IQB National Assessment Study 2009
The National Assessment Study in languages at the lower secondary level comprised two separate assessments, organised independently and conducted at different times. The results were published together in a joint report in 2010. The assessment in German and in English as a first foreign language took place between May and July 2009. Approximately 40,000 Grade 9 students from around 1,500 schools across all school forms in the mainstream education system (excluding schools for children with special educational needs) participated in the assessment. In each randomly selected school, one to two classes were also chosen at random to participate in the assessment.
In French as the first foreign language, the assessment took place in 2008 alongside a study to standardise educational standards for French as a school subject. The sample for the subject of French included just under 6,000 students from multi-track schools, Realschulen (schools covering the lower secondary level), Gymnasien (schools covering both the lower and upper secondary levels) in the federal states of Baden-Württemberg, Berlin, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland.
Material
In German, the test items referred to the three competence domains „Reading – Dealing with Texts and Media”, “Speaking and Listening”, and “Writing”. Some students completed test items covering all three competence domains, while others worked on test items from only two of the three domains. In English and French as the first foreign language, all students completed test items on Reading Comprehension and Listening Comprehension.
Alongside the competence tests, the students also completed a questionnaire collecting information about their background and their instruction at school. Teachers from the participating schools 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.
The IQB National Assessment Studies and 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. The IQB developed, pre-tested and optimised the assessment instruments and questionnaires used in the study. 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 students’ proficiency levels in the individual federal states.
Köller, O., Knigge, M. & Tesch, B. (2010). Sprachliche Kompetenzen im Ländervergleich. Waxmann.
Rupp, A. A., Vock, M., Harsch, C. & Köller, O. (2008). Developing standards-based assessment tasks for English as a first foreign language – Context, processes, and outcomes in Germany. Waxmann.
Harsch, C., Pant, H. A. & Köller, O. (2010). Calibrating standards-based assessment tasks for English as a first foreign language. Standard-setting procedures in Germany. Waxmann.
Porsch, R., Tesch, B. & Köller, O. (2010). Standardbasierte Testentwicklung und Leistungsmessung: Französisch in der Sekundarstufe I. Waxmann.
Further information 🔗
Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education, Science and Cultural Affairs (KMK)
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