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Moving from US schools to German ones, grade by grade
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Janine El-Saghir
Janine El Saghir is an editor at How-to-Germany.com, where she specializes in the practical aspects of daily life and integration for expatriates. With years of...
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Erkan Boga is the founder and CEO of qmedia GmbH, the publishing house behind How-to-Germany.com. He established the platform with the clear vision of creating...
- Same grade numbers, different paths. A six-year-old starts grade 1 in both countries, but German children are split into different secondary schools after grade 4 in most states (grade 6 in Berlin and Brandenburg).
- The Abitur is not a high school diploma. It comes after 12 or 13 years and is Germany’s general higher education entrance qualification. A US diploma needs four AP exams in a set combination (for the matching fields) or two years of college (for all fields) on top.
- Short school days. German lessons usually end at lunchtime. After-school care (Hort) is a separate offer you register for.
By age, an American child lands in about the same grade number: a nine-year-old fourth grader in Ohio is the age of a German fourth grader. What changes is everything around it. The German school day is shorter, school types divide after primary school, and the final certificate works differently from a US diploma. Register as soon as you have an address: school enrollment in Germany. Health cover for the whole family comes first: family health insurance.
Grade by grade: Germany and the US side by side
| Age | Germany | United States |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Kindergarten (Kita): daycare, not school | Kindergarten at public schools. In 2018, 17 states and Washington, D.C. required attendance. |
| 6 | Grade 1, Grundschule | Grade 1, elementary school |
| 10 | Grade 5, first year at a secondary school type (Berlin and Brandenburg: still primary) | Grade 5 |
| 14 | Grade 9: the first school-leaving certificate is possible at the end | Grade 9, first year of high school |
| 15 | Grade 10: intermediate certificate, or the entry to the Gymnasium’s upper level | Grade 10 |
| 17 | Grade 12: Abitur where the Gymnasium takes eight years | Grade 12: high school diploma |
| 18 | Grade 13: Abitur where the Gymnasium takes nine years | College or university |
| Ages are typical values. German entry depends on a state cut-off date between 30 June and 30 September. Sources: Eurydice (Germany, 2026), National Center for Education Statistics, kindergarten requirements by state (2018), retrieved 8 November 2026. | ||
How long school is compulsory differs on both sides. In the US the state decides: in 2017, Florida and New York required attendance from 6 to 16, California to 18 and Texas to 19. In Germany every child attends full time for nine or ten years, then part time at a vocational school if it leaves full-time education.
Gymnasium vs high school
The biggest difference comes at age ten. A German child moves at the end of grade 4, or grade 6 in Berlin and Brandenburg, to a secondary school picked with a recommendation from the primary school. The Gymnasium, the academic track, is found in every state and leads to the Abitur. Other schools lead to the first or intermediate certificate, and in many states a comprehensive school offers all three. Switching tracks later is possible.
For American families the timing matters most. A child who arrives in grade 3 or 4 without German faces the recommendation within a year or two. Ask the school how your state handles it and get German lessons started early. The rules on recommendations and school names state by state: the German school system.
Progress works by school year, not by credits: a child moves up if it is promoted, which usually requires at least the mark 4 in the subjects that count.
High school diploma vs Abitur
The Abitur covers the final two years plus written and oral exams in four or five subjects, and it is Germany’s general higher education entrance qualification. A US high school diploma does not have that weight on its own. If it meets the evaluation rules, it gives access to a preparatory year (Studienkolleg) that ends with an assessment test (Feststellungsprüfung). Direct admission needs more.
| Route | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Coursework | 16 academic units in grades 9 to 12: English 4, a second language 2, social studies 3, math and science 5 together, electives 2. English, math and science passed with at least a C. |
| AP exams for math, science, technology or medicine | Four AP exams with a score of 3 or higher: Calculus AB or BC, one of Biology, Chemistry or Physics C, one language, one further subject |
| AP exams for humanities, social science or business | Four AP exams with 3 or higher: AP English, a foreign language, Calculus or a science, one further subject |
| Instead of APs, for all fields | An associate degree in a general-education program, or two years at a recognized college with at least half the credits of a bachelor’s degree. Both need five general-education subjects, among them English, a foreign language, math and a natural science. |
| Preparatory route | Studienkolleg and its final exam. Open to diploma holders with an unweighted cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. |
| AP scores must be issued by the College Board, from exams taken during high school. Sources: anabin database of the Central Office for Foreign Education, evaluation of the US High School Diploma (retrieved 9 November 2026), RWTH Aachen University, admission requirements for US high school diplomas, uni-assist, country information United States, retrieved 8 November 2026. | |
For a teenager who will finish school in Germany, this decides the plan. Staying in the German system until the Abitur avoids the AP question entirely. Finishing at an American school in Germany usually means planning four AP exams during high school, or college study or a Studienkolleg year afterwards. Where foreign certificates stand overall: the Abitur and its equivalents.
Report cards: 1 to 6 instead of A to F
German grades run the other way round: 1 is the best mark (very good), and 4 (adequate) is the lowest mark that counts as enough. In the last two years of the Gymnasium, points from 15 down to 0 replace the marks. AP exams use their own 1 to 5 scale, with 5 as the top score. There is no fixed GPA-to-grade table: universities convert a foreign average such as a GPA with a formula set by the education ministers, using reference values from the Central Office for Foreign Education: German grades explained.
What changes for your child day to day
Lessons last 45 minutes and usually end around 1:30 p.m. Afternoons happen at an all-day school or in after-school care (Hort), which you apply for separately. Children who start grade 1 from the 2026/2027 school year on have a legal right to eight hours of all-day support on working days, lesson time included. Children who do not speak German often start in a welcome or German class, depending on the state and the school. Public schools charge no tuition. The town or district organizes school transport, but only to the nearest school and only beyond a minimum distance, generally two kilometers for primary pupils.
Bottom line
With a child under ten, the German path to the Abitur is open and needs mainly German. With a teenager, decide early whether it finishes in the German system or with a US diploma plus four APs or college study.
Part of education in Germany. Also compared: German vs UK schools · German vs Indian schools.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, as long as the state has approved the school as a substitute for a public school. Schools with a bilingual or international profile can have that status, so check it before you enroll, and your child then fulfills compulsory schooling there. Such schools may charge fees, but only moderate ones or with reductions for families with lower incomes.
No. Germany does not allow homeschooling, and authorities grant exceptions only in rare cases such as children of diplomats. An online program from the US does not replace school attendance here. Details: homeschooling in Germany.
The Abitur is a full secondary school-leaving certificate after 12 or 13 years, with exams in four or five subjects. Ask the admissions office of each US college how it treats it.
A score of 3 or higher counts, in four AP exams of a set combination, under the evaluation rules of the Central Office for Foreign Education. The College Board labels a 3 as qualified, a 4 as very well qualified and a 5 as extremely well qualified. Universities need the official score report from the College Board, not a list from the high school.
Sources (as of 8 November 2026)
Sources (as of 8 November 2026)
- Eurydice, European Commission, Germany: organisation of the education system, primary education, lower secondary education, assessment in lower secondary and upper secondary education.
- National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), compulsory school attendance by state (2017) and kindergarten entrance and attendance by state (2018).
- RWTH Aachen University, US high school diploma as a university entrance qualification; uni-assist, country information United States.
- College Board, about AP scores and AP score scale table.
- Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education (KMK), framework rules for the preparatory course and assessment test (in German) and agreement on the overall grade of foreign school-leaving certificates (in German).
- Social Code Book VIII (SGB VIII), section 24: all-day care for primary school children (in German); Eurydice, Germany: private education and funding, school transport; German Bundestag research service, compulsory schooling and homeschooling (2016, in German).
- Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB), anabin database, school certificates with university access, USA, High School Diploma (retrieved 9 November 2026, in German): AP, college and Studienkolleg routes.