The Mittlere Reife (, lit. ''"Middle Maturity"'') is a school-leaving certificate in Germany that is usually awarded after ten years of schooling. It is roughly comparable with the British

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

. The official name varies between the federal states, such as Realschulabschluss, Wirtschaftsschulabschluss, Qualifizierter Sekundarabschluss I, Sekundarabschluss I – Realschulabschluss, and Mittlerer Schulabschluss. The ''Mittlere Reife'' can be awarded to students who attend a number of different schools, including the

Hauptschule A ''Hauptschule'' (, "general school") is a secondary school in Germany, starting after four years of elementary schooling (''Grundschule''), which offers Lower Secondary Education (Level 2) according to the International Standard Classification ...

, the

Realschule Real school (, ) is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), F ...

, the

Werkrealschule Werkrealschule is a relatively young branch of German secondary education (e.g. in Baden-Württemberg), which offers pupils additional lessons in grades 8 and 9 and allows them to qualify after ten years with a final exam which is equal to graduatio ...

, the

Berufsfachschule Education in Germany is primarily the responsibility of individual German States of Germany, states (), with the federal government only playing a minor role. While kindergarten (nursery school) is optional, formal education is compulsory for a ...

, the Wirtschaftschule, and the

Gesamtschule A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis ...

. Students awarded the ''Mittlere Reife'' in most cases will not be allowed to progress directly into a German university, but must attend another school that awards the

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), 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 year ...

such as the

Aufbaugymnasium The Aufbaugymnasium ("Structured Secondary School") is a school for mature students in Germany and Austria. It serves students who graduated from a Hauptschule or Realschule and are headed for the Abitur. It is not to be confused with a traditional ...

or the Abendgymnasium or an equivalent type of school. Once students earn an Abitur, they may go on to university. Non-German graduation certificates that compare to the ''Mittlere Reife'' such as the American high school diploma generally do not qualify the bearer for attending a German university. However those holding a high school diploma will be able to study at a German university nevertheless if they did well on the

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...

or ACT.

References

Education in Germany School qualifications {{Europe-edu-stub