ABSTRACT
This chapter summarises the impact of the school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic in German elementary and secondary schools. During the first two pandemic waves, German schools suspended in-person learning for 38 weeks on average. During the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, competence scores were between 0.17 and 0.27 standard deviations below pre-pandemic scores according to national and international large-scale studies. Learning losses were larger for disadvantaged students than for socially privileged students and those without immigration background. Since each of the 16 federal states in Germany has its own legislation, the educational administrations’ response to the emergency situation was diverse. Compensatory policies targeted disadvantaged students in particular. Counter measures included additional remedial teaching, mainly in German and mathematics. Major challenges during the implementation of remedial programs were ambiguous criteria for allocating funds, missing teaching personnel, and protracted administrative procedures. Educational monitoring shows a partial recovery of learning losses and no widening of the socioeconomic achievement gap. In light of more recent population trends, a long-term comprehensive funding program for socially disadvantaged schools along with scientific assistance began in 2024, aiming at improving basic competences of low-performing students.
