“IGLU Data: A Trump Card in Federal-State Negotiations on Education Policy?”

The BMBF and KMK routinely take note of the alarming results of the primary school study. Outwardly they show unity, while a showdown behind closed doors is announced. The IGLU data could become the trump card in the negotiations between the federal and state governments.

This article lies IPPEN.MEDIA as part of a cooperation with Education.Table Professional Briefing before – first published him Education.Table am 17. May 2023.

Sabine Döring wants to make the smiley smile again. The state secretary in the BMBF paints a linguistic picture that primary school children understand, but also the general public. After the Pisa shock, the performance of elementary school students increased, since 2011 they have been falling. Döring speaks of a catastrophe.

Her boss, Federal Minister of Education Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP), is also calling for a trend reversal with a view to the IGLU results. Just like the CDU opposition, which calls for a “turnaround in education policy”. They are empty phrases that the Republic of Education knows. The local school system receives bad reports every six months. What follows: often dismay – then a “keep it up”. But this time the data will not fall into a black hole in education policy, but could stimulate ongoing negotiations.

Accelerate Start Chances program

The alarming figures of the IGLU study create further pressure to act for the start opportunities program, the central educational policy project of the traffic light coalition. Nationwide, the program is intended to support 4,000 hotspot schools over a period of ten years. One billion euros a year from the federal government is “a statement in the tight budget situation,” says Döring.

Among other things, there are fierce controversies between the federal and state governments about the mechanism for distributing the funds. The federal states want to continue to distribute the billions largely according to the Königstein key, 5 percent according to a social index. The BMBF disregarded this hard-won compromise in its recently published key issues paper – and is aware of the explosive force of the whole thing.

“What we are striving for here is nothing less than a paradigm shift,” said Döring. According to the state secretary, distributing the funds according to the poverty and migration rate is a clear recommendation from science. “I appeal to the states not to insist on the Königstein key scheme, but to listen to science.” She waves the IGLU study – and drives the states.

KMK discusses starting chance strategy today

According to reports, the presidium of the KMK will meet for a meeting this morning. The starting opportunities program and the reaction to the appeal by the BMBF are likely to be key issues. At the beginning of the week, both sides emphasized that negotiations were currently being held at close intervals – after 17 months of preparation had passed.

“The common goal of the talks between the federal and state governments is to agree on binding cornerstones for the start opportunities program by the summer,” said a spokesman for the BMBF. A total of three days will be negotiated next week, it is said.

After hearing the IGLU results, the educational politicians of the traffic light are already pointing their fingers at the federal states. “If the federal states don’t wake up now and switch to a constructive working mode with the start opportunities program, they are endangering the future of our children,” said Ria Schröder (FDP). Nina Stahr (Greens) warns: “The situation is too dramatic for public disputes over competence.”

Pressure on countries to increase teaching times

But the IGLU data should also steer other negotiations between the ministers of education. By the summer, they want to translate the proposals from the elementary school report by the Standing Scientific Commission (SWK) into political measures. Securing the minimum standards was the main demand of the scientists at the end of last year. This also included: setting the timetable for German as a standard 24 hours per week.

The KMK is currently examining the recommendations. “Our job is to see which of these we can implement as quickly as possible,” affirmed KMK President Günther-Wünsch. A key point concerns reading time. According to the IGLU study, elementary school students read an average of 60 minutes less per week than in other countries. The former headmistress speaks of “language bands” that can run through the school day and several subjects.

The federal and state governments want to increase the use of data

According to the KMK President, one answer to the IGLU results is better diagnostics and targeted support. The SWK also recommends these instruments for elementary schools. “Until now, we have had more informal diagnostics. That needs to change. It must be linked more closely to science,” says Günther-Wünsch. Compulsory further training for primary school teachers is required on this topic.

Sabine Döring would even like to see uniform, mandatory tests nationwide: from the daycare center to the central high school diploma. This is music of the future. But the more job studies appear, the greater the pressure on education policy – and they know how to use the results for their negotiations.

However, there was no big outcry this Tuesday. Günther-Wünsch also sounds relaxed: “Education doesn’t happen overnight,” she insists. Political changes that are being initiated now can be seen in the data in five years at the earliest. The next IGLU study will appear in 2026. The much-vaunted trend reversal should now be initiated. (Niklas Prenzel and Holger Schleper)