IQB National Assessment Study 2012

A total of 44,500 Grade 9 students in more than 1,300 schools participated in the IQB National Assessment Study 2012. In each randomly selected school, one to two classes were also chosen at random to participate in the assessment. The assessment took place from May to June 2012 across Germany.

The KMK educational standards for Mathematics distinguish six general and five content-related mathematical competences. These are based on subject-specific proficiency models and describe the full range of mathematical work. The general mathematical competences include “Arguing Mathematically””, “Solving Mathematical Problems”, “Modelling Mathematically”, “Using Mathematical Representations”, “Handling Symbolic, Formal and Technical Elements of Mathematics” and “Communicating”. The content-related mathematical competences are “Number” (core idea 1), “Measurements” (core idea 2), “Space and Shape” (core idea 3), “Functional Relations” (core idea 4), and “Data and Probability” (core idea 5). The IQB National Assessment Study 2012 included test items covering all these competences.

The educational standards for Biology, Chemistry and Physics build on a shared concept of scientific literacy. For all three subjects, this concept has been set out in four common competence domains: “Subject Knowledge”, “Scientific Inquiry”, “Evaluation” and “Communication”. The IQB National Assessment Study 2012 included test items covering the domains of “Subject Knowledge” and “Scientific Inquiry” in all three subjects. Proficiency level models for the competence domains of “Evaluation” and “Communication” have yet to be conceptualised.

The study also examined how learning conditions, both within and outside school, contribute to students’ proficiency development and which conditions can be used to optimise learning processes. To that end, the study included written questionnaires for the students, their teachers in the relevant subjects, and the headteachers of their schools. Furthermore, the study measured indicators of students’ reading proficiencies and basic cognitive skills to be taken into account when interpreting the results. Collecting background information allows the test results to be interpreted in a substantiated and differentiated way. This can provide valuable insights to support the further development of the federal states’ education systems.

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.

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