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The German Abitur (A-level equivalent) has a longstanding tradition in Germany as a final school examination that certifies an individual’s ability to study and grants access to the higher education system. The federalist nature of the educational system is established in German basic law, whereby responsibility for education services primarily lies with the Länder (thanks to the so called cultural sovereignty of the Länder). This particularly applies to school policy. By way of horizontal self-coordination the Länder agree on their education policies in the Educational Ministers Conference (KMK) to achieve a certain degree of unity between the Länder, but this agreement only tends to cover provisions of a general nature. Länder sovereignty has given rise to 16 differently designed school systems in Germany. As a result, there are also 16 different Abitur examination procedures, which differ substantially from each other in terms of their requirements in some cases. The number of Abitur examination modules, for example, varies between 4 and 5 and the number of the compulsory core subjects German, mathematics and a foreign language that must be tested with a written examination currently varies between none and all three. In view of the rising number of students sitting the Abitur, higher mobility requirements, growing incomprehension among the population, a lack of quality control and a lack of fairness in terms of access to higher education, the question of the comparability and validity of the Abitur examination is now more pressing than ever.
In the most recent KMK meeting of 8 and 9 March 2012 the Länder agreed to make the Abitur more comparable. A common pool of tasks will accordingly be created by the academic year 2016/2017, which should be developed in line with education standards already decided upon for the grammar school sixth form. The Länder can subsequently draw upon these pooled tasks. Moreover, this should take place on a voluntary basis and many of the details remain unclear. Independent of this KMK decision, six Länder (Bavaria, Saxony, Lower Saxony, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) are working towards introducing standardised task sections into Abitur examinations for the subjects of German, mathematics and English by as early as 2014.
In the expert report entitled: "A Standard Core Abitur: Towards Ensuring National Education Standards and Fair Access to Higher Education", which was produced with the support of the Ifo Institute, a proposal is developed that goes far beyond the proposals currently discussed by policy-makers. It provides for the development of standard tasks in the core subjects of German, mathematics and English that would be set in a trans-Länder, written Abitur module introduced as of the Abitur class of 2018. This module would account for 10% of the overall Abitur score and/or 30% of the Abitur examination. This would establish a comparable standard on the one hand, and would leave the Länder and schools scope for flexibility and for setting thematic focus areas on the other. The standard core Abitur is limited to the core subjects and does not represent any form of nationwide central Abitur. All other modules of the overall Abitur qualification – additional written examinations in the core subjects, written examinations in other subjects, oral examinations and annual progress marks – will continue to be awarded on a Land-specific basis. This should give the Länder and schools sufficient scope for flexibility and to set their own thematic focus areas. To ensure that the standard examination modules are sufficiently binding nationwide, the Länder should sign an interstate agreement regarding their implementation.
Empirical research in the economics of education has repeatedly proven that significant differences between the performance and assessment levels of Länder prevail. The lack of national comparability between the requirements and assessment benchmarks of the Abitur performance and the actual capabilities of students at the end of sixth form creates major problems in terms of fair access to higher education, since the Abitur mark “is worth the same” regardless of the Land in which it was obtained. Research in the economics of education has also repeatedly shown that comparability and its accompanying incentive function, is a key instrument for all concerned to ensure the quality of the educational results achieved, harmonised education standards and to enables successful management of the educational system.
Based on the results of research into the economics of education, the Ifo Institute supports a standard core Abitur in Germany, which would led to greater comparability and equity. There is no call for a nationwide central or unified Abitur.
The Ifo Institute highlights the repeatedly proven, positive effects of central final examinations, which have already been widely introduced at a state level, on educational performance in the school system. This particularly leads to better educational results when combined with school autonomy and competition between schools. The standard core Abitur, which at least provides for a central final examination in core subjects, makes the performance level of A-level students transparent and comparable. This enables future employers and higher education institutions to come to more accurate conclusions about the abilities of individual applicants. This leads to more incentives for all participants in the educational system. These institutional changes make a greater contribution to a more successful school system than constant discussions over details or a blanket increase in education spending with no particular target.
Results of the 337th plenary meeting of the Educational Ministers Conference on 8/9 March in Berlin
Action Committee on Education (2011), Gemeinsames Kernabitur: Zur Sicherung von nationalen Bildungsstandards und fairem Hochschulzugang, Waxmann Verlag, Münster ( Download, PDF ).
Jürgen Baumert and Rainer Watermann, "Institutionelle und regionale Variabilität und die Sicherung gemeinsamer Standards in der gymnasialen Oberstufe", in: Jürgen Baumert, Wilfried Bos und Rainer Lehmann (eds.), TIMSS/III: Dritte Internationale Mathematik- und Naturwissenschaftsstudie – Mathematische und naturwissenschaftliche Bildung am Ende der Schullaufbahn. Bd. 2: Mathematische und physikalische Kompetenzen am Ende der gymnasialen Oberstufe, Leske + Budrich, Opladen 2000, 317–372.
John H. Bishop, "Drinking from the Fountain of Knowledge: Student Incentive to Study and Learn – Externalities, Information Problems, and Peer Pressure", in: Eric A. Hanushek, Finis Welch (eds.), Handbook of the Economics of Education, Vol. 2, North-Holland, Amsterdam 2006, 909–944.
Eckhard Klieme, Hermann Avenarius, Werner Blum, Peter Döbrich, Hans Gruber, Manfred Prenzel, Kristina Reiss, Kurt Riquarts, Jürgen Rost, Heinz-Elmar Tenorth and Helmuth J. Vollmer, Zur Entwicklung nationaler Bildungsstandards: Eine Expertise, Bildungsforschung Band 1, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF), Bonn 2007.
Ludger Wößmann, Letzte Chance für gute Schulen: Die 12 großen Irrtümer und was wir wirklich ändern müssen, Zabert Sandmann, München 2007 ( Details ).
Ludger Wößmann, "Zentrale Abschlussprüfungen und Schülerleistungen: Individualanalysen anhand von vier internationalen Tests", Zeitschrift für Pädagogik 54(6), 2008, 810–826.
Ludger Wößmann, "Ein Gemeinsames Kernabitur für Deutschland: Der Vorschlag des Aktionsrats Bildung", ifo Schnelldienst 65(2), 2012, 12–21 ( Details | Download, PDF).
Ifo Policy Issue Education / PISA
Compilations of data from the DICE databank on Education and Innovation - Education – Learning Environment and Organisation of Schools
RSS