German report cards use six grades. Their definitions are written into state school law, for example in North Rhine-Westphalia. Each grade measures the work against die Anforderungen, the requirements. Sehr gut (1) means the work meets them to a special degree. Gut (2) means it meets them fully. Befriedigend (3) means it meets them in general. Ausreichend (4), sufficient, is the lowest pass. It is work that zwar Mängel aufweist, aber im Ganzen den Anforderungen noch entspricht, that has defects but still meets the requirements as a whole. Mangelhaft (5), defective, means that the requirements are not met. The grade names go back to a resolution of the Conference of Education Ministers of October 3, 1968.
The Grade Ritter Sport Took to Court
At the end of November 2013 Stiftung Warentest, the German consumer testing foundation, gave Ritter Sport’s whole-nut chocolate the grade mangelhaft, deficient. The reason was the label “natural flavoring” for the flavor piperonal, which the testers said was produced chemically. Ritter Sport and its flavor supplier Symrise said the flavor was natural. The company went to court. The Munich Regional Court barred Warentest from repeating its claim, and the Munich Higher Regional Court rejected Warentest’s appeal. In September 2014 Warentest ended the dispute. It had not explained precisely and fully enough how it reached its verdict.
What a School Grade Means
The German states agreed on the meaning of school grades in 1968. Each grade describes how far the work meets den Anforderungen, the requirements. A 1, sehr gut, means the work meets the requirements to a special degree. A 3, befriedigend, means it meets the requirements in general. A 6, ungenügend, means it does not meet them and the gaps cannot be closed soon. Fifteen of the sixteen states also set the written Abitur papers centrally. Rhineland-Palatinate is the only exception. In Bavaria, the ministry has set the Abitur papers since 1854.
The Law Exam
In Lower Saxony’s second state exam in law, each written paper carries a code number instead of a name. A first examiner and a second examiner grade it. A federal ordinance defines the grades for the law exams in words. Befriedigend is a performance that meets average requirements in every respect. Mangelhaft is a performance that is, on the whole, no longer usable. Ungenügend is a performance that is completely unusable. In 2018, 27.9 percent of candidates across Germany failed the state part of the first exam.
Coded Praise in the Work Reference
Every German employee who leaves a job has a legal right to a written reference, the Arbeitszeugnis. The law says it must be clear and easy to understand. In practice, set phrases carry the grade. Stets zu unserer vollsten Zufriedenheit, always to our fullest satisfaction, means very good. In 2014 the Federal Labor Court ruled that zur vollen Zufriedenheit, to full satisfaction, counts only as befriedigend, a middle grade. An employee who wants a better grade must prove that he earned it.
The same ruling quotes legal commentators. When 86.6 percent of references rate performance as good or very good, they write, a reference no longer says anything about what the employee can actually do. The ruling does not name the study behind the figure.
What a Good Grade Means
In German schools, work that fully meets the requirements earns a 2, gut, good. The top grade, sehr gut, very good, needs work that meets the requirements to a special degree. Work that meets the requirements in general earns a 3. Its name is befriedigend, satisfactory.
Germans are critical of rankings
Germans prefer to measure performance less frequently, but when they do so then in detail and exact. The German media has taken to the trend of ranking, but most Germans criticize them for not being truly representative.
Several academic organizations have called for a boycott of university rankings. Ranking tv shows such as Simply the Best or The Top 10 are also criticized by the public for not being objective, for relying on viewer voting which is overly influenced by current events.
The ranking show Die ultimative Chartshow went on air in 2003, is based on reliable statistics and continues to command a loyal viewership. Das Politbarometer, The Political Barometer, broadcasts the results of its political polling each month and is watched carefully by citizens and political professionals alike.
Germans take ranking serious only if they are based on a serious methodology.
“We want negative feedback”
Statement made by a German working in the U.S.: “It bothers us Germans when our American bosses give is inflated feedback, meaning too positive. Negative feedback keeps us oriented on avoiding mistakes, and it sharpens our ability to remain self-critical.
How is someone supposed to remain clear-headed and self-critical if all they ever hear is great and super. Performance which is clearly suboptimal should not be sugar-coated. Management loses credibility that way.
And feedback loses its key purpose, which is to address primarily things that aren’t working well. At some point this will hurt us. The quality of our work will suffer.”
Lobgeiz
Lobgeiz. There is no such word in German. It is a creation out of Lob, praise and Geiz, stinginess. An unwillingness to give praise where it has been earned. The Germans can be long on criticism and very short on praise.
Nicht geschimpft, ist genug gelobt translates into “Not criticized is praise enough.” Or perhaps the scanty praise they give is enough for the Germans. They are certainly not lacking in self-esteem, motivation, ambition or drive.
The Germans speak of the happy filter in the U.S. Happy filter? Each time results are reported upwards in an American organization they become more positive, with the goal of keeping the higher-ups in the hierarchy happy. It can become a kind of incrementally inflated euphoria. Self-intoxicating. A step-by-step distancing from a sober assessment of reality. “Don’t worry. Be Happy.“
„How are you?“
When it comes to using highly complimentary words the Germans are very reserved. Excellent, brilliant, great are words seldom heard. When asked „How are you?“, the Germans rarely respond with the equivalent of great, super, fantastic. For them everything could be better, can be improved. Germans avoid any form of exaggeration. If anything they will exaggerate in the negative.
Jemanden auf den Arm nehmen. Literally to take someone by the arm: to lie, cheat, fool, trick. Because children can be taken by the arm and led astray due to their naiveté.
Sensationell. Sensational. Stefan Raab, Germany‘s most popular tv-entertainer, has made the use of the term acceptable in Germany by using it an ironic sense. Sensationell are those people, things, events which are implausible, laughable, ridiculous.
Hochstapler. A person who lies about their background, abilities, achievements in order to gain respect, position or advantage. Hoch, high. Stapeln, to load up or stack. A Gabelstapler, is a forklift. Gabel, fork.