mittlere Reife ( 6 Jahre Gymnasium = equivalent of US high school graduate

Personal experience

HTH


Sheila



Within the school, teachers work according to the curriculum and requirements of state-run schools, and consequently students have the same chances of graduating as in state schools. They can either leave school with 'Mittlere Reife' (equivalent to the GCSE in Britain or the intermediate High School Certificate in the USA). Or they can sit the final 'Abitur' exams (equivalent to the British A-level or the American high school diploma). 



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Note added at 4 mins (2003-07-03 17:53:42 GMT)
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I meant to say \'intermediate High School Certificate\' - sorrry!

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Note added at 6 mins (2003-07-03 17:55:36 GMT)
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Or - High School Graduation Diploma




http://www.nmit.ac.nz/international/int_entryqual.htm

Depending on the purpose of the translation, you'll probably need to explain the terms.

Here's a short explanation from a proz resume. For the Abitur, I'd add that it qualifies the holder to apply to universities.


1993-1996 Vöhlin-Gymnasium Memmingen (Certificate: German Abitur)
1990-1993 Realschule Babenhausen (Certificate: German Mittlere Reife)
(German secondary school, business orientation)

Re: Realschule und dann Gymnasium:

In Germany, you decide after elementary school which school you go to for secondary education (Hauptschule, Mittelschule (or Realsschule) or Gymnasium. It is possible to enrol in a Gymnasium to achieve the High School Diploma (Abitur) after completeing Realschule. These are usually two different schools (are there school names on the document?). This seems to be the case with your client.

This is a hard term to translate, because there really is no American equivalent. According to the article "Translating Foreign Educational Documents (Emphasis on German to American English), by Courtney Searls-Ridge, the Mittlere Reife is the degree earned by students completing the study program at a Realschule (upper level secondary school, non-college preparatory). From this point, a student can opt to do an Ausbildung (training) or go on to Fachoberschule (FOS, secondary technical school). This kind of education prepares students for such careers as bank clerks, office assistants, etc., and also, some students might go on from this point to a Beruffachschule, a two to three year program which prepares a student to be a medical technician or a research specialist in some field of science. I know that this isn't an exact answer; this article says that often the best thing to do is footnote these terms with explanations, and also to refer the person interested to have the diploma, certificate, or whatever evaluated by the World Education Services, an organisation that evaluates exactly what is equivalent to what in various countries, including grading scales. This article recommends that the translator translate the diploma or certificate as faithfully as possible, using brief footnotes for clarification,and not try to substitute what he/she thinks may be the appropriate US equivalent.

I'm sobered by those who suggest that going to school until age 14 in Germany would be the equivalent of a high school diploma. (Remember we have excellent private schools in the U.S.!).

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Note added at 2003-07-04 03:17:47 (GMT)
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Since college/univ is \"post-secondary,\" maybe you can do something in this case with \"pre-secondary.\"

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Note added at 2003-07-04 03:23:53 (GMT)
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Regarding Ilse Flick\'s remark about \'rigor\': I\'ve taught university students in Germany, Austria, and France who would have been put to shame by a reasonably studious American 10th-grader (age 15).

Given that this a CV which will probably be used in many different countries, my approach would be to leave it in German with an explanation in brackets in English. Regina's ""intermediate high school certificate" would be the best for this, IMHO.