Overview

• The German Teachers’ Association and CDU MP Christoph Ploß renewed warnings that a growing share of Einser-Abis risks devaluing Germany’s highest school qualification.
• Lower Saxony’s Kultusministerium reported graduates with averages of 1.5 or better fell from 12.76% in 2022 to 11.43% in 2025 and noted a drop in perfect 1.0 scores.
• Kultusministerkonferenz statistics and dpa research show no clear nationwide rise in Abitur grades between 1.0 and 1.9 since the pandemic peak in 2021–22.
• SPD education expert Oliver Kaczmarek argued that the long-term increase in top grades reflects genuine gains in social mobility and system permeability.
• Die Linke’s Nicole Gohlke called for abolishing conventional grades and homework to curb subjectivity and socio-economic bias in student assessment.