First, the number of repeaters in schools had fallen massively. Then the turnaround. What has happened there?
The numbers read quite dramatically: In the 2021/22 school year, there were 67 percent more repeaters in German school classes than in the previous year. According to the Federal Statistical Office, this affected 155,800 pupils who either voluntarily repeated their studies or had not been transferred in the previous school year. What has happened there? Are these all consequences of Corona?
Three years of pandemic and the massive shortage of teachers have left their mark, says Simone Fleischmann, President of the Bavarian Teachers’ Association (BLLV). The children would have suffered during the Corona period, there are large gaps in competence. “Many have lost touch,” says Fleischmann. That’s why many teachers advised the children and young people to repeat the course voluntarily – even if they might have achieved the required grades. Children with a lower socioeconomic status are particularly affected.
Many students have voluntarily repeated the school year
Bernhard Buchhorn, Ministerial Commissioner for the Realschulen in Swabia, explains the increase in the repeat rate in a similar way. Many students did not fail, but decided voluntarily to repeat the year. Do the learning deficits that many children and young people have not yet caught up play a role? “I have a yes on my lips,” says Buchhorn. “But you have to look at things differently.” It’s not just about catching up on a certain subject, but about uncertainty in general. “Many students are missing the positive experience of success after the pandemic.”
For the 2020/21 school year, the repeater rates had fallen massively in all federal states. A decisive factor: During the pandemic, the promotion regulations were changed and advancement was often no longer strictly linked to academic performance. In the last school year, however, the rate rose again significantly. “It was all a long process. The problems only became apparent later,” says Fleischmann. That’s why the massive increase in repeaters was delayed. “The fact that a lot was delayed, that the children were often not given enough individual support in home schooling, then we fell on our feet.”
In terms of the repeat rate, Bavaria is in third place
Bayern In a nationwide comparison, has the third-largest proportion of students who repeated the grade in the 2021/22 school year. The share was 3.3 percent. The year before it was 2.8 percent. In 2019/20 it was 3.8 percent. The number of children who had to repeat a grade due to poor performance fell sharply in the course of the pandemic, while at the same time significantly more pupils repeated voluntarily or on a probationary basis, explains a spokesman for the Bavarian Ministry of Education. Bavaria’s Minister of Education Michael Piazolo (FW) explains the low number in the 2020/21 school year as follows: “During the Corona period, advancing on probation was used more often because there were more children and young people who had temporary learning difficulties due to the stress.” For these problems, the program “Gemeinsam.Bridges.bauen” (build bridges together) was set up to reduce burdens and close any gaps.
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