Testing for Intelligence

Assessment is the process of identifying, gathering and interpreting information about students' learning. The central purpose of assessment is to provide information on children's achievement and progress and set the direction for ongoing teaching and learning.Assessment provides information for those involved in the teaching and learning process to compare what is known and can be demonstrated against standards.
I strongly believe that children should be assessed has it gives educators, caregivers the opportunity to know the level at which the children they will be interacting with on a daily basis are as well as to plan effectively for them to meet their needs.
In Germany,the main differences between the German Education system and the North American and Anglo-Saxon systems, are at the level of high school.

Although all children start school at the age of 6 and attend the elementary school called Grundschule in German, by the age of 10 they are separated into 4 different kinds of what we will call secondary school.

Therefore, German children spent only the first 4 years together in the German education system. Afterwards, they, with their family, must decide the type of secondary school that they will attend. It seems incredibly young to have to make such a choice and so, it is usually the parents that decide the direction of the child's education.

There is talk in Germany to abandon such a system, but nothing as been done yet.
Depending on the academic talent of the child and the wishes of the parents; s/he will attend:

Hauptschule (grade 5 to 9, some schools have also grade 10). For the "manually" inclined they receive the same basic education as at the other secondary school, but at a slower pace and with "hands-on" experience. This usually leads to Vocational training, either full time or part-time, until the age of 18.

Realscule (grade 5 to 10 in most states). This school too leads to full time or part-time Vacational training, but also to higher vocational training at a Berufschule. It is now possible for high achieving students to switch to the Gymnasium after completing grade 10.

Gymnasium (grade 5 to 13 in most states). This is the school for academically-minded children. It leads to University, or to a combination of academic courses and vocational credits. There are also different fields of education in the Gymnasium, mainly: math and natural science, classical languages and modern languages.

There is a fourth kind of secondary school in some states of Germany:
Gesamtschule (grade 5 to 9 or 10). It is a combination of Hauptschule and Realschule, and, depending if the child finishes in grade 9 or in grade 10, he or she will receive either the Hauptschule or the Realschule certificate respectively.

Every child in Germany must complete at least 9 years of education. Those who drop out of Gymnasium must enroll either in the Hauptschule or in the Realschule. After what, it is either work, more education in the Berufschule, the Fachoberschule or the preparatory classes for University or college.
By the age of 18, all students should have finished their secondary school. There are now no more obligatory Army service for young men in Germany.

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Another very important point: German children attend school ONLY in the morning and therefore, there is no lunch and usually no after-school services either. So, if both parents work, the child has to go to a sitter for the afternoon. Other points: there is a lot more homework and very few after-school activities.

BUT, things are changing in education in Germany and new laws are being introduced. So, now, in some Lands (states), school hours have been extended and your kid's school might be open from early in the morning to 5pm in the afternoon! No more freebies for the students!

The school system is free at all levels, except at the University level, where a small fee (about 500 euros per semester) is now required. See below for more details on Universities.
For the very young ones, from three to six years of age, there are Kindergartens; some are public, some are religious and others are private. Most of them are similar to North American Kindergartens but once again, most are open only during morning hours, from around 7H30 am to 2H00 pm (some earlier, some later).
Another type of Kindergarten offered in Germany is the Waldkindergarten or forest Kindergarten. There are about 700 of them throughout Germany and they are becoming more and more popular.

In these Waldkindergartens, the children spent their whole morning (usually from 9H00 am to 1H00 pm) in the forest, outside, discovering their surroundings in a natural setting. There is of course a trailer or a small house on site for the extreme weather, but most of the time they are outside, rain or shine.



It has been shown that the kids attending these pre-schools are less aggressive, have more imagination, are better at concentrating and communicating. They are also more aware of their natural surrounding, more connected to what some may see as to the "real" world. In this age of computer and rising number of juvenile obesity, these pre-schools offer a more physically active alternative to the common ones of indoor seating. And some are being open out-side of Germany and the Scandinavian countries, such as in USA and Scotland. In fact, they are becoming more popular among parents who are environmentally conscious and worried about their kids not doing enough physical activities in the "normal"indoor pre-school programs.

Retrieved  April 12,2013 from http://www.journey-to-germany.com/education.html

I feel so elated to have found out so much about Germany's way of assessing children. I always have maintained the belief that assessing children aids in the development of their individual skills and morals.