education in
East Germany

Music schools in
Germany

List of schools
in Germany

List of
universities in Germany

[edit]
References

^
EURYDICE:
EACEA.ec.europa.eu, National summary sheets on education
system in Europe and ongoing reforms -- Germany.

^
Schülerzahlen Statistisches Bundesamt Deutschland. Retrieved
2007, 07-20

^ a
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Profile: Germany, U.S. Library of
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^
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link]

^
Handwerkskammer Niederbayern-Oberpfalz: "Der Meisterbrief - Die Eintrittskarte
zum Studium

^
OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA): Participating countries

^
Experts: Germany Needs to Step up School Reforms Deutsche
Welle. April 12, 2006. Retrieved 2006, 12-04

^ a
b
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for International Student Assessment (2007) (PDF). Executive Summary, PISA 2006: Science Competencies for
Tomorrow’s World Volume 1: Analysis. France: OECD. ISBN 978-92-64-04000-7. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/15/13/39725224.pdf. Retrieved 2007-12-15.

^ a
b
c
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for International Student Assessment (2007) (PDF). PISA 2006: Science Competencies for Tomorrow’s World Volume 1:
Analysis. France: OECD. ISBN 978-92-64-04000-7. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/30/17/39703267.pdf. Retrieved 2007-12-15.

^
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^
Jan-Martin Wiarda: "A new class of education". Guardian. 21 September 2009 [1]

^
"Einheitsschulen - das falsche Rezept für PISA" (in German).
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Kraus, Schulleiter eines bayerischen Gymnasiums und Autor des Buches "Der
PISA-Schwindel", bezweifelte die Aussagekraft und Repräsentativität der
Studie."

^
Stefan Hopmann, Gertrude Brinek, Martin Retzl (Hrsg.): PISA zufolge PISA. PISA
According to PISA. Hält PISA, was es verspricht? - Does PISA keep, what it
promises? LIT-Verlag, Wien 2007

^
Heiner Rindermann. Was messen internationale Schulleistungsstudien?
Schulleistungen, Schülerfähigkeiten, kognitive Fähigkeiten, Wissen oder
allgemeine Intelligenz? Psychologische Rundschau. Göttingen 57.2006, p.
69-86

^
Thomas Jahnke, Wolfram Meyerhöfer. PISA & Co – Kritik eines
Programms. Franzbecker, Hildesheim 2007

^
Volker Bank und Björn Heidecke. 2009. Gegenwind für PISA. Ein
systematisierender Überblick über kritische Schriften zur internationalen
Vergleichsmessung. Zeitschrift für wissenschaftliche Pädagogik, Vol.85,
Heft 3, p.361-372

^
Siegfried Lehrl: PISA - ein weltweiter Intelligenz-Test. In: Geistig Fit.
Ebersberg 2005, Nr.1, 3-6

^
Wolfram Meyerhöfer. 2005. Tests im Test - Das Beispiel PISA. Barbara Budrich,
Opladen

^
Joachim Wuttke: PISA: Nachträge zu einer nicht geführten Debatte. Mitteilungen
der Gesellschaft für Didaktik der Mathematik 87, 22-34 (2009) [2]

^
http://www.bildung.koeln.de/schule/artikel/artikel_04389.html

^
Frietsch, Rainer (November 2003). ""Intensivierung" von Bildungsabschlüssen zwischen 1970 -
2000" (PDF). Studien zum deutschen
Innovationssystem (5-2004). ISSN 1613-4338. http://www.bmbf.de/pub/sdi_05_04_bildungsintensivierung.pdf. Retrieved 2009-11-21.

^
The decision of secondary school influences the pupil's future, but during
this phase changes can more easily be made. In fact, this is seldom the case
because teachers are afraid of sending pupils to more academic schools whereas
parents are afraid of sending their children to less academic schools.

^
Organisation für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung: "PISA 2006 -
Schulleistungen im internationalen Vergleich - Naturwissenschaftliche
Kompetenzen für die Welt von Morgen". 2007. Bertelsmann Verlag, p. 269

^
Organisation für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung: "PISA 2006 -
Schulleistungen im internationalen Vergleich - Naturwissenschaftliche
Kompetenzen für die Welt von Morgen". 2007. Bertelsmann Verlag, p. 268 -
270

^
Those used as a standard of comparison for checking the results of the
study.

^
Gregor Brand: "Hochbegabte und hochleistende Jugendliche – Anmerkungen zum
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Andreas Fasel: "Hochbegabten Hysterie hat Deutschland erfasst". Die Welt 31
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Gary S. Schaal: Der „Kruzifix-Beschluss" und seine Folgen. In: Robert Chr. van
Ooyen, Martin Möllers (Hrsg.): Das Bundesverfassungsgericht im politischen
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3-531-14762-5, p. 175–186.(German)

^
Ehmke et al., 2004, In: PISA-Konsortium Deutschland (Hrsg.): PISA 2003 – Der
Bildungsstand der Jugendlichen in Deutschland – Ergebnisse des 2.
internationalen Vergleiches, Münster/NewYork: Waxmann, S. 244

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Beate Hock / Gerda Holz (Hg.): Erfolg oder Scheitern? Arme und benachteiligte
Jugendliche auf dem Weg ins Berufsleben. Fünfter Zwischenbericht zu einer
Studie im Auftrag des Bundesverbandes der Arbeiterwohlfahrt, P. 9

^
Rainer Geißler: Die Metamorphose der Arbeitertochter zum Migrantensohn. Zum
Wandle der Chancenstruktur im bildungssystem nach Schicht, Geschlecht, Ethnie
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Institutionalisierte Ungleichheiten. Wie das Bildungswesen Chancen blockiert,
Juvenat Verlag Weinheim und München 2005, S. 71–100 ISBN
3-7799-1583-9

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Manfred Amelang, Dieter Bartussek. 2001. Differentielle Psychologie und
Persönlichkeitsforschung. 5. Auflag. Kohlhammer; p. 248 ff.

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Hans Jürgen Eysenck. 1972 (reprinted in 2009). "Intelligenz-Test. Wie hoch ist
ihr IQ?". Reinbek bei Hamburg. Rowohlt Verlag. p. 14

^ a
b
Renate Rastätter, MdL: Gruene-Fraktion.de, "Nicht dümmer, aber die Dummen".

^
http://idw-online.de/pages/de/news370275

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Marc Young: Germany's School of Hard Knocks

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Internationale Leistungsvergleiche im Schulbereich
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Lauterbach, Wolfgang (2003): Armut in Deutschland - Folgen für Familien und
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Becker/Nietfeld (1999): "Arbeitslosigkeit und Bildungschancen von Kindern im
Transformationsprozess". Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und
Sozialpsychologie, Jg. 51, Heft 1, 1999

^
BiBB: Menschen mit Migrationshintergrund - neue Definition, alte
Probleme

^
Hans Boeckler Stiftung: OECD-Studie: Mangel an Akademikern

^
Isoplan: Neue Erkenntnisse aus der PISA-Studie

^
TAZ: Ostlehrer integrieren Migrantenkinder besser

^ a
b
Prof. Dr. Dr. Rainer Lehmann, Jenny Lenkeit: "ELEMENT - Erhebung zum Lese- und
Mathematikverständnis Entwicklungen in den Jahrgangsstufen 4 bis 6 in Berlin -
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Grundschulen und grundständigen Gymnasien". Humboldt Universität zu Berlin;
p.44

^
Deutscher Philologenverband. "Erkenntnisse der ELEMENT-Studie vorurteilsfrei
zur Kenntnis nehmen!". Pressemeldung. 22. April 2008

^
Prof. Dr. Dr. Rainer Lehmann, Jenny Lenkeit: "ELEMENT - Erhebung zum Lese- und
Mathematikverständnis Entwicklungen in den Jahrgangsstufen 4 bis 6 in Berlin -
Abschlussbericht über die Untersuchungen 2003, 2004 und 2005 an Berliner
Grundschulen und grundständigen Gymnasien". Humboldt Universität zu Berlin;
p.43 and 44

^ a
b
Hans Weiß (Hrsg.): Frühförderung mit Kindern und Familien in Armutslagen.
München/Basel: Ernst Reinhardt Verlag. ISBN
3-497-01539-3

^
Die Zeit (14. Mai 2008): Kindergarten gleicht soziale Unterschiede aus. Zeit.de

^
IGLU 2006 Press conference, retrieved May 27 2008

^
Susanne Vieth-Entus (29. Dezember 2008): "Sozialquote: Berliner Gymnasien
sollen mehr Schüler aus armen Familien aufnehmen". Der Tagesspiegel

^ a
b
Martin Klesmann (23. February 2009). "'Kinder aus Neukölln würden sich nicht
integrieren lassen' - Ein Politiker und ein Schulleiter streiten über
Sozialquoten an Gymnasien". Berliner Zeitung

^
Rainer Watermann, Susanne Thurn, Petra Stanat: "Die Laborschule im Spiegel
ihrer PISA-Ergebnisse - Pädagogisch-didaktische Konzepte und empirische
Evaluation reformpädagogischer Praxis" Juventa, 2005; p. 77

^
Interview von Uli Hartmann mit der grünen Jugend NRW; 21 December 2009

^
Rainer Watermann, Susanne Thurn, Petra Stanat: "Die Laborschule im Spiegel
ihrer PISA-Ergebnisse - Pädagogisch-didaktische Konzepte und empirische
Evaluation reformpädagogischer Praxis" Juventa, 2005; p. 75

^ a
b
Heinz-Peter Meidinger: "Berliner Schullotterie". Profil 07-08/2009 (August
24th. 2009)

^ a
b
Deutsches PISA-Konsortium (Hrsg.)(2002): PISA 2000 – Die Länder der
Bundesrepublik im Vergleich, Opladen: Leske und Budrich, p. 166

^
Deutsches PISA-Konsortium (Hrsg.)(2002): PISA 2000 – Die Länder der
Bundesrepublik im Vergleich, Opladen: Leske und Budrich, p. 171, 172

^
http://www.wdr.de/Fotostrecken/wdrde/Wissen/2009/11/chronik_hochschulreformen.jsp

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Danckert, Werner Unehrliche Leute/ die verfemten Berufe Bern, 1963.
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^
Journeymen were not the only group who were not allowed to marry in former
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^
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^
Josef Kraus, Präsident des Deutschen Lehrerverbandes (DL) beim "Tag des
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Josef Kraus: "Bildungsgerechtigkeit als ideologische Krücke für
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§ 38 des Hamburger Hochschulgesetzes

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Auslandsberatung der Nymphenburger Schulen: Vereinigte Staaten von
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WIWO.de Studenten in der Testmühle

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Uni Flensburg: Uni-Flensburg.de, "Der Härtefallantrag".

^
http://www.stupa-uni-mainz.de/index.php/fraktionen/lhg
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^
Anteil der sozialversicherungspflichtig Beschäftigten mit Hochschul- oder
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^
http://www.zeit.de/campus/2008/05/ost-west-unis

^
University of Leipzig: Study Programs — Mathematics http://www.zv.uni-leipzig.de/studium/angebot/studienangebot/studiendetail.html?ifab_id=278

^
QS
World University Rankings, THES - QS

[edit]
External links

International Agency for Foreign Students

Schulweb.de List of schools in Germany

Studieren.de List of courses of study in Germany

Caredu.de List and reviews of colleges in Germany

DAAD.de
German Academic Exchange Service

BildungsServer.de The German education system: basic
facts

SozialHilfe24.de German Federal Law on Support in Education -
BAföG

SozialLeistungen.info German education financing by
BAföG

FZS-Online.org Free union of student bodies (FZS) of
Germany

DW-world.de Germany Announces Short List for Elite
Universities

Online-Bewerbung.org Application-Standards for students and
pupils in Germany

The
New Student's Reference Work/German Universities (1916)

Top Universities in Germany 2010

List of all schools (separated in type) in Germany

v • d • e

Education in
Europe

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1 Partially
or entirely in Asia, depending on the border
definitions. 2 Transcontinental
country.

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