Overview
- The IQB‑Bildungstrend 2024 reports that about 34% of ninth-graders miss the minimum standard for the Mittlere Reife and roughly 9% fall short of the First School Certificate.
- Performance losses are heaviest in mathematics and chemistry, with MSA‑bound students failing the minimum in math (~24%), chemistry (25%), physics (16%) and biology (10%).
- All 16 states and every school type show declines; Bavaria, Baden‑Württemberg and Saxony score above average, while Bremen, Hesse, North Rhine‑Westphalia and the Saarland lag.
- In NRW specifically, around 41% of ninth-graders do not meet the MSA minimum in mathematics, underscoring the state’s pronounced slump.
- Based on tests of roughly 48,000 students at about 1,556 schools, the report also notes lower motivation, more emotional and hyperactivity indicators, and urgent calls for language support, better‑qualified teachers and extra help for high‑need schools.