Schwerin (dpa/mv) - After poor performance tests by German elementary school students, Minister of Education Simone Oldenburg (left) announced consequences for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. A language test is to be introduced in the day care center to ensure that the children come to school with sufficient language skills. As the ministry also announced on Friday, it should be determined in the first four to six weeks of school for each first grader what individual learning requirements he or she has. Children in particular, who do not speak German at home, often have problems starting school because they do not understand the teachers.
In the future, there will be more mathematics and German lessons in elementary school - but the ministry did not say how much that will be. Following the example of Hamburg, a fixed daily reading time for practice is to be integrated into the lessons from the 2024/25 school year. According to its own statements, Hamburg has caught up with the reading competence of its elementary school students compared to the German average with the so-called reading tape.
According to the information from Hamburg, the "reading tape" includes a regular reading time of at least 20 minutes, in which the reading fluency is trained, the vocabulary is built up and expanded and the reading motivation is increased - no matter which subject is on the timetable. Different reading methods would be used, including reading in unison with the whole class. These methods were useful for all children, but had a particularly large impact on children from families with little education.
According to the Schwerin Ministry, the families of those starting school in MV will in future receive a sign saying "My child is coming to school". It contains advice on how parents can promote basic language, mathematical and social-emotional skills in their children in everyday life.
The nationwide comparative study IQB-Bildungsmonitor for the year 2021 had shown that fourth graders in Germany have increasing spelling, reading and math problems and have fallen significantly behind compared to fourth graders ten years ago. According to the analysis, between 18 and 30 percent of fourth graders missed the target in the areas of reading, listening and spelling. No results were included from MV because not enough schools took part.
