IQB Trends in Student Achievement 2016

A total of 30,000 fourth-grade students from approximately 1,500 schools participated in the IQB Trends in Student Achievement 2016. In each randomly selected school, one class was chosen – also at random – to participate in the assessment. In special schools, a larger test group was formed, usually including several learning groups. The assessment took place from mid-May to mid-July 2016, although the exact timing varied slightly between the individual federal states.

The IQB Trends in Student Achievement tested proficiencies in German and Mathematics. In German, the test items referred to the three competence domains defined in the educational standards: „Reading – Dealing with Texts and Media”, “Speaking and Listening”, and “Writing”. However, the study focused only on the subdomains of Reading, Listening, and Orthography, rather than assessing the full bandwidth of these competence domains. In the subject of Mathematics, the students worked on test items on all five of the competence domains outlined in the educational standards. These include “Numbers and Operations”, “Space and Shape”, “Patterns and Structures”, “Sizes and Measurements” and “Data, Frequency and Probability”.

Alongside the competence tests, the students also completed a questionnaire that collected information about their background and instruction at school. Headteachers, selected teachers, and the parents of the participating children also filled in a questionnaire. The data collected provide an overview of teaching and learning conditions in German primary schools, helping to examine the extent to which – and under what conditions – all students receive the best possible support. Collecting background information helps interpret test results in a substantiated and objective way. Additionally, the IQB Trends in Student Achievement 2016 also used indicators for deductive thinking as a basic cognitive skill.

The IQB Trends in Student Achievement are conducted by decision of the ministers of education of the German federal states. Overall responsibility for scientific oversight and data protection compliance rests with the Institute for Educational Quality Improvement (IQB) at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin under the academic leadership of Prof. Dr Petra Stanat. The IQB developed, pre-tested and optimised the assessment instruments and questionnaires used in the study. On the other hand, IEA Hamburg was responsible for organising and conducting the data collection. IEA Hamburg also trained external test administrators, who then carried out the assessments in the schools.

Furthermore, IEA Hamburg scored the students’ answers and processed the data according to the IQB’s stipulations. The IQB analysed the data and determined the competences achieved by the students in the individual federal states.

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