Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) – Because of the increasing problems of primary school children in North Rhine-Westphalia in math and German, the opposition SPD parliamentary group is calling for an education conference to be convened. Student, teacher and parent associations as well as municipal umbrella organizations and scientists should “in a long-term process and in a joint dialogue develop a common concept for improving the future viability of our education system,” according to an application approved by the SPD parliamentary group on Tuesday.
In a five-year comparison, fourth-graders in NRW have clearly fallen behind in their skills in German and math, as the current IQB education trend recently presented by the Conference of Ministers of Education (KMK) shows. When it comes to reading, about one in five children does not meet the minimum standard, and one in three fourth graders has significant problems with spelling. Around 28 percent of schoolchildren in NRW have such problems with mathematics that they cannot produce the minimum standard.
In the elementary schools, the foundations for the further educational careers of the children would be laid, according to the SPD application. Deficits that had already manifested themselves in the primary area can hardly be compensated for in the secondary schools at present. “It’s not just children from socially disadvantaged families and children with an international family background who are left behind,” said the SPD. The IQB education trend was also able to identify a significant loss of competence in children without an immigrant background and in children from socially better off families.
