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Project Title:PIAAC-Longitudinal (PIAAC-L) 2016 - Acquisition of Competencies (English Version)
  2. General Information: *Note: This item was tested in German. This is an English translation of the original German wording. The translation does not correspond exactly to the wording in the English PIAAC source questionnaire.*
  3. Question Text: What is the highest general school-leaving certificate you have?
    Please tell me using list 1.
    [Welchen höchsten allgemeinbildenden Schulabschluss haben Sie?
    Bitte sagen Sie es mir anhand der Liste 1.]
  4. Instruction: INT: Show list 1. [INT: Liste 1 vorlegen.]
  6. Answer Categories 1 Dropped out of school without having finished primary school [Von der Schule abgegangen, ohne die Grundschule beendet zu haben]

    2 Leaving school without a secondary school-leaving certificate (basic primary and secondary school-leaving certificate), but after finishing elementary school [For German translation see pdf-File]

    3 Secondary school-leaving certificate (basic primary and secondary school-leaving certificate) [Hauptschulabschluss (Volksschulabschluss)]

    4 Intermediate school-leaving certificate [Realschulabschluss (Mittlere Reife)]

    5 Leaving the polytechnic secondary school after the 8th grade (after 1965) [Abgang von der Polytechnischen Oberschule nach der 8. Klasse (nach 1965)]

    6 Leaving the polytechnic secondary school after the 10th grade (before 1965: 8th grade) [Abgang von der Polytechnischen Oberschule nach der 10. Klasse (vor 1965: 8. Klasse)]

    7 Advanced technical college entrance qualification, completion of technical secondary school [Fachhochschulreife, Abschluss Fachoberschule]

    8 General or subject-related higher education entrance qualification / “Abitur“ (Gymnasium or EOS, EOS with apprenticeship) [Allgemeine oder fachgebundene Hochschulreife / Abitur (Gymnasium bzw. EOS, EOS mit Lehre)]

    9 Evening school: “Abitur“ or higher education entrance qualification [Abendschule: Abitur oder Hochschulreife]

    10 A foreign school-leaving certificate [Einen ausländischen Schulabschluss]

    11 A different school-leaving certificate [Einen anderen Schulabschluss]

    12 I do not yet have a general school-leaving certificate, I still go to school (e.g. secondary modern school, intermediate school, Gymnasium) [For German translation see pdf-File]

    1. Recommendations: Question: No changes recommended.
      Answer options: No changes recommended.
  2. Cognitive Techniques:Information image/link to cognitive pretesting Emergent Probing
  3. Findings for Question: This question was asked to all 18 test persons. Five test persons (TP 11, 12, 13, 17, 18) state that their highest general school-leaving certificate is the secondary modern school-leaving certificate or basic primary and secondary school-leaving certificate. Four test persons (TP 01, 02, 03, 05) state that their highest general school-leaving certificate is the intermediate school-leaving certificate or “Mittlere Reife”. The remaining nine test persons (TP 04, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 14, 15, 16) choose the general or subject-related higher education entrance qualification or “Abitur” (Gymnasium or EOS, EOS with apprenticeship) as their highest general school-leaving certificate.

    In order to answer the question, the test persons were presented with the above list of twelve different highest general school-leaving qualifications. No difficulties worth mentioning arise when answering the question using this list and all test persons can easily assign themselves to a corresponding category. It is only noticeable that the two test persons 12 and 17 answered the question immediately and that the list was superfluous in these cases.
  2. Question Topic: Social demographics
  3. Construct: Highest general school-leaving certificate