Education - Statisticians: Parents mostly follow elementary school recommendations
Parents in Baden-Württemberg predominantly adhere to the teachers' recommendations for their children's secondary schools, with the exception of those for the Gymnasium. According to the Statistical Office in Fellbach near Stuttgart, approximately 80% of girls and boys with a Gymnasium recommendation switched to the Gymnasium at the beginning of this school year.
Approximately two-thirds of parents and students followed the recommendation for the Realschule. Fourth-graders with a recommendation for the Werkreal- or Hauptschule, as well as for the Gemeinschaftsschule, also predominantly switched to one of these two types of schools. However, they deviated most frequently from the teachers' recommendations. According to the statistics, more than one third of this group chose the Realschule, while 2.3% even chose the Gymnasium.
The recommendation from the Grundschule has not been binding in the southwest since 2013 - parents have decided which school their children attend. However, this is expected to change soon. The green-black coalition agreed in April to make the Grundschule recommendation binding again. It will consist of three components in the future: teacher recommendation, performance test, and parental preference. If two out of three agree, that should be the deciding factor. However, if parents still want to send their child to the Gymnasium, the child will have to take an additional test in the future.
In Baden-Württemberg, the city of Stuttgart is home to the Statistical Office, which provides data on educational choices. The Office reported that a significant number of children with Gymnasium recommendations in Fellbach did not follow their teachers' advice, opting for other types of schools instead. In contrast, many parents and students in Stuttgart adhered to the recommendations for Realschule.
