Corpus-Linguistic Analysis of Matura Exams in German

How does students' orthographic performance vary in German final exam papers written by hand or on the computer?

In co-operation with BMB, ACDH and the Council for German Orthography carries out a corpus-based study on a nation-wide sample of German A-level exam papers. Exam papers (school year 2015/16) used for linguistic analysis in this project are provided by the ministry of education. For the first time, the aspect of possible differences regarding orthographic performance between student papers written by hand or on the computer is looked into, using corpus-linguistic technologies.
The aim of the study is to gain insight into the connection between orthographic student performances and the means used for text production (written by hand or on a computer) in German school leaving examinations.
Through analyzing the occurrence of certain types of orthographic mistakes and their frequencies in this centralized school leaving examination, conclusions concerning the effects of varying conditions of text production on student performance can be drawn.


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Jutta Ransmayr