Thuringian Committee on Petitions to handle the elimination of BLF within high schools
In the quiet town of Bad Frankenhausen, a petition to abolish the Special Performance Assessment (SPE) at Thuringian grammar schools has garnered over 1,500 signatures. The initiative, spearheaded by Steffen Kobrow, a local councilor and chairman of the GfBF fraction, aims to remove the SPE exam for ninth graders at grammar schools, replacing it with the simple promotion to the eleventh grade.
The SPE exam, typically taken towards the end of the tenth grade, assesses students in German, mathematics, and a natural science subject such as biology, chemistry, or physics - in writing, and is intended to enable students to obtain a secondary school leaving certificate equivalent to the Realschulabschluss if they do not complete the Abitur.
The petition comes in the wake of a tragic event that occurred in Erfurt in 2002, where a former student, Robert Steinhäuser, committed a mass shooting at the Gutenberg-Gymnasium, resulting in the deaths of 16 people. Kaleb Erdmann, an author from Erfurt, has written a novel, "The Alternative School," which delves into the school shooting that took place in the city.
Erdmann's novel has made it into the final round of the German Book Prize 2025, shedding light on the darkest days in recent Thuringian history. In a poignant remembrance of the victims, a memorial ceremony was held, the details of which are not provided in the text.
The audio "Amok - Erfurt and Its Aftermath" provides more information about the incident and its aftermath. The audio is available for download in two formats (MP3 and MP4).
According to the Petition Act, the topic should be discussed in the Petitions Committee of the Thuringian State Parliament from this number of signatures. The grade for the SPE exam is made up equally of the exam performance and the annual grade.
It is worth noting that the school shooter had been expelled from the school and was left without a certificate due to the SPE exam. The introduction of the SPE exam was a response to the school shooting at the Erfurter Gutenberg-Gymnasium in 2002.
As the petition continues to gather support, the future of the SPE exam at Thuringian grammar schools remains uncertain. The debate is set to be discussed in the Petitions Committee of the Thuringian State Parliament, with the potential to bring about a significant change in the education system.
