A recent study on inclusion in German schools has revealed grading inaccuracies in assessing children from migrant backgrounds. Interestingly, researchers found that these errors do not suggest discrimination against migrant children. In fact, teachers often show a tendency to favor these students when assigning grades.
Julia Bredtmann, an education expert involved in the study, notes that children with migrant backgrounds often receive higher grades than their results in standardized, anonymously graded tests would indicate. This suggests that teachers may have a bias in favor of these students.
Bredtmann and her research team believe that teachers often compensate for the social disadvantages experienced by migrant children and those from low-income families. The study also indicates that in classrooms with a high concentration of disadvantaged students, children from migrant backgrounds tend to achieve even better grades.
The study explored how education in German schools influences successful integration and whether grading standards are applied correctly by teachers. Initially, the researchers hypothesized that children with migrant backgrounds receive lower grades and attain fewer educational qualifications—not due to teacher evaluations but because of other factors.
They argue that teacher bias is particularly evident in favor of children with Turkish migrant backgrounds. According to the research team, this is because “their academic performance is significantly lower than that of students from other migrant backgrounds, and they often come from socioeconomically disadvantaged environments in Turkey.”
Bredtmann noted that while children from migrant backgrounds face many challenges in German schools, grading discrimination is not among them.
Migrant children encounter various difficulties, including language barriers, cultural differences, and systemic inequalities, all of which hinder successful integration. Bredtmann has called for reforms in the German education system to address these educational disparities.
