Competence developments in primary education. Educational pathways and conditions for achieving the educational standards

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Jan Retelsdorf
• Subject Area: General and Domain-Specific Teaching and Learning
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 550302323

According to the National Educational Assessment 2021, there has been an increase in the proportion of elementary school students who do not meet the minimum standards in German and mathematics, while social disparities have also widened. The proportion of students failing to meet the minimum standards is approximately one-fifth in each domain. It is important to note that this trend cannot be solely attributed to the effects of the pandemic. Given the various programs available for children with special needs and extended early childhood education programs, the results of this study are concerning. The affected students lack the essential foundations necessary for a successful educational career. The proposed project aims to investigate the development of students' reading comprehension and mathematics skills from elementary school to the end of elementary school, with a particular focus on those who do not meet the minimum standards. For this purpose, we will use socio-demographic data, competence data, and contextual characteristics of Hamburg students from ten cohorts. These data are regularly collected as part of educational monitoring and are linked cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Competence data is available from the regular Hamburg competence assessments (KERMIT, 'Kompetenz ermitteln') at the end of the second, third, and fourth grades. Baseline data come from the four-and-a-half-year assessment, which is used to assess children's developmental levels in a variety of domains before they enter school. The project aims to investigate disparities in competency development related to social, immigration, and gender factors. The study will also examine whether these disparities change over the course of primary school and the effectiveness of early participation in education and support services. Hamburg has established educational opportunities and monitoring procedures to link student development and identify conditions for success. Finally, this study will analyze the long-term effects of COVID-19 pandemic-related daycare and school closures, considering the issue of increasing disparities. The available data from recent years will be used to find explanations for positive or negative skill developments, with the aim of helping more students reach minimum and regular standards in the future.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigators: Dr. Markus Lücken; Dr. Britta Pohlmann