Thousands of German students are accusing school officials of creating an English exam that was "unfairly" difficult.
The exam is important because it is part of Germany's Abitur system. The Abitur test is given to students who are completing high school and preparing to enter college.
More than 35,000 people have signed a petition to voice their concerns about the test which was recently held in the state of Baden-Württemberg.
The students say the English part of the 2018 Abitur was clearly more difficult than tests given in recent years. They are calling on school officials to consider their criticisms while judging student performance and giving test results. School officials have defended the test. The said the questions were "appropriate" for the students.
A sign at a German school announces the Abitur exam taken by German students at the end of their high school years. (Change.org)
The exam is designed to test a student's understanding and skill level in English. Part of the test requires students to read examples of English writing and then answer questions to measure how much they comprehend.
Test unfairly difficult?
The petition says some of the English examples were very difficult to understand, even for students who usually perform well in English classes. It said some examples were written a long time ago and contained old words.
The petition also noted that "metaphorical" language was a problem.
One of the most criticized examples was a description of New York City's Statue of Liberty.
This is part of the example on the test--it contains many words not usually used in VOA Learning English.
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