IQB Trends in Student Achievement 2024

Grade 9 students from all German federal states participated in the IQB Trends in Student Achievement 2024. In each randomly selected school, one to two classes were also chosen at random to participate in the assessment. In special schools, a larger test group was formed instead, usually including several learning groups. The assessment took place from March to July 2024, although the exact timing varied slightly between the individual federal states.

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 proficiencies 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 Trends in Student Achievement 2024 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 Trends in Student Achievement 2024 included test items on the domains of subject knowledge and scientific inquiry in all three subjects.

The IQB Trends in Student Achievement 2024 also recorded learning conditions both within and outside school. This made it possible to examine whether different groups of students learn equally well at school and to identify links between the learning and teaching context and the development of students’ competences. To that end, the study included written questionnaires for the students, their parents, teachers in the relevant subjects, and the headteachers of their schools. Furthermore, the study measured indicators of students’ 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 Trends in Student Achievement, as a crucial aspect of the KMK’s overall strategy for educational monitoring, 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. 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.

The results of the data analysis were published in a report that was released on October 16, 2025, at a press conference held by the Conference of Education Ministers. Subsequently, all participating schools separately received a summary of their own school’s results.

Compared with the learning tasks and practice tasks used in lessons, the test items used in the IQB Trends in Student Achievement 2024 were generally shorter and could be completed more quickly. The study included several test item formats: Closed-format tasks provide response options that students must select or arrange. In open-format tasks, students are required to phrase their responses independently.

The study used several different test booklets.A random process assigned each student a set of test items to complete. Some test booklets contained test items for Mathematics only, while others included test items for the sciences only. Some test booklets included test items for all subjects. Overall, the test booklets contained a number of combinations of all test items.

A team of experienced teachers from all German federal states developed the test items, guided by experts in subject didactics and advised by the IQB’s scientific cooperation partners. Alongside a language check, the test items also underwent subject-specific and psychometric quality reviews, followed by revisions. Before being used in the study, the test items were piloted and refined in comprehensive studies involving large numbers of students from across Germany. The IQB Trends in Student Achievement, therefore, used only those test items that had proven effective in various pilot studies.

The assessment took place at school on a single morning and lasted around four hours in total, including breaks and time for instructions.

At no point do teachers, other educational staff, or legal guardians have access to the students’ test responses or questionnaire answers. After the session, the test administrators collected the completed test booklets and questionnaires and forwarded them directly to IEA Hamburg. After the assessments, IEA Hamburg entered and processed the data and then forwarded it to the study management team at the IQB in pseudonymised form (i.e. without school or student names) for analysis. All reports on the study’s findings are based on aggregated data. Therefore, it is not possible to link the results to individual students. Compliance with data regulations is a crucial aspect of conducting the study. All materials and processes used in the context of the study were assessed with regard to data protection regulations and authorised by the respective federal state’s ministry of education.

Die folgenden Beispielaufgaben wurden für Schüler*innen an allgemeinen Schulen entwickelt.

• Leitidee 1 - Zahl:
  Aufgabe Zapfsäule
  Lösung Zapfsäule
• Leitidee 2 - Messen:
  Aufgabe Das unmögliche Dreieck
  Lösung Das unmögliche Dreieck
• Leitidee 3 - Raum und Form:
  Aufgabe Spiegelung
  Lösung Spiegelung
• Leitidee 4 - Funktionaler Zusammenhang:
  Aufgabe Tankanzeige
  Lösung Tankanzeige
• Leitidee 5 - Daten und Zufall:
  Aufgabe Landtagswahl
  Lösung Landtagswahl

Für Schüler*innen mit sonderpädagogischem Förderbedarf (SPF) wurden von Expert*innen aus der Sonderpädagogik angepasste Aufgaben entwickelt, die mit der folgenden Beispielaufgabe illustriert werden.

Beispielaufgabe für Schüler*innen mit SPF

• Aufgabe Verdienstabrechnung
  Lösung Verdienstabrechnung

• Biologie Fachwissen:
  Aufgabe Gänsehaut
  Lösung Gänsehaut
• Biologie Fachwissen:
  Aufgabe Oberflächenprinzip
  Lösung Oberflächenprinzip
• Biologie Erkenntnisgewinnung:
  Aufgabe Pflanzennährstoffe
  Lösung Pflanzennährstoffe
• Biologie Erkenntnisgewinnung:
  Aufgabe Versuche mit Wasserflöhen
  Lösung Versuche mit Wasserflöhen

• Chemie Fachwissen:
  Aufgabe Energieumsatz bei chemischen Reaktionen
  Lösung Energieumsatz bei chemischen Reaktionen
• Chemie Fachwissen:
  Aufgabe Auch Metalle brennen
  Lösung Auch Metalle brennen
• Chemie Erkenntnisgewinnung:
  Aufgabe Sauberes Wasser
  Lösung Sauberes Wasser
• Chemie Erkenntnisgewinnung:
  Aufgabe Temperatur und Reaktionsgeschwindigkeit
  Lösung Temperatur und Reaktionsgeschwindigkeit

• Physik Fachwissen:
  Aufgabe Sieden
  Lösung Sieden
• Physik Fachwissen:
  Aufgabe Energieerhaltung
  Lösung Energieerhaltung
• Physik Erkenntnisgewinnung:
  Aufgabe Untersuchungen zum elektrischen Widerstand
  Lösung Untersuchungen zum elektrischen Widerstand
• Physik Erkenntnisgewinnung:
  Aufgabe Das Gewitter
  Lösung Das Gewitter

Image sources listed in order of appearance on the page, from left to right and top to bottom; attribution in accordance with the guidelines of the copyright holders/image databases.

• Copyright 2025 Katerina Limpitsouni via undraw.co