Check 5 in primary school – preparation for district school

Recommendation

• During the second semester of Year 5 and the first semester of Year 6, parents are given an orientation
• The teacher responsible for the secondary school recommendations will inform the parents about the progress of and opportunities for their child. They will also receive information about which type of secondary school the child is likely to attend in the future.
• Enduring learning is more prominent than ever as a metric for the secondary school evaluation and recommendation process. Children can not longer rely on intensive revising for an entrance exam. They must have a consistently good performance in the 5th and 6th year of primary school.
• One important factor for the evaluation of a child's performance ability is the Check P5.
• Even if the assessment of your child's performance did not go as desired and no agreement was reached on the desired type of school during the transfer meeting in the second semester of Year 6, the door to the district school is by no means closed! It is always possible to improve performance. In addition, secondary school pupils who perform exceptionally well in the core subjects have the opportunity to transfer to the district school at the end of the first semester of upper secondary school without repeating a year, provided they are recommended by their class teacher. Furthermore, it is always possible to transfer from secondary school to district school at the end of the school year on the recommendation of the class teacher – with or without repeating the school year, although the decision to transfer without repeating the school year is subject to the approval of the relevant municipal authority.

A new method of evaluating progress

The Check P3 performance test takes place in September during the third year of primary school, and the Check P5 takes place in May during the fifth year of primary school. The tests are carried out across the board in all third and fifth primary school classes in the cantons of Aargau, Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Stadt and Solothurn. The didactic concept and more information about the tests and the collection of tasks can be found on the website of the Institute for Educational Evaluation.

What are these tests exactly, and how do they affect your child's education?

• The checks are standardised performance tests developed by a university institute on behalf of the cantons of Aargau, Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Stadt and Solothurn. All schoolchildren in the four cantons take part in the checks at the beginning of the third year and towards the end of the fifth year of primary school, and towards the end of the second and third years of lower secondary school.
• The Checks are an assessment tool. They enable performance and progress comparison across more than just a single class.
• Primary students take the Check P3 (in their 3rd year) and P5 (in their 5th year). Both tests are given in paper form. In the Check P3, students are assessed in Mathematics and German. The Check P5 covers Mathematics, German, the first foreign language and the natural sciences.
• The Check P5 is an important factor in assessing a child's performance. It shows the level of the child's performance at the end of the 5th grade of primary school. Those who perform exceptionally well in the Check P5 have a better chance of being recommended for transfer to the district school.

Transfer to the district – requirements

• There is no longer a transfer exam. The transfer takes place exclusively via the recommendation procedure. 
• The requirements for the transfer from elementary school to secondary school or district school have been slightly increased. It is not only the performance in the core subjects (Mathematics, German, and reality) that counts. For the transfer to the district school, newly in the extension subjects (French, English, movement and sports, artistic design, music, textile work, and handicrafts) predominantly good performance is required instead of sufficient performance as before.
• Additionally, not only future district school students but also, future secondary students must distinguish themselves in terms of independence, problem-solving, and comprehension skills. 
• The Entry into the district school opens the door to the gymnasium. Secondary students have very little chance of entering the gymnasium later.

In our preparatory courses, we prepare students reliably and competently for the transfer to the district school.

Changing track in the upper level

Many parents become very anxious when their children do not make it into district school after the end of 6th year, and must enter secondary school after the summer holiday. Now is not the time to give up! It is possible to change schools during the upper level! Since the 2016/2017 school year, the following new rules are had been in effect:

• Students with especially good marks in the core subjects and a recommendation from the teacher may switch into the next higher school type (e.g. from secondary into district school) after the first semester, without needing to repeat any courses.
• As before, pupils can transfer to a higher performance level at the end of the school year via the recommendation procedure – with or without repeating the school year, whereby the transfer without repeating depends on the decision of the relevant municipal authority.

What does this mean? 

It is important not to throw in the towel if the meeting with your child's 6th-year teacher does not go as desired. On the contrary, investing in your child's education is more important than ever. Your child may be able to improve his or her school performance so markedly that he or she is in fact recommended for district school. Or, you may be able to provide a solid foundation for switching from secondary to district school without losing time!