What mostly makes it very complicated is that education is administered on a federal state level instead of national level - so it is different in each federal state. If I were to describe it for "my" federal state, the description would be simpler.
> I wonder how they arrived at the 5th class being where the categorisation happens.
The most plausible explanation to me is "historical".
But I can assure you that this is/was a hotly disputed political topic. For example in my federal state I think 15 years ago it was decided that this separation should rather be after the 6th year. The result: A giant rush on privately run Gymnasien (German plural of "Gymnasium") that started with the 5th class for the reason that parents feared that their kid doesn't get the educational stimulation "it should deserve" if it has to sit together with "less smart kids" for even two more years.
This state government was unelected in the next election (and this topic played a large role in the election campaigns) and the next state government reintroduced the separation after the 4th year (which I support), but introduced other controversial ideas in the education system (which nevertheless were not of the kind that induces "fears that 'my' kid doesn't get the educational stimulation 'it should deserve'" - so there was no large public outcry).
In short: If a state government wants to replace the two- or three-tiered system by more comprehensive schools or wants to touch the "holy grail" that separation happens after the 4th year, the party will be punished in the next election - these are "very emotional topics", where both sides will fight tooth and nail.
People (myself included) usually have very strong ideas about how they think their children should be raised and educated. I appreciate your informative responses. Thank you.
What mostly makes it very complicated is that education is administered on a federal state level instead of national level - so it is different in each federal state. If I were to describe it for "my" federal state, the description would be simpler.
> I wonder how they arrived at the 5th class being where the categorisation happens.
The most plausible explanation to me is "historical".
But I can assure you that this is/was a hotly disputed political topic. For example in my federal state I think 15 years ago it was decided that this separation should rather be after the 6th year. The result: A giant rush on privately run Gymnasien (German plural of "Gymnasium") that started with the 5th class for the reason that parents feared that their kid doesn't get the educational stimulation "it should deserve" if it has to sit together with "less smart kids" for even two more years.
This state government was unelected in the next election (and this topic played a large role in the election campaigns) and the next state government reintroduced the separation after the 4th year (which I support), but introduced other controversial ideas in the education system (which nevertheless were not of the kind that induces "fears that 'my' kid doesn't get the educational stimulation 'it should deserve'" - so there was no large public outcry).
In short: If a state government wants to replace the two- or three-tiered system by more comprehensive schools or wants to touch the "holy grail" that separation happens after the 4th year, the party will be punished in the next election - these are "very emotional topics", where both sides will fight tooth and nail.