Deficits in fourth graders in reading, listening, writing, math

Compared to their peers five and ten years ago, fourth graders write, read and do arithmetic significantly worse today. This is partly due to the corona pandemic – but not only.

Münster – The “IQB-Bildungstrend 2021” study examines the skills of children in the fourth grade in the areas of German and mathematics. Some of the children were half a year behind in school. Home schooling and the temporary closure of schools in Germany due to the corona could serve as an explanation. But the researchers don’t attribute the entire decline in education to the pandemic.

IQB education trend 2021: Significant decline in competence among fourth graders in German and mathematics

The study examined the children’s skills in German and mathematics. In German, the areas of reading, listening and spelling were tested. The researchers measured the decline in competence based on the learning gain that can be expected within a school year. This was significantly lower than in 2016.

• Read: Competence decline corresponds to about one third of a school year
• Listen: A decrease in competence corresponds to about half a school year
• spelling, orthography (Spelling): A decline in competence corresponds to a quarter of a school year

In mathematics, the deficit of the fourth graders was also significant. Unlike in German, however, the decline was only slightly more pronounced than the negative trend between 2011 and 2016, according to the researchers.

• mathematics: Competence decline by about a quarter of a school year

The differences between the sexes are also interesting: In the subject German, girls rated their own skills higher, in mathematics, boys gave higher self-assessment values ​​than girls. Overall, however, gender differences have remained stable since 2016.

Education trend 2021: Significantly more fourth graders than ten years ago do not reach the minimum standard

Compared to the previous surveys – once five and once ten years ago – in 2021 significantly more fourth graders did not even reach the minimum standard. About every fifth student no longer managed the minimum requirements in reading, and in spelling it was even every third student.

Percentage of students not meeting minimum requirements

Education trend 2021: The reasons for the poor performance of the students – it’s not just because of Corona

The skills of the students fell across the board: fewer children reached the standard standard and a significantly larger proportion also failed to meet the minimum requirements. Pupils with an immigrant background were particularly affected, as were children from families with a low socio-economic status. “This once again underlines the importance of school learning for educational equity,” warned CDU politician Karin Prien when the report was presented. It has long been known from various studies that children from poorer or less educated backgrounds have fewer chances of optimal education.

According to the researchers, it is not possible to precisely quantify the extent to which the decline in skills can be attributed to the restricted school operations caused by the pandemic. “Since unfavorable trends were already observed for several areas of competence between 2011 and 2016, it cannot be ruled out that these would have continued in the further course of the year even without the pandemic,” the report says. However, at least the extent of the decline is partly due to Corona.

IQB education trend 2021: “Need measures to catch up on learning deficits caused by the pandemic”

The results are also worrying because the foundations for the further educational success of the children are laid in elementary school. “Almost 20 percent of children who cannot read well, that is a problem and it will also be difficult to catch up,” said the scientific director of the IQB, Petra Stanat. In the spirit of the old saying “What little Hans doesn’t learn, Hans never learns”.

According to the researchers, temporary programs would not go far enough to compensate for the deficit of the students. Instead, the scientists propose long-term funding strategies. The CDU politician Prien sees it the same way: “The students need face-to-face classes at school and long-term measures to catch up on the learning deficits caused by the pandemic.”

At least there was good news: The poor results cannot be due to the satisfaction of the students. In 2021, the fourth-graders rated their school satisfaction slightly, but significantly higher than in 2016. Only the value of social integration was below that of the previous survey in 2021 – not surprising in view of the lockdowns and school closures in the wake of the corona pandemic. In its assessment of the Corona rules, the Corona Expert Council has now come to the conclusion that the negative consequences for children and parents outweigh the negative consequences of school closures. Education Minister Stark-Watzinger recently described school closures as a mistake.