Education Monitor 2026: Saxony Retains Top Spot

Saxony is followed by Bavaria, Hamburg, Baden-Württemberg, and Saarland. At the bottom of the pack are Brandenburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saxony-Anhalt, while Bremen remains in last place.

Which state has the best education system? Which states have improved? Where is there a need for change in preschool, school, vocational training, and higher education? The Education Monitor provides information on all of these topics. The study, which has been conducted annually since 2004, incorporates 98 indicators across 13 areas of focus. These range from the number of high school dropouts per state to the number of recent doctoral graduates from universities. The Education Monitor shows the extent to which a state’s education system contributes to economic growth and prosperity.

Saxony performs very well in most of the 13 areas of focus examined. Saxony demonstrates particular strengths in funding infrastructure, school quality, research orientation, the prevention of educational poverty (1st place in each category), and expenditure prioritization (2nd place). The study highlights:

• Top ranking for the proportion of daycare staff with a college degree.
• Highest proficiency in reading, mathematics, and science among ninth-grade students.
• Top score for external funding secured per professor at universities.
• Highest score for the (small) size of the at-risk group in reading, math, and science.
• High proportion of international students among the total student body.

Support Infrastructure (1st place):

To achieve greater social participation in the education system, it is important to establish a high-quality infrastructure for the individualized support of children. Saxony places a strong emphasis on full-day schooling. As a result, 95.4 percent of elementary school students in Saxony attend an open or mandatory full-day school (national average: 51.2 percent). The proportion of students in all-day schools in lower secondary education is also significantly above average at 85.33 percent (national average: 48.6 percent). In addition, 85.9 percent of three- to six-year-olds received full-day care (national average: 48.2 percent). Furthermore, 13.7 percent of the staff in childcare facilities hold a college degree (national average: 7.4 percent). Saxony ranks first in this category.       

School Quality (1st place):

Thanks to its excellent results on the most recent IQB school achievement tests, Saxony ranks first in school quality. In the most recent competency assessment for ninth-graders, Saxon students demonstrated the highest average proficiency in mathematics and the natural sciences. When considering only high schools, Saxony ranks second behind Bavaria in both subjects. Saxon students also perform best in reading. 

Research Orientation (1st place)

With 307,500 euros in third-party funding secured per professor, Saxony achieves the highest figure of all federal states (national average: 187,100 euros). Saxony’s research orientation is also evident in the number of researchers at universities relative to GDP. Here, too, Saxony ranks first. The doctoral degree completion rate stands at 7.9 percent, which is above average (national average: 5.5 percent). Saxony ranks second among all federal states in this category.      

Preventing Educational Poverty (1st place):

The favorable conditions for improving social participation are paying off in terms of the goal of preventing educational poverty. In the most recent IQB comparative studies, Saxony has the lowest proportion of at-risk students in reading, mathematics, and science. In terms of the percentage of successful graduates among those completing the vocational preparation year, Saxony ranks first among all federal states (Saxony: 81.7 percent; national average: 50.9 percent). 

Prioritization of Spending (2nd place): 

Saxony assigns the second-highest priority to education in public spending among the federal states. The ratio of education spending per student to total public spending per capita is particularly high at universities. At around 22,700 euros per student, spending is a good 2.92 times higher than total state spending per capita (7,761 euros); the national average (14,300 euros per student) was 1.70. Saxony ranks highest among all federal states in this regard. Saxony also performs above average in elementary schools and part-time vocational schools.