- Kindergarten (Nursery School): This school is for 3-6 year olds and focuses on building initial reading/writing/and other learning skills to prepare the students for their first school experience. We might call his pre-school in the U.S., but the difference is that it is mandatory in Germany.
- Grundschule (Primary School): Here, students go to school from grades 1-4. On the first day of school, students bring a large candy bag and exchange it with people in their class. Starting in grade 3, students begin learning English (or in elite school it starts even earlier). Perhaps the most unique component of these schools is that students receive no marks, or grades. At the end of the year, teachers complete a progress letter which suggests to parent whether the student should repeat that grade. Parents must agree with the recommendation. This is true for each level within Primary School as well as the recommendation for which of the three following schools they attend. Grades 5-12 are split into 3 different groups mostly based on ability and are described below.
- Gymnasium (Grammar School): This school is for grades 5-12 and is generally for the high achieving students. Previously, only the top 30% of students would go to Gymnasium, but now, with the emphasis on university studies, more like 50% attend. In order to go to University, you have to either complete Gymnasium and pass your A-level exams (Abitur) with relatively good scores, or you have to complete a vocational school and degree. For grades 5-10, students receive marks of 1-6 for assignments, with 1 being the best. There are no final exams. In grades 11-12, students receive a point system of 1-15 with 15 being the best. This is all in preparation for their A-level exams taken in year 12. Instead of final exams for every class, students take one comprehensive final, both written and oral, at the end of their studies in year 12.
- Realschule (Intermediate or Middle School): This school is for grades 5-10. Students attend this school if they are not quite ready for Gymnasium. At the end of year 10, students can either go to a vocational school, or they can transfer to a gymnasium to complete the remaining two years and A-level exams for entrance into University. They also have a final exit exam from the Intermediate School that grade 10 students complete. In addition to their normal schooling, they learn two foreign languages (English and one other generally of their choice). In the U.S., we might say that this school includes the regular classes whereas gymnasium includes honors or AP courses. While we merge those into the same school system, the Germans separate them into separate schools.
- Hauptschule (General School): This school is for grades 5-9 and generally includes the lowest track students. Students at this school really focus on jobs that require special vocational training. If the student has good enough grades, they can transfer to an intermediate school.
- Comprehensive School: This is akin to what we have in the US and is a combination of all three school types combined into one school. Students are then tracked within the school, much like we do for our high schools in the U.S.
- Forderschule (Special Education School): In Germany, students with mental disabilities or special education requirements, including behavioral and psychological issues, are not included in the normal schools but rather have a separate school on their own.
Starting next year, Germany is getting rid of the General and Intermediate Schools and merging them into one school. There is a lot of debate about this move. Some people believe that it will hurt the intermediate students because they will not be able to be challenged in the classroom. Others think it will help by putting lower level students with higher level students, challenging them and raising the level of the students as a whole. I think both are probably true, and I think we deal with the same issues in the U.S.
One thing is for sure, nobody has a perfect education system that works for 100% of the students and governments are constantly trying to adjust in order to provide the best learning environment possible.
-Sara
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