Christoph Degen, education policy spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group and chairman of the SPD in the district, and Julia Czech, chairwoman of the Working Group for Education of the SPD Main-Kinzig (AfB), call on the state government to take the nationwide standardized written final exams for secondary school and secondary school leaving certificates and to suspend the Abitur next spring. At least for the university entrance qualification, school-related tasks could take the place of the central high school diploma, as was common in Hesse a few years ago.
At the same time, the two education politicians welcome the fact that the Main-Kinzig-Kreis is already fulfilling its responsibility and, with the decision to initiate level 3 of the school graded plan, has significantly relaxed the classrooms and school buses. This is an important contribution to avoid school closings and to keep the structured exchange between school and school going.
Both state in their statement:
“Now it is the country’s turn to take the next steps. There is no point in pretending that the current pandemic has no impact on schools and learning progress, even if not to the same extent everywhere. Due to the increased loss of lessons due to pandemic-related quarantine measures, entry bans for communal facilities and the resulting lack of lesson content, the teaching and learning conditions of pupils in Hesse are too different to have centralized final exams throughout the country.
Oral examinations, which take into account the individual learning status and the absence of lessons, could, however, continue to be used for the overall performance of the respective school leaving certificate. The pandemic-related loss of lessons at the schools, in individual learning groups, even from pupil to pupil is too different that the evaluation of the mathematics competition of the state of Hesse, which is soon to be held, is to be suspended as class work. Teachers, on the other hand, should use the results of the competition unevaluated in order to be able to analyze their own learning group as well as the individual learning status of the individual students and, if necessary, initiate targeted support measures. “
Julia Czech and Christoph Degen report that there is immense pressure currently on teachers and school administrators. Schoolchildren were also extremely concerned about their own school careers. The removal of the central final exams and nationally standardized examinations from the overall assessment of this year’s school leaving certificates could, however, focus on repeating and reworking missed content. Not working towards final exams, possibly connected with fear of failure, but the learning process in general becomes the focus.
“We have to make sure that equal opportunities in education are not further undermined by the pandemic. Schoolchildren must understand school as a place of fear-free learning and togetherness, which is not reduced to having to dig through exam content ”, explain Christoph Degen and Julia Czech in conclusion.
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