According to the IGLU Primary Education Survey, one in four 4th grade students have difficulty reading and have not mastered the minimum level of text comprehension appropriate for their age and level.

The main reason is considered to be the refraining of students from classes and alternative methods of education during the coronavirus pandemic, while the heterogeneity of classes is also a problem.

According to the study, the results of which caused a serious reaction from specialists and the media, the number of younger students experiencing difficulties in reading and understanding the text has significantly increased.

It is significant that in the study of 2016, students in the 4th grade scored 537 units, in the study of 2001 – 539 units, and in the current study – only 524. In the previous study, 19% of students encountered difficulties, while now the percentage has reached 25 %.

Germany ranks below the European Union average on this score, with Singapore at the top of the world rankings, which in 2001 was even lower than Germany. In last place is South Africa.

“This is not just a problem for the school, it is a problem for society as well,” said German research director Neely McElwaney from the University of Dortmund in an interview with German public television ARD, who, however, pointed out that children in Germany read more outside of school than in average. 63% say they read at least half an hour a day outside of school, compared to the EU average of 54% and OECD average of 53%. However, in Germany, fourth-graders are devoting themselves to reading-related activities in school (141 minutes per week compared to 194 minutes in the EU and 209 minutes in the OECD countries).

The German IGLU study, which takes place every five years and is funded by the federal ministry of education and research and state ministries of education, involved 252 fourth-grade classes from across the country with 4,600 students. In total, about 400,000 primary school students took part in it.

According to Mr. McElvaney, the negative trend was recorded even before the pandemic, but accelerated significantly during it. In addition, the expert notes, classes have become more diverse, which is a big challenge for teachers. However, what has not changed, he emphasizes, is social inequality as a parameter of reading inability. He explains that children from “socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds” are more likely to face greater difficulties.

Education Minister Bettina Stark-Wechinger called the results of the poll “disturbing”. “The ability to read well is one of the key skills and the basis for academic success,” said the Liberal Politician (FDP), adding that Germany urgently needs a turnaround in education policy, with particular emphasis on key skills such as writing, reading and arithmetic.

In the same vein, Teachers’ Association President Heinz-Peter Meidinger, for his part, told BILD that more attention should be paid to teaching really basic skills, reading and writing, and subjects like art, music and gymnastics. should be offered as minors, and English and computer programming, he said, should be excluded altogether.

As he pointed out, especially in grades 1-4, students should be taught mainly German, arithmetic and general education. As for the English language, which is taught from the 3rd grade, according to Mr. Meidinger, it is introduced by 50% at the expense of German.

“In the 4th grade, a student should have a basic vocabulary of 1000 words, which he should be able to write correctly. In some states, the goal is only 500, so we should not be surprised by the results of the survey,” he added and said that the spelling “by ear” should also be eliminated, but spelling should be taken into account.

“What, in my opinion, students should learn by the 4th grade: listen to get information from simple stories and texts, perform simple mathematical operations in their minds and know the basic geometric shapes,” added the rector of the faculty.

Source: RES-IPE