VERA-8

What is VERA-8? 🔗

The acronym VERA-8 stands for VERgleichsArbeiten (English: Nationwide Achievement Tests) in Grade 8. VERA-8 are written tests administered annually in the German federal states, with participation being compulsory within each state. In line with the educational standards, the tests assess the learning levels of Grade 8 students in the subjects German, Mathematics, English, and French. The federal states decide which competence domains to test each year.In some federal states, VERA-8 is conducted under different names, such as “KERMIT – Kompetenzen ermitteln” (English: KERMIT – Assessing Competences), “Kompetenztests” (English: competence tests), “Lernstandserhebungen” (English: standardised learning assessments) or “Zentrale Lernstandserhebungen” (English: centralised standardised learning assessments)Many of the federal states already offer VERA-8 not only in paper format but also in digital form.

What is the goal? 🔗

The VERA-8 results provide teachers with insights into how their class is already meeting the KMK educational standards for Grade 9/10 while still in Grade 8. This helps teachers pinpoint where support is needed to ensure all students meet the standards by the end of Grade 9 or 10. Therefore, VERA-8 functions as an early warning system for lower secondary school teachers.

What is being tested? 🔗

The federal states have agreed to conduct VERA-8 annually in at least one of the competence domains. In German, the IQB provides VERA-8 tests for the competence domains of “Reading”, “Listening”, “Orthography” and “Language use”. In Mathematics, these are “Numbers”, “Space and Shape”, “Functional relations”, “Measurements”, as well as “Data and Probability”. In the first foreign language (English or French), at least one of” Reading Comprehension” or “Listening Comprehension” is assessed.

Every VERA cycle includes newly developed and piloted test items, but items from previous years may also be used again. The items always relate to the KMK educational standards and the proficiency level models based on them. The federal states decide which tests their schools use every year.

When are the tests conducted? 🔗

Within the following testing periods, each federal state determines their own test dates:

• VERA-8 2026: February 9 to March 27, 2026
• VERA-8 2027: February 8 to March 25, 2027
• VERA-8 2028: February 7 to March 31, 2028

Find the specific test dates for each state on their respective websites here.

The VERA-8 testing period for 2029 has yet to be determined.