Monitoring Student Progress in Reading
National Assessments
In June 2006, the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs adopted a comprehensive strategy for educational monitoring that was extended in June 2015. This strategy consists of four interconnected areas: participation 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 to review the efficiency of individual schools within the states; and the joint education reporting of the Federation and the states.46
In response, since 2007 all states have administered the following cross-state comparative studies (Vergleichsarbeiten): in mathematics and German in Grade 3; and in mathematics, German, and the first foreign language (English or French) in Grade 8.47 The test items are developed by the independent Institute for Educational Quality Improvement. These cross-state comparative studies are administered like regular classroom tests, though 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 improve their instruction.
Use of Grades, Marks, and Report Cards
In state-run schools, teachers monitor individual student progress continuously throughout the academic year. The evaluation of a given student’s performance in a particular class is based on all the work the student has done in that class—specifically, written, oral, and practical work and tests. Oral work refers to a student’s verbal contributions and is evaluated in class. In subjects such as sports, music, or arts and crafts, practical demonstrations serve as the basis of evaluation. In Grades 1 to 2, the focus is on direct observation of students; written tests gradually are introduced beginning in Grade 2 in certain subjects (especially German, mathematics, and integrated science). In addition, teachers can make use of the feedback they receive in the context of the cross-state comparative studies.
In general, individual student progress and development are documented and defined within performance standards for each subject in report cards given to students and their parents twice a year (in the middle and at the end of the school year). The structure and content of these report cards vary across the states. In some states, report cards contain feedback concerning in-class participation and social conduct within the school, in addition to the grades earned in individual subjects. Teachers in most schools also discuss the child’s progress and behavior with parents on Parent-Teacher Day.
According to a resolution agreed on 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 the documentation of progress in learning diaries or language portfolios.48
Classroom Tests
Generally speaking, primary and secondary schools in all states conduct oral and written examinations at regular intervals throughout the school year. Examinations always are based on curriculum requirements, as well as on the level of knowledge, abilities, and skills students should have acquired in class. These examinations are used as one basis for report cards, which have consequences for individual students, such as for promotion to the next grade or entry to upper secondary school or university. In all states, students are automatically promoted from Grade 1 to Grade 2. From Grade 2 onward, students may need to repeat a year if their progress is insufficient, although promotion policies after Grade 2 differ among the states. Overall, in 2014–2015, only 0.9 percent of all students in primary education repeated a year.49