Foreigners always think the German school system (Hauptschule, Realschule, Gymnasium) is 30/30/30 but in reality it's more like 5/15/80. Almost every student is

Foreigners always think the German school system (Hauptschule, Realschule, Gymnasium) is 30/30/30 but in reality it's more like 5/15/80. Almost every student is going to the gymnasium by default nowadays. If you are not a total dimwit then you can get in and as a result, the standard of education is not great. I remember I had a student in my senior year English class who couldn't even deal with the simple present and still got a B. The discrepancies in performance between students on a Gymnasium is probably greater than between Gymnasium and Hauptschule. While the average education on a Gymnasium may be better than on a US high school, the US high schools are actually much better for capable students because the AP system allows them to get away from the window lickers like the Gymnasium was initially intended to do. The Realschule then is for all the people who _could_ go to a Gymnasium but their parents didn't let them. Finally, you have the lowest 5% in the Hauptschule who are practically outside of society. They are functionally illiterate or have such grave behavioural problems that many of them are unsuitable for even the most simple menial labor jobs (think stealing, regularly skipping school, arriving hours late for a job interview, assaulting classmates and coworkers, etc). Since Gymnasium is already so easy that almost everyone can get in, the only people who end up at a Hauptschule are those who grew up "outside the system" in an environment that practically prevents any kind of education. They live in a ghetto where everyone receives social security, are often immigrants with parents and friends who don't speak the language, have to deal with domestic abuse and bullying everywhere... you get the gist. Even the bright students among them who initially do well are continuously put down by their parents and peers while the teachers are hopelessly overwhelmed just trying to keep the worst of them from literally killing another.