Saxony defends first place in education study

From an economic perspective, Saxony's education system continues to perform best in an annual comparison of the federal states. According to the "Education Monitor" of the employer-affiliated Initiative Neue Soziale Marktwirtschaft (INSM), Saxony is once again in first place, as it has been for years. It is followed by Bavaria, ahead of Hamburg and Baden-Württemberg. At the bottom of the scale, as in the previous year, is Bremen. Brandenburg is again second to last, followed by North Rhine-Westphalia.

Evaluation from an education economics perspective

The comparative study conducted by the German Economic Institute (IW) uses 98 indicators to examine the education systems of the federal states. According to the authors, the evaluation is carried out explicitly from an education economics perspective.

For example, the study compares education spending per pupil with total public spending per inhabitant. It also compares investments in schools and universities, the childcare ratio in educational institutions, class sizes, the school dropout rate and participation in all-day programs.

Why does Saxony always come out on top?

According to the study, Saxony has particular strengths in terms of support infrastructure, school quality, research orientation, educational poverty (1st place in each case) and integration (3rd place). All-day care in the state is also highlighted. According to the study, a particularly large proportion of children in Saxony are looked after all day at school or nursery. The authors emphasize positive effects: High-quality support, particularly in the early stages of education, can help to compensate for learning deficits at an early stage.

And they cite a point that is important to employers who would like to have more full-time working parents: "Reliable all-day infrastructures support parents in being able to pursue gainful employment and secure their livelihood through gainful employment."

The authors also praise the fact that the proportion of employees with a university degree in daycare centers in Saxony is the highest in a state comparison, with fewer unskilled workers than the national average. And reference is made to the very good results of Saxon pupils in recent reading and mathematics comparative tests.