Saxony's Ministry of Culture checks the skills of second-graders

In response to various educational studies, the Saxon Ministry of Education is having the skills of all second-graders in the state assessed. To this end, around 36,000 pupils are to take tests in German and mathematics at the end of May, as the ministry announced on Monday. These so-called learning assessments will then be used to determine the extent of the differences between the pupils and what support is needed.

The differences between the pupils are becoming ever greater, according to Minister of Education Christian Piwarz (CDU). This makes it increasingly difficult to teach the necessary reading, writing and arithmetic skills in elementary school. Although Saxony is still doing well in educational studies compared to other federal states, the proportion of pupils with reading, writing and arithmetic deficits is also growing in the state.