Monitoring Student Progress in Mathematics and Science
In June 2006 (and extended in June 2015), the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs adopted a comprehensive strategy for educational monitoring, which consists of four interconnected areas: participating in international comparative studies of educational achievement; conducting sample-based studies for a central review of the achievement of the German national educational standards in a comparison between the federal states; conducting cross-state comparative studies in order to review the efficiency of individual schools within the states; and the joint education reporting of the federation and the states.40
In response to this strategy for educational monitoring, since 2007, all states have administered cross-state comparative studies (Vergleichsarbeiten) in mathematics and German in third grade, and in mathematics, German, and students’ first foreign language (English or French) in eighth grade.41 The test items are developed by the independent Institute for Educational Quality Improvement (IQB). The tests are administered like regular classroom tests, and they also serve as standardized school achievement tests based on the national educational standards (Bildungsstandards). The test results provide teachers with information about the strengths and weaknesses of their students, as well as subject-specific pedagogical and educational psychology recommendations to help them improve their instruction.
In state-run schools, teachers monitor individual student progress continually throughout the academic year. The evaluation of student performance is based on written, oral, and practical work and tests.
In general, individual student progress and development are documented and defined within performance standards for each subject in report cards, which are given to students and their parents twice a year (in the middle and at the end of the school year).
According to a resolution passed by the Standing Conference in 2010, teachers are asked to develop special monitoring and feedback methods for low-performing students. These methods comprise individualized learning plans as well as intensified and individualized monitoring activities, such as documenting progress in learning diaries or language portfolios.42
Generally speaking, primary and secondary schools in all states conduct oral and written examinations at regular intervals throughout the school year, which are used in all school types to monitor student learning. Examinations always are based on curriculum requirements, as well as on the level of knowledge, abilities, and skills students are expected to have acquired in class. Examination results constitute one component of report cards, which may determine students’ promotion to the next grade or entry to upper secondary school or university. In all states, students are promoted automatically from first grade to second grade. From second grade onward, students may be required to repeat a year if they demonstrate insufficient progress. Promotion polices after second grade differ among the states. Overall, in the 2012–2013 school year, only 0.9 percent of all students in primary education repeated a year.43