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Concept
Abitur
Summary
Abitur (abiˈtuːɐ̯), often shortened colloquially to Abi, is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen years of schooling (see also, for Germany, Abitur after twelve years). In German, the term Abitur has roots in the archaic word Abiturium, which in turn was derived from the Latin abiturus (future active participle of abire, thus "someone who is going to leave").
As a matriculation examination, Abitur can be compared to A levels, the Matura or the International Baccalaureate Diploma, which are all ranked as level 4 in the European Qualifications Framework.
The Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife ("certificate of general qualification for university entrance"), often referred to as Abiturzeugnis ("Abitur certificate"), issued after candidates have passed their final exams and have had appropriate grades in both the last and second last school year, is the document which contains their grades and formally enables them to attend university. Thus, it encompasses the functions of both a school graduation certificate and a college entrance exam.
Abitur confers Allgemeine Hochschulreife (allows students to enter university or Fachhochschule), while there are other ways of obtaining it. In 2005, some 231,000 students obtained Allgemeine Hochschulreife in Germany. This number rose over time to around 263,000 in 2021. Of those, most obtained their Allgemeine Hochschulreife at a Gymnasium, while 40,000 received it at a different kind of school, most notably at Gesamtschulen. If those who obtain the Fachhochschulreife (144,399 in 2012) are also added, then the total of those who obtained the right to study at a university or a Fachhochschule is 395,000 (2021).
Until the eighteenth century, every German university had its own entrance examination. In 1788 Prussia introduced the Abiturreglement, a law, for the first time within Germany, establishing the Abitur as an official qualification.
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