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Abolition of the grammar school exam: Zurich cantonal council rejects proposal

There is ongoing debate in the canton of Zurich about whether the grammar school entrance exam should be abolished. In 2013, the Green Party, the SP, and the EVP unsuccessfully demanded the abolition of all grammar school entrance exams in the Zurich cantonal council through a parliamentary initiative.   

In 2020, an initiative by the SP sought to abolish at least the entrance exam for short-term grammar school, i.e., the grammar school entrance exam for secondary school students. But this initiative also failed.  

Now, in March 2026, there has been another push to abolish the grammar school entrance exam, this time by representatives of the Green Party, the SP and the AL. They demanded a report from the Zurich cantonal government on the effects of abolishing the grammar school entrance exam and introducing an exam-free transfer to Gymnasium. Among other things, a comparison was to be made with cantons where there is no grammar school entrance exam. However, the Zurich cantonal council rejected the new initiative on March 9, 2026.  

The following article outlines the arguments for and against abolishing the grammar school entrance exams and the factors that will make such an abolition more likely in the future.

There are still places available in preparatory courses for the grammar school exam!

Table of contents

Pros and cons of abolishing the grammar school entrance exam

The debate surrounding the abolition of the grammar school entrance exam is characterized by a wide range of arguments. Below, we have listed many of these arguments, some of which were also raised in the Zurich Cantonal Council.

 

Pro-camp: Arguments for abolishing the grammar school entrance exam

The main argument in the pro camp, i.e., among those who want to abolish the grammar school entrance exam, is that the exam prevents equal opportunities and fairness among students. According to this argument, the high school entrance exam distorts access opportunities and disadvantages children from educationally disadvantaged families. For example, a high proportion of long-term grammar school students come from areas where educationally advantaged families live, meaning that their parents are often academics.  

For background information, please also read our article “Equal or unequal opportunities in education?”. 

Another argument for abolishing the grammar school entrance exam is that it would disadvantage children from families who do not have enough money to pay for private preparatory courses for grammar school. To this day, the provision of private preparatory courses is criticized, particularly by the left, as a “preparation industry”. Livia Knüsel (Green Party), one of the participants in the recent initiative, reiterated this accusation in March 2026.

Another argument for abolishing the grammar school entrance exam is that Zurich students who once had to take the exam do not perform better at university than students from Aargau, Lucerne, or the canton of Basel-Landschaft, where admission to grammar school is exam-free.  

Opponents of the grammar school entrance exam also argue that it is unnecessary stress for 12-year-olds and their families when children have to study for months for the exam. These children would lose valuable free time. The stress argument was also put forward by opponents of the grammar school entrance exam in the March 2026 initiative.

Another argument put forward in favor of abolishing the entrance exam for grammar school is that it causes too much exam anxiety and puts too much pressure on children. Furthermore, passing the exam would be partly a matter of luck, as the results depend heavily on the candidate's form on the day. Basically, the entrance exam is only a snapshot and says nothing about the actual potential of the respective student. In this context, opponents of the entrance exam also refer to it as a systemic error. The entrance exam is no longer appropriate for the times. In addition, there is also a probationary period at grammar school, according to Livia Knüsel (Green Party).  

In March 2026, opponents of the grammar school entrance exam also argued that the central entrance exam for grammar school incurred high costs that had to be borne by the canton and the municipalities. The preparation, administration, and correction of the grammar school entrance exams alone would require 34,000 working hours each year.  

Essay training for the grammar school entrance exam is important!

Contra-camp: Arguments against abolishing the grammar school entrance exam

One of the main arguments put forward by opponents of abolishing the grammar school entrance exam is that hundreds of additional students would flood into Zurich's grammar schools. However, the grammar schools would not be able to cope with such an influx.  

Another argument against abolishing the grammar school entrance exam is that a system without an entrance exam, in which admission to grammar school would instead be based solely on the student's grade point average and the teacher's decision, would itself be unfair. This is because the teacher would be given too much power to decide the fate of the student in question. Instead of an objective assessment method, there would be a risk of subjective decisions, in which not only performance would be assessed, but also factors such as personal preferences. Furthermore, there would be a risk that teachers would give in to pressure from parents and recommend transfer to grammar school even though the student in question was not at all suited to grammar school. This would result in a decline in standards at grammar school, which would be in the interests of neither the universities nor the students.

Proponents of the grammar school entrance exam can also argue that most elementary schools already offer free preparation for grammar school.  

The Zurich Cantonal Council justifies its decision to retain the grammar school entrance exams by arguing that the Zurich transfer procedure is particularly efficient and fair. This has been proven by a recent scientific study conducted by Prof. Dr. Franz Eberle (University of Zurich) on behalf of the canton of Graubünden, where the abolition of the grammar school entrance exam was also under discussion. In his report, Prof. Dr. Eberle wrote that a transfer procedure to grammar school in which the exam grades from the grammar school entrance exam and the preliminary grades from elementary school are decisive is the best procedure compared to the other procedures used in other cantons in Switzerland. According to Eberle, none of the different cantonal admission procedures currently in practice can prevent social background from influencing a child's school career.

Prof. Dr. Urs Moser (University of Zurich) also found in a study that Zurich's grammar school admission procedure was fair. The results of the grammar school entrance exam largely corresponded to the preliminary grades from elementary school. In an experiment in which the grammar school entrance exam was combined with an intelligence test, it was also found that those who performed well in the intelligence test also performed well in the grammar school entrance exam. According to Prof. Dr. Moser, this shows that the Zurich grammar school entrance exam selects the right candidates for grammar school; not only those who are hard-working, but also those who are intelligent.  

Furthermore, good preliminary grades make it possible to compensate for slip-ups on the day of the grammar school entrance exam, according to proponents of the exam, which is why the argument of opponents of the grammar school entrance exam that it depends on the student's form on the day is not valid.  

Opponents of abolishing the grammar school entrance exam also argue that the entrance exam is an important milestone that marks entry into a more demanding school.  

It is no longer possible to argue that children from academic households have an advantage because they have access to a large library. In the internet age, children from educationally disadvantaged families also have easy access to knowledge.

Another argument against abolishing the grammar school entrance exam is that, while such an abolition would render preparatory courses superfluous, it is likely that preparatory courses and accompanying courses for the grammar school probationary period would increase instead.   

Even today, it is advisable to attend a preparatory course and accompanying course for the probationary period at grammar school. Book such a probationary period course now at Lern-Forum.

Opponents of abolishing the grammar school entrance exam also argue that, due to the much higher number of students, grammar schools would have to solve the resulting capacity problems by increasing the pressure to select students during the probationary period. This would result in many students leaving grammar school during the probationary period (increasing the dropout rate), which would be no fairer for the students than selection through a grammar school entrance exam before entering grammar school.  

Proponents of the grammar school entrance exam also accuse opponents of wanting a “selection-free school” and the “standardization of all children”. Those who want to stick with the current system also fear that abolishing the high school entrance exam would lead to more students attending grammar school, which would devalue dual education, particularly weakening secondary school, which is currently available to all students, both weak and strong. Grammar school should only be open to very gifted students.

These factors make the abolition of the grammar school entrance exam more likely

Given that several scientific studies have evaluated Zurich's transition procedure to grammar school, with its combination of preliminary grades and grammar school entrance exams, as fair and the best of all possible procedures, it is unlikely that opponents of the grammar school entrance exam will prevail with their arguments in the near future.  

Nevertheless, there are factors that make the abolition of the grammar school entrance exam more likely in the future if the pressure on decision-makers increases accordingly. On the one hand, the number of students is crucial. If there are not enough students to fill the places at grammar school in the future, it is unlikely that grammar schools will simply be demolished and grammar school teachers dismissed; instead, the grammar school entrance exam will probably be abolished.  

Another factor that makes the abolition of the grammar school examination more likely is the problem that Switzerland does not train enough academics; in particular, the number of students in STEM subjects needs to be increased. Switzerland therefore tends to need more grammar school students. Cantons where a grammar school entrance exam exists, on the other hand, have a low grammar school graduation rate. To achieve the goal of a higher grammar school enrollment rate, more grammar schools could be built or the number of places at existing grammar schools could be increased where possible. To fill these additional grammar school places, there might then be a temptation to abolish the grammar school entrance exam.

Start preparing for grammar school now!

Sources

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