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Letter I
ISCED 97 – International Standard Classification of Education

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This glossary contains definitions of the terms from the topic areas Education, Science, Research and Innovation, and is regularly updated. The glossary terms are alphabetically ordered.

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ISCED 97 – International Standard Classification of Education

ISCED was developed by UNESCO in the early 1970s to provide a consistent framework for collecting and presenting educational statistics, thus enabling or facilitating national and international comparisons. The classification of 1975 was updated in 1997 (ISCED 97) and now reflects all organized learning processes. In 2011 this classification was updated again (ISCED 2011) (see also ISCED 2011 – International Standard Classification of Education).

Assignment of national education programmes to the ISCED 97 ¹
ISCED level		Education programmes
1) Last adjusted to the school year 2008/2009. 2) At grammar schools and integrated comprehensive schools leading to a school-leaving certificate after grade 12, upper secondary level begins at grade 10 instead of 11. 3) Since 2008/2009 including Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University (formerly: vocational academies that were assigned to ISCED 5B). Quelle: Federal Statistical Office, Bildungsfinanzbericht 2013, Anhang A3
0 Pre-primary education		Kindergartens Pre-school classes School kindergartens
1 Primary education		Primary schools Integrated comprehensive schools (grades 1-4) Free Waldorf schools (grades 1-4) Special needs schools (grades 1-4)
2 Lower secondary education
2A	Programmes designed for direct access to level 3A or 3B general education	Secondary general schools Orientation stages independent of school type Intermediate schools Special needs schools (grades 5-10) Schools with different courses of education Grammer schools (grades 5-9/10)² Integrated comprehensive schools (grades 5-9/10)² Free Waldorf schools (grades 5-10) Evening secondary general schools Evening intermediate schools Vocational extension schools General programmes at full-time vocational schools or pupils at part-time vocational schools who have no training contract and either comply with compulsory education, or gain lower secondary education degrees
2B	Vocational preparation/vocational programmes vocational preparation vocational programmes designed for direct access to level 3B	Vocational preparation programmes (at full-time vocational schools, pre-vocational training year and pupils at part-time vocational schools who have no training contract, respectively)
2C	Programmes not giving access to level 3 designed for direct access to the labour market	-
3 Upper secondary education
3A	Programmes designed to provide direct access to level 5A general education	Grammar schools (grades 10-12/11-13)² Integrated comprehensive schools (grades 10-12/11-13)² Free Waldorf schools (grades 11-13) Special needs schools (grades 11-13) Specialised upper secondary schools – two-years Specialised grammar schools Full-time vocational schools that lead to higher education entry qualification
3B	Programmes designed to provide direct access to level 5B vocational education	Basic vocational programmes that are taken into account to the first year of apprenticeship (at fulltime vocational schools, basic vocational training year) Part-time vocational schools (dual system) Full-time vocational schools that lead to a fully qualifying vocational certificate (excluding health care and social professions, educator training) One-year programmes in health care professions (at full-time vocational schools or schools for nurses, midwives etc.)
3C	Programmes not giving access to level 5 designed for direct access to the labour market or to levels 3 and 4	Civil service trainees in the middle grade of civil service
4 Post-secondary non-tertiary education
4A	Programmes that prepare for entry to level 5A	Evening grammar schools Adult education colleges Specialised upper secondary schools – one-year Two-year full-time vocational schools Combination of a general education programme (level 3A) and a vocational programme (level 3B) Higher education entry qualification, then parttime vocational schools (dual system) Higher education entry qualification, then fulltime vocational schools that lead to a vocational certificate Part-time vocational schools (dual system), then higher education entry qualification Full-time vocational schools that lead to a vocational certificate, then higher education entry qualification Simultaneous acquisition of a higher education entry qualification and a vocational certificate (at full-time vocational schools and partly at specialised grammar schools)
4B	Programmes designed to provide direct access to level 5B	Combination of two programmes of level 3B Part-time vocational schools (dual system), then full-time vocational schools that lead to a vocational certificate Full-time vocational schools that lead to a vocational certificate, then part-time vocational schools (dual system) Two dual-system trainings in succession Retrainees at part-time vocational schools (dual system)
4C	Programmes not giving access to level 5 designed for direct access to the labour market	-
5 First stage of tertiary education
5A		Universities Colleges of education Colleges of theology Comprehensive universities Colleges of art and music Universities of applied sciences³
5B		Trade and technical schools Specialised academies (Bavaria) Vocational academies Colleges of public administration Two- or three-year programmes in health care and social professions or educator training (at full-time vocational schools or schools for nurses, midwives etc.)
6 Second stage of tertiary education		Doctoral studies
Programmes not assignable to a level		Mainly mentally handicapped pupils at special needs schools that cannot be assigned to an education area