Research report 2003 - Max Planck Institute for Human Development
Transformation of the secondary school system and academic careers: The success of the vocational gymnasium in Baden-Württemberg
Authors
Trautwein, Ulrich; Watermann, Rainer; Nagy, Gabriel; Luedtke, Oliver
Departments
Erziehungswissenschaft und Bildungssysteme (Baumert) (Prof. Dr. Jürgen Baumert)
MPI für Bildungsforschung, Berlin
Summary
In educational studies such as TIMSS and PISA, German pupils have not measured up well against their counterparts in other countries. A relatively small percentage of them graduates from secondary school with a diploma that entitles them go to university. A sluggish, old-fashioned German school system, resistant to modernization, is thought to be the culprit. A study of school performance alled "Transformation of the secondary school system and academic careers" (TOSCA), however, shows that successful strides are being made toward modernizing our school system.
Schools are responding to the need for higher-quality education in today's industrialized countries, and the pupils' performance is keeping pace.