' after twelve years, or ' in eight years (G8 or Gy8) describes the reduction of the time spent at a university-preparatory
high school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
from nine school years to eight school years, by having the students take more classes each year. It is implemented in many
States of Germany
The Federal Republic of Germany is a federation and consists of sixteen partly sovereign ''states''. Of the sixteen states, thirteen are so-called area-states ('Flächenländer'); in these, below the level of the state government, there is a ...
. In the states of
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
,
Brandenburg
Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...
, and
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; ), also known by its Anglicisation, anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a Federated state, state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's States of Germany, sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpom ...
, the reduction meant a change from seven years to six years spent in high school because in these states
primary education
Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...
continues until Class 6. In
Saxony
Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
and
Thuringia
Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area.
Er ...
it is already a long established norm to take the after twelve years. The principal argument for the reduction is the comparatively long times for
vocational education
Vocational education is education that prepares people for a skilled craft. Vocational education can also be seen as that type of education given to an individual to prepare that individual to be gainfully employed or self employed with req ...
in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
.
Some federal states, chiefly in the former Federal Republic of Germany, have already reversed the reform even though sound academic insights into its effects are scarce.
Year of reform by state
Criticism
In part, parent, teacher and student organizations express criticism, exclusively from the
Western States of Germany. In spite of the removal of one school year, all the contents of the previously thirteen school years were in the curriculum. This means that the
school timetable
A school timetable is a calendar that coordinates students and teachers within the classrooms and time periods of the school day. Other factors include the class subjects and the type of classrooms available (for example, science laboratories).
...
is enlarged and that the students have to be at school between 32 and 40 periods a week. Altogether with the homework given and exam preparations a school week is calculated to encompass an estimated 45 to 55 periods.
However, there is little empirical evidence on the effect of the compression of instructional periods into fewer years of schooling on student outcomes.
Huebener, M. & Marcus, J. (2015): ''Empirische Befunde zu Auswirkungen der G8-Schulzeitverkürzung'', DIW Roundup No. 57, 02/2015.
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References
External links
Huebener, M. & Marcus, J. (2015): ''Moving up a gear: The impact of compressing instructional time into fewer years of schooling'', DIW Discussion Papers, No. 1450.
www.g8-in-bayern.de — The {{lang, de, Gymnasium in eight years in Bavaria
Education in Germany