All of you are familiar with the American school system: preschool, kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, and high school. But is the school system in Europe the same? Do students overseas have the same grading system as here? And what does their everyday school life look like? What are the biggest differences and are there also similarities?
“One difference is the grading system,” says Meike Hundertmark, an exchange student from Germany. In Germany, the grading system does not go from A to F. The grades in Germany, as in many other European countries, are measured in a system from 1 to 6, with 1 being the best grade. Because of this system, the average grade is calculated differently. You can compare a European GPA of 1.0 with an American GPA of 4.0.
Another major difference is the structure of the school career. The school career starts with elementary school because in kindergarten, where you mainly play with your friends or color pictures, is not compulsory. When you start elementary school at the age of six, you learn writing, reading, and calculating in the 1000 number range, just like in the USA. At the end of elementary school, students are divided into three categories because there are not just one but three high schools which differ in their levels of difficulty. Depending on how well the student performs in elementary school, they are placed in a difficult, medium, or easy high school. In this way, every student can be perfectly supported in high school, as there are not too many differences in performance in the class.
The high school with the most difficult classes to be placed in is the so-called “Gymnasium”. Most students attend this high school and graduate after twelve years. With this degree, you can then study at a college, but you can also immediately enter a job.
Elementary school students who are not planning to go to college or are still undecided usually go to the second category of high school, the so-called “Realschule”. The same subjects are taught there but at a simpler level. Once you have finished the ten-year “Realschule”, you can start doing a job. However, there is also the option of attending another school for two years in order to have the opportunity to study at smaller universities.
Very few elementary school students are placed in the last category of high school, the “Hauptschule”. You can graduate in five years there and once you have graduated from there, you can start a job, although it will probably not pay very well. But even here there is the possibility of continuing your education and going to a “Berufsschule” for a few more years to achieve higher degrees. This means that no matter which high school category you are placed in, there is always the option of attending further schools and ultimately going to college. However, the quickest way is to be placed in the best high school category.
In high school, the students are not allowed to choose their own courses. All students in a grade are divided into two classes (large schools sometimes have three or four classes) of 30 students each. This class of 30 students then has a timetable that is repeated every week. This means that the students do not have the same timetable every day. The timetable on Monday is different from that on Tuesday, which is different from that on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Having the same lessons every day would simply be impossible overseas because there are not just 7 but 15 subjects taught. “In Germany, I have the following subjects: German, English, a second foreign language such as French, Latin, or Spanish, math, physics, chemistry, biology, science and technology, history, geography, economics, sports, social studies, religion, and art” says Sophie Obele, an exchange student from Germany. The aim is to give students as broad a general education as possible.
One thing the school systems have in common is the length of the lessons. These are often 45 minutes long, similar to here. There is also a five-minute break between lessons, but you do not have to change classrooms because the teachers change rooms. This means that during these five minutes you usually just talk to your friends or prepare things for the next lesson. Students only change classrooms if they need to go to a science classroom to carry out an experiment. The lockers in my school are on the back wall of my classroom. But there are also schools that have their lockers in the hallways.
“Another major difference is the security precautions in schools” says Heta Kosunen from Finland. As schools overseas have very little to no experience with school attacks, security measures are correspondingly low. There are only fire doors and fire alarms. Students are allowed to have their backpacks with them at all times and the school building is unlocked in the morning and locked in the evening so that the doors are open during the day. German schools do not have police officers or dogs, classroom doors do not need to be locked and students do not need a pass to leave the classroom during class time. One of the main reasons why we do not have extra security is that we have stricter gun laws.
One of the biggest differences by far is the classroom atmosphere. Talking about your private life with the person sitting next to you during class is an absolute no-go because the teacher expects you to pay attention, create a quiet learning atmosphere, and encourage cooperation and commitment. Students are also interested in contributing to the lesson and taking part in discussions, as they receive a grade for their participation in class. However, it is always welcome to share your own opinion on a topic and thus initiate a great discussion, as discussions are very popular in overseas schools, especially when it comes to politics and the economy. Because of this focused classroom environment, teacher-student relationships are more distant than in the US. Talking about one’s private life with teachers is rare if it happens at all than after the big summer vacation.
All the exchange students here agree on one thing. They have never seen a multiple choice test in their home country. In fact, multiple choice is the exception rather than the rule overseas. Instead, there are many tasks with the operators: “Analyze, justify, explain, prove, and check”. A great deal of emphasis is placed on ensuring that students are not just able to bluntly reproduce what has been discussed in class, but that they can analyze and evaluate the topics and justify their opinions. Bringing notes to a test is also not permitted. The question to the teacher about what will be asked in the next test is often answered with “Everything we have done in the last six weeks”. It is then up to the student to decide what they want to focus on in their learning process, as it is impossible to learn everything in detail. Due to the large amount of material to be learned, tests are also announced at least one to two weeks in advance.
In my opinion, this is one of the main reasons why many exchange students say that the American school system is too easy. However, I believe that if you take the right and challenging courses in the US, you can be promoted just as much as overseas.
