Study Procedure

Field trail

Before the main survey takes place in 2027, a field trial will be conducted from January to March 2026. The purpose of this field trial is to check how well the developed questionnaires and knowledge questions work and to test organisational procedures. Twenty-five schools in Germany, each with two eighth-grade classes, will participate in the field trial.

Main survey

The main survey will take place from February to May 2027. It will provide the data that will be processed further for the national and international reports. In Germany, a total of 150 representatively selected schools will participate in the main survey. All students in a randomly selected Grade 8 class at each of these schools will be surveyed, as well as teachers and school administrators.

The students first complete a knowledge test and then a questionnaire about their personal background, experiences at school, willingness to participate and attitudes towards democracy and society.

While the students are surveyed digitally in schools, teachers and school principals are surveyed digitally online.

2025

ICCS 2027: Preparation

  • Development and piloting of new assessment instruments
  • Cognitive pre-tests in Germany and eight other countries
  • International coordination by the IEA
  • Field trail preparations in Germany

2026

ICCS 2027: Field trail

  • Conducting the international field test in the participating countries
  • Evaluating and adapting the test instruments and questionnaires
  • Preparing the main study

2027

ICCS 2027: Main ICCS survey

  • Data collection in 28 countries
  • Survey of students, teachers, and school principals
  • Participation of all German federal states with a nationally representative sample of 8th graders
  • Data cleaning and set preparation

2028–2029

ICCS 2027: Analysis and reporting

  • Data analysis, national and international reports
  • Feedback to schools
  • Release of scientific data sets for secondary analysis by researchers
  • Use of results for research, teacher training, creation of new teaching materials, curriculum and school development as well as education policy support