[Health screening at school entry--foreign models and prospective considerations]

In Germany, all pupils are subjected to medical examination at school entry. This is in fact one of the primary tasks of the School Health Services in respect of importance and the amount of work involved. Nevertheless, neither are these results properly evaluated, nor has their epidemiological relevance been explored. The examination criteria are not uniform, and results are therefore greatly at variance. This has given rise to much criticism when comparing the german approach to that in other countries. With particular reference to experiences in Great Britain, Australia and the Netherlands, we should discourage a general medical examination at school entry that focuses on the status of each individual from a medical point of view, as has been the practice in Germany to date. Instead, selective examinations should be performed with greater emphasis on expert pedagogic knowledge with the aim of assessing whether a child is mentally and sociologically sufficiently mature to attend school (the German term for this concept is "Schulreife", a non-translatable word somewhat equivalent to "school age maturity").