Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung (BIBB)

Content

First-Time pass rate expands possibilities for analysing examination activities

High first-time pass rate

Marked differences between occupations

Limitations of the indicator and need for differentation when using it

Literature

First-time pass rate expands possibilities for analysing examination activities

Final examinations are held upon completion of training for all state-recognised training occupations (i.e. all training occupations taught in the 'dual' vocational training system which combines part-time vocational schooling with practical work experience) to ascertain whether trainees have acquired the skills and competences needed to work in the particular occupation. Candidates who do not pass the final exam the first time around may sit the examination up to two more times. It is of course desirable to pass the final examination at the first try. The first-time pass rate (F-TPR) reveals how large the share of candidates is who succeed in passing their final examination at the first try (see box for the calculation).

First-time pass rates: Data basis and calculation

The first-time pass rate indicates how large the share of examination candidates is each year who pass the final examination at the first try. The rate is calculated using the following formula:

F-TPR = (Number of first-time candidates who pass their final exam)  * 100
                                   (All first-time candidates)

Calculating this rate has been possible since the Vocational Training Statistics of Germany's Federal Statistical Office and the Statistical Offices of the States  (known collectively as Vocational Training Statistics) were changed over from aggregate data to individual data. Since this changeover, the Federal Statistical Office records not only examinations and the results thereof but also numerous attributes which can be combined with one another (see, among others, UHLY 2006). Thanks to this it is possible to calculate the first-time pass rate not only as an overall rate but also broken down for individual groups of persons (examples include by gender, type of admission to the examination, and level of general secondary schooling).

The first-time pass rate was first calculated for the year 2009.⁰¹ All figures cited in this report are based on the calculations for 2009.

The first-time pass rate represents an expansion of the possibilities for analysing examination activities using Vocational Training Statistics of Germany's Federal Statistical Office and the Statistical Offices of the States because prior to the changeover to individual data, the pass rate could only be calculated for all final examinations, in other words: for first-round examinations and repeat examinations combined.⁰²

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High first-time pass rate

In 2009, just under 477,700 young men and women sat the final examination for the first time in the training occupation (a recognised occupation which requires completion of formal vocational training) they had learned (see Table 1).³ The first-time pass rate was 91.2 per cent for all candidates (see Table 1). There were only slight differences in the pass rates for men and women, with somewhat more women than men passing the final examination at the first try. By contrast, sizable differences could be observed depending on the type of admission to the final examination: Nearly all candidates who were admitted to the final examination ahead of schedule passed at the first try. By contrast, this figure fell to less than 40 per cent in the case of candidates whose period of training had been extended.
 

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Marked differences between occupations

A glance at individual occupations is more interesting and informative than the combined pass rate for all training occupations. Table 2 shows the pass rates for the 25 occupations with the most first-time examinees in 2009 which, as to be expected, correspond to the training occupations with the most trainees (see the BIBB 30th September Survey) and accounted for 60 per cent of all first-time final examinations in 2009.

With a span of 17.5 percentage points, pass rates vary considerably from occupation to occupation (see column 3). In five occupations (highlighted in white), the first-time pass rates deviate only slightly (+/- 2.5 percentage points) from the overall rate calculated for all of the some 350 training occupations taught in Germany. The first-time pass rates were comparatively high in 12 occupations (highlighted in light blue). The highest rate was reported for the training occupation Electronics Technician for Industrial Engineering: Just under 98 per cent of the candidates acquired vocational qualification the first time they sat the final examination. The pass rates in the remaining eight occupations (highlighted in dark blue) fell more than 2.5 percentage points short of the average rate. Prospective Cooks ranked last with just under 20 per cent not passing the final examination the first time around.

A breakdown by gender shows only slight differences in the first-time pass rates for most of the occupations examined for this study (see columns 5 and 7 in Table 2). In other words, the pass / failure rates of men for their first attempt at the final examination were nearly the same as the rates for women. Larger differences (5 percentage points or more) could be observed only in the occupations Hairdresser, Salesperson Specialising in Foodstuffs, Joiner, and Painter/Varnisher. Women had higher pass rates in each of these occupations.

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Limitations of the indicator and need for differentation when using it

Like all indicators, the first-time pass rate also has its limitations in terms of its informative value and analysis potential. Although the pass rate indicates how many young men and women complete their vocational training directly as a qualified skilled worker or journeyman/ journeywoman, it does not reveal whether they 'just barely' passed the final examination or had the highest marks. For this reason alone it should not be assumed that a high first-time pass rate goes hand-in-hand with a high level of training achievement on the part of either the companies providing the training or the trainees.

It would also be short-sighted to view the first-time pass rate as an indicator for the effectiveness of vocational training and not take the trainees' prior education into account. To illustrate: The share of first-time candidates who had completed no more than lower secondary school (Hauptschule) was just under 45 per cent for the training occupation Cook (first-time pass rate: 80.3%) while just under seven per cent had earned qualification to enrol in a university. Looking at trainees for the occupation Electronics Technician for Industrial Engineering (first-time pass rate: 97.8%), 10.5 per cent had completed no more than lower secondary school and 14.5 per cent had earned qualification to study at university.

Since the changeover to individual data, the Vocational Training Statistics offer extensive options for this and more advanced types of differentiation. Worth noting is the recent analyses conducted by UHLY/KROLL/KREKEL (2011) on the first-time pass rate in training occupations with a training duration of two years. All in all, the first-time pass rate injects greater transparency into examination activities in the dual vocational training system.

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Literature

• BIBB-Erhebung zum 30.09.: Jährliche Erhebung über neu abgeschlossene Ausbildungsverträge zum 30.09. (BIBB 30th September Survey) Table 67 - URL: www.bibb.de/de/56539.htm (Retrieved on: 5 September 2011)
• UHLY, A.: Weitreichende Verbesserungen der Berufsbildungsstatistik ab April 2007. Zur Aussagekraft der Berufsbildungsstatistik für die Berufsbildungsforschung und Politikberatung. In: KREKEL, E. M.; UHLY, A.; ULRICH, J. G. (Eds.): Forschung im Spannungsfeld konkurrierender Interessen. Die Ausbildungsstatistik und ihr Beitrag für Praxis, Politik und Wissenschaft. Bielefeld 2006, pp. 39-63
• UHLY, A.; KROLL, S.; KREKEL, E. M.: Strukturen und Entwicklungen der zweijährigen Ausbildungsberufe des dualen Systems. (Wissenschaftliche Diskussionspapiere, Issue 128) Bonn 2011
  

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footnotes:

⁰¹ The number of candidates was not reported in 2007 because the Vocational Training Statistics were undergoing a reorganisation and changeover. It could not be excluded to date that there were reporting gaps and/or recording errors in 2008 due to the changeover.

⁰² . For more regarding pass rates to date, please see: www.bibb.de/dokumente/pdf/a21_dazubi_daten.pdf.

⁰³ Here and in the following sections, this does not include first-time examinations conducted in occupations for persons with disabilities under Section 66 of the Vocational Training Act / Section 42m of the Crafts and Trade Code.

Last modified on: October 27, 2011