Hi Chuck,
Thanks for the info on the German Ed system. It is much more detailed
than my knowledge was.
-> The Abitur certificate is awarded based on a combination of students'
-> grades over their final two years of coursework and their scores on
-> the exams. Out of 840 total possible points, 540 are reflective of
-> coursework (330 from the 22 basic courses, 210 from the six
-> advanced), 300 of the exams. A total score of 280 is considered
-> passing.
I was very surprised that a score of 280 out of 840 is considered
passing. That sounds very low. It must be one heckuvva test. At least I
hope so.
-> In a great majority of Lander, teachers are responsible for
-> developing the Abitur exams that will be given to their students. It
-> is an accepted, indeed welcomed, responsibility of the job.
......
-> Teachers give the exams to their students, and they are also
-> responsible for grading them in most Lander. In fact, part of their
-> pre-service training deals with creating and grading Abitur exams.
-> Most Lander have a system in place for cross-checking teacher
-> grading, but the system clearly^ requires a significant amount of
-> trust to be vested in teachers.
Wow. I can't see such a thing ever flying here. First of all, we would
have to extensively modify the teacher training programs to include
training in how to write and grade such exams.
But besides that, I don't think that the public or state legislatures
would ever trust teachers in the US to be qualified to make such
decisions.
I think I've told this story before, but I guess one more time won't
hurt: In Germany, I was the recipient of a Rotary Club Scholarship
(which is how I was able to afford my year of study there). As such, I
was required to attend several Rotary Club meetings. The local german
club in Goettingen was very proud of the two high school "professors" in
their club. It was considered an honor for a Rotary Club to have high
school instructors (Gymnasium instructors in the german system) as
members.
I can't imagine any Rotary Club here in the states seeking out high
school teachers or even really wanting them in the club at all.
Sheila
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