English hui, German pfui: students have a lot of catching up to do
Created: 09/16/2022, 14:10
A teacher is standing at the blackboard in class.
© Marijan Murat/dpa/symbol image
Eighth graders in Baden-Württemberg have caught up enormously in their English skills during the pandemic years, but have slumped quite a bit in their German skills.
This is the result of the most recent comparative work (VERA) for the eighth grades, which has been mandatory since the 2015/2016 school year.
The same test booklets were used in German as in 2020, as the Ministry of Education announced on Friday.
Stuttgart - "Here there is a learning deficit that corresponds to about a third of the school year." In English, on the other hand, the eighth graders today have a lead of more than half a school year compared to the students in 2020. The results could also be achieved by a new composition of the classes become distorted.
The VERA in the subjects German, mathematics and the first foreign language are intended to show the extent to which the students have already achieved the educational standards.
However, it is difficult to draw conclusions about school closures during the Corona period.
32 percent of the eighth graders have not yet reached the minimum standards in mathematics for the middle school certificate, 19 percent have not reached these standards in spelling and 13 percent in reading.
"The VERA results show once again that we have some catching up to do when it comes to teaching basic skills," emphasized Minister of Education Theresa Schopper (Greens).
"It also shows that our educational success still depends too much on where we come from." dpa