ABSTRACT
The German vocabulary utilized to describe the separation by ability levels toward Hauptschulen, Realschulen, and Gymnasien employs terms similar to "streaming" and "creaming" in English. Until the 1960s, the top ability groups of German and Swiss youth were "creamed off" into the then still highly selective Gymnasien, while streaming also differentiated as between those directed either to the Hauptschule or the Realschule. The most widely used terms and metaphors used in Japanese selection reflect the fact that there selection is carried out as the result of competition not among school types, but among schools. The Japanese employ a set of terms that reflect how the school environment impinges on the motivation and dedication of students going through the selection process. The West German restructuring of educational selection through the creation of a two-year "orientation stage" caused pupils' development to be observed during the fifth and sixth grades.
