January 12, 2026, 7:16 a.m. — First published (current)
In the current discussion about teaching written division in primary schools, Saxony‘s Minister of Education Conrad Clemens Position: “Our position in Saxony is clear: We stick to written division in primary schools!” In the 2025 updated curriculum for mathematics in primary schools, written division continues to be specified as a learning goal.
background
The Ministry of Culture in Lower Saxony had announced that it would forego written division in the primary level from the next school year.
The KMK educational standards revised in 2022 are the basis for the mathematics curriculum for primary schools, which was updated in 2025. The goals and tasks of the subject of mathematics were adapted to current findings and developments and the learning areas of the curriculum were updated in accordance with the competence areas of the educational standards. With the competency-oriented learning objectives and learning content, the primary school’s task of ensuring basic skills in mathematics was once again made clear.
Saxony’s mathematics curriculum is based on the educational standards revised in 2022 at the level of the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs.
The content for the subject of mathematics in primary education is divided into the following learning areas:
- Space and form
- Number and operation
- Sizes and measurements
- Data and chance
- Patterns, structures and functional connections do not form an independent learning area but must be integrated into all learning areas.
In grade 4, written division in the number and operation learning area continues to be treated with the learning objective level “gain insight”. This learning objective level provides basic orientation without deeper reflection.
