Educational Standards

By standardizing and monitoring educational standards, the requirements defined within them can be systematically represented in different levels. The development of empirically validated competence level models makes it possible for everyone (teachers, learners, and parents) to determine the extent to which the established standards are achieved, i.e., the proportion of students who meet or fail to meet the standards. Representative competence measurement based on educational standards thus provides a benchmark for comparing individual student performance.

The competence level models for educational standards available so far have been developed by the IQB (Institute for Educational Quality Improvement).

The federal states ensure the implementation of educational standards within their own regulations. They make sure that students can participate in upcoming educational monitoring procedures based on the revised standards.

As a contribution to the implementation of the revised educational standards, the following brochures can serve as support for practical application. These brochures present subject-specific procedures, objectives, and results of the further development of the previous standards, as well as provide a concise overview of continuities and innovations.

Implementation brochure for the educational standards in the sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics) for lower secondary education (2024) Link

Implementation brochure for the educational standards for the first foreign language (English/French) (lower secondary education) (2023) Link

Implementation brochure for the educational standards for German (primary and lower secondary education) (2022) Link  

Implementation brochure for the educational standards for Mathematics (primary and lower secondary education) (2022) Link 

To illustrate the educational standards, the IQB has published sample tasks for the revised standards. These examples demonstrate how tasks developed on the basis of the educational standards for the respective qualification can be designed.

The illustrative task examples are available on the IQB website.

For primary and lower secondary education, the country comparison studies conducted by the Institute for Educational Quality Improvement (IQB) examine the extent to which the competency requirements formulated in the educational standards are achieved in each federal state before the end of the respective educational stage. Further information can be found here.  

To ensure the effective implementation of the educational standards for the general higher education entrance qualification, the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs has decided to develop and use a common pool of Abitur examination tasks.