I think that sounds a bit more voluntary than it actually is.
Some argue its to early to decide after elementary school to decide who will likely study and who won't.
After elementary may be too early. In my country most of selection is at year 9 (pupils being 14-15 y/o). That's not a hard cut off though. Technically you take same exam and may go to university if you want. But if you picked arts school, you probably won't do well in exams needed for STEM at university...
This is somewhat out of date as modern day system in Germany is a lot less exclusionary and less prone to railroading pupils to vocational education than it was 20-30 years ago. This also depends on state, in Berlin for example basically any capable/motivated pupil can get an Abitur by attending an Integrierte Sekundarschule.
mantas|3 years ago
Works pretty well I'd say.
ido|3 years ago