Germany - Questions and answers

Please, comment on:

• The overall experience (results, problems) encountered in practice,
• At the Abitur examination, pupils are required, inter alia, to display their knowledge in two subjects taught in intensified courses.

Question 2. Passing the Abitur examination students have the possibility to be admitted to all higher-education studies. Are there exceptions to this rule when (e.g. in case of the numerus clausus) the candidates are required to sit an entry examination? Please, clarify.

Question 3. German, a foreign language and Mathematics have been compulsory courses since 1997, but a foreign language and Mathematics remain optional in the Abitur examination. What is the proportion of students choosing Mathematics and, from among them, the intensified course of Mathematics?

Question 4. In your answers to conference issues you wrote: "Written and possibly oral examinations are taken in three subjects...": How are written and oral examinations represented in different compulsory subjects? What are the rules for taking written and oral examination for these first three subjects of the Abitur examination?

Question 5. What is the ratio between the written and oral parts if the examination is combined?

Question 6. Are there any other forms of student performance being a part of the final grade (student's field or laboratory work, projects, etc.) beside the particular achievements?

Answers:

1.Upper-secondary education / Gymnasium

1. First of all we will give you definitions of the two kinds of courses existing in upper-secondary education (Gymnasium) in Germany: Basic courses (usually two or three periods a week) are intended to provide a broad general education.

   Intensified courses (at least five periods a week) are intended to provide a more in-depth introduction to academic study.

2. At the Abitur examination pupils are required to display their knowledge in the intensified courses and in the basic courses. Consequently there are two kinds of examination papers: for the basic and intensified courses but with the same score of 0 - 60 points.

   Unfortunately we don't have any studies in which the experiences of the German situation are laid down.

For the majority of courses of study there are no nationwide restrictions on the number of applicants who can be admitted. This ensures that everyone can exercise his right of free choice of occupation, job and place of training as guaranteed in Article 12 of the Basic Law. All applicants who meet the above-mentioned entrance requirements are registered at the higher education institution for the course of studies of their choice without having to go through any special admission procedures.

In some courses (e.g. medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, architecture, business management and psychology), there are nationwide quotas due to the large numbers of applicants and the insufficient number of equivalent places available. Places on these courses are awarded by the Central Office for the Allocation of Study Places (Zentralstelle für die Vergabe von Studienplätzen) in Dortmund on the basis of a general selection procedure. The legal basis for this procedure is the state treaty of the Länder on the allocation of study places of 1992.

Which courses are subject to the nationwide selection procedure may vary from semester to semester. Moreover, it is quite possible that all the applicants for a restricted course will be accepted because there are fewer applicants than places available. The criteria for the selection of applicants in subjects with nationwide quotas are the applicant's average mark in the Abitur (school-leaving examination constituting higher education entrance qualification), the waiting period (between sitting for the Abitur and applying) and social criteria.

For some courses there is a nationwide allocation procedure in which every applicant receives a place, but not necessarily at the institution of his/her choice. At the moment, however, no courses are subject to this nationwide allocation procedure. There are local restrictions on admission to a number of higher education institutions for courses that are not included in the national admission procedure. In these cases, the university then admits applicants based chiefly on the criteria of average marks and waiting period.

The Framework Act for Higher Education of the Federal Government of 1998 provides for a modification of the right of admission as of the 2000/2001 winter semester, according to which greater account should be taken of the institutions of higher education in the selection of students for courses of study subject to the general selection procedure. This means that the conclusion of a new state treaty of the Länder is necessary, preparations for which are currently in progress.

3. Proportion of courses choosen by pupils

For Germany we don't have any statistics which are representative.

4. Written and oral examinations

After the written examination in the three subjects (the two intensified courses and one basic course) the pupil has the possibilty to improve his results by taking volontary an oral examination. Also the state examination board (Prüfungskommission) has the right to oblige the pupil to take an oral examination. As a rule oral examinations take place if the results obtained by the pupil in the last two years of the upper level of the Gymnasium (Gymnasiale Oberstufe) differ very much from the results obtained in the Abitur examination.

5. Ratio between the written and oral parts

Written examinations in the intensified courses last at least 240 minutes (maximum 300 minutes); written examinations in the basic courses last at least 180 minutes (maximum 240 minutes).

As a rule all oral examinations last 20 minutes.

The ratio of the calculation of the results of the written and oral examinations is 2:1.

The formula for the calculation is:

Sum of the points obtained in the written 
and the oral examination =

  (2 x written exam + 1 x oral exam)  
=  -----------------------------------  x 4
		3

According to the legislation in place in a Land, a particular achievement (besondere Lernleistung), which must be documented in written form (e.g. a year paper or the results of a multidisciplinary project), may be incorporated into the Abitur examination. This particular achievement which must be done in connection with a two semester course is complemented by a discussion on the project which lasts 20 minutes.

In the particular achievement (besondere Lernleistung) the pupil can obtain a maximum of 15 points which are multiplicated by the factor 4 and incorporated in the results of the Abitur examination.