the german philologists’ association calls for stricter evaluations of high school graduates in germany. More meaningful high school graduation grades are necessary, said association chairwoman susanne lin-klitzing to the deutsche presse-agentur in berlin. This is necessary "if we want young people to be well prepared for working life or university".
Lin-klitzing explained: "today, a decision of the conference of education ministers for the upper secondary school level applies, that an exam is considered to be passed if the student has solved less than half of the tasks."the conference of education ministers is a body in which the federal states coordinate their education policies.
With regard to the question of whether less than half of the tasks need to be solved in order to pass the test, the association head and educational scientist said: "here, half should again apply as the minimum level."and it is currently the case that only 90 percent of the tasks have to be solved in order to receive a "very good". "there should be a return to 100 percent here."
Lin-klitzing justified her calls for stricter regulations with the demands of professional life after school. "otherwise, many students will receive more positive feedback about their performance than corresponds to their real level," she said. "beyond school, however, a correspondingly incorrect self-assessment can bring problems for those concerned."
The association chairwoman also proposed a change for elementary school students: "The elementary school recommendation should become more binding again."lin-klitzing criticized: "in most federal states, parents can now decide on their own which type of secondary school their child will attend." this is a one-sided.
Instead, there should be a combination of parental choice, teacher judgment and nationwide testing in the last grade of elementary school according to standards that apply nationwide. "the grades for these tests should be included as a component in the elementary school recommendation," said lin-klitzing. "this should be accompanied by the recommendation of the teachers based on the further performance of the students and the vote of the parents."