German education: ‘There has never been a decline like this’

Compared to the overall current picture, the German education disaster looks comparatively harmless. But it is fatal for Germany’s future as an industrial nation.

There is a new study that makes the extent of the decline clear and the Munich ifo Institute for Economic Research has sounded the alarm about the educational and learning deficits of German elementary school students.

“The marked lag is worrying. After all, the basic skills taught at school are the basis of the children’s future life chances and future prosperity in Germany as a whole,” explained ifo education expert Ludger Wößmann. He was referring to the new results of the “Education Trends” of the “Institute for Quality Development in Education” (IQB). “There has never been a decline like this before,” said Wößmann, dismayed.

A learning loss of about a third of the school year has been noted. Calculated over the entire later professional life, this deficit goes hand in hand with an average of around three percent lower earned income for those affected. For the economy as a whole, this could lead to an average 1,5 percent lower gross domestic product over the rest of the century.

According to Wößmann, the decline in results is only partly due to the recent Corona “pandemic”, but also reflects a long-lasting downward trend. What is clearly implied by this trend are the consequences of mass immigration. According to the “Educational Trend”, an average of 38 percent of all primary school children now come from immigrant families.

According to the IQB study, the results in the subjects German and mathematics at the end of primary school are between a quarter and a third of a school year below the level of five years ago. One in five fourth graders no longer even meets the lowest standards for reading and arithmetic.

Compared to ten years ago, the educational losses even correspond to half a school year. All federal states except Hamburg show a significant deterioration.

https://freewestmedia.com/2022/10/28/german-education-there-has-never-been-a-decline-like-this/