Federal Constitutional Court
Karlsruhe checks testimonials for dyslexics
Do high school graduates have to accept a certificate stating that their spelling skills were not included in the grades? The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe is dealing with this question. photo
© Uli Deck/dpa
Spelling mistakes without deduction: This relief can be very important for people with dyslexia – part of this is a corresponding comment in the certificate. Is that legal?
Spelling at school is important and part of the assessment – but not always. There are exceptions in most federal states for dyslexics. The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe is hearing today whether they have to accept a certificate stating that their spelling skills were not included in the grades.
Three former high school seniors Bayern felt discriminated against because of such endorsements and complained. “It’s about the issues of self-determination and equal opportunities,” said her lawyer Thomas Schneider from Munich in advance. A decision from the court is not expected for some time.
protection against discrimination
The Basic Law aims to protect people with disabilities from discrimination. It is also recognized that they have a right to equal opportunity in examinations. For this reason, affected students can receive what is known as disadvantage compensation during exams, for example in the form of more time to write.
In most federal states, including Bavaria, it is also possible for teachers to evaluate the performance of students with disabilities differently. This procedure is called note protection. Certain aspects are then not included in the grades – such as spelling for those who are affected by dyslexia.
Dyslexia refers to a reading and spelling disorder, i.e. serious difficulties with these skills. According to the Federal Association for Dyslexia and Dyscalculia, this affects around twelve percent of the population in Germany.
Privileged compared to classmates?
In the cases before the Constitutional Court, the plaintiffs received both a time allowance for written exams and grade protection when they graduated from high school in 2010. A note then appeared in her report card stating that her spelling skills were not assessed.
Bavaria is not the only federal state that includes these comments in the certificate. It follows a decision by the Conference of Ministers of Education from 2003. It states that a different assessment is a privilege compared to classmates.
The high school graduates sued against the references in their certificates, initially up to the Federal Administrative Court. This rejected them in 2015 and decided that there was no entitlement to grade protection without its documentation in the certificate.
Among other things, the plaintiffs see this as a violation of the ban on discrimination against people with disabilities and the requirement of equal opportunities under examination law. Her representative emphasized that a testimonial comment immediately leads to questions and thus restricts her self-determination. There is also a risk of being rejected from the outset in the application process.