A nationwide survey by tutoring provider Studienkreis found that 85 percent of polled children and youth consider correct writing important or very important. Despite ongoing orthography issues, most see it as relevant for the future, even in the age of AI and autocorrect. Girls and gymnasium students rate spelling particularly highly.
The representative survey was conducted in December 2025 by market research agency KB&B Family Facts and included 1011 children and youth aged 8 to 16. Among them were 26 percent primary school students, 34 percent gymnasium students, 33 percent from other secondary schools, 3 percent vocational students, and 4 percent from other school types like Waldorf schools.
To the question “How important is it to you to write correctly according to spelling rules?” 85 percent responded “important” or “very important.” Only 8 percent of girls considered spelling “not important,” compared to 19 percent of boys. Among gymnasium children, 48 percent found it “very important,” with just 8 percent saying “not important.”
These findings are all the more notable given studies like the IQB Education Trend 2021, which show that about one in three fourth graders fails to meet the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs minimum standard, and only 44 percent achieve the regular standard. Yet 84 percent cited good grades as a reason for correct writing, and 45 percent mentioned being taken seriously by others. Girls linked it to good self-esteem in 39 percent of cases, while 10 percent of boys saw it as “annoying and unnecessary.” Gymnasium students associated it with being taken seriously in 56 percent.
54 percent were bothered by spelling errors in others, such as in chats or from influencers—especially older children and those in gymnasium. 79 percent believe spelling will remain important despite autocorrect, dictation functions, and AI; 82 percent for girls, 75 percent for boys, strongest among gymnasium students.
Moreover, 86 percent expect better career or training opportunities through correct spelling, rising to 89 percent for girls and 90 percent for gymnasium students. Younger children were more uncertain here, often responding “don’t know.”
