The Significance of Diagnostic Data for the Process of Fostering by the Center for Educational Support in Hamburg

Strategies and methods of diagnostics and assessment which are applied in the Hamburg concept of the Center of educational support in integrative environments are determined concerning their quality. Varied connections were found between the results of diagnostics and assessment and educational decision making. In addition it becomes clear that the importance of diagnostics and assessment in the concept of the Center of educational support in integrative environments is overestimated. It is argued the case for changing fundamentally the diagnostic strategy, which has been practiced at the beginning of compulsory school attendance and primarily serves to obtain educational resources, to the effect that all the children with special educational needs are taken into account or even for giving up this strategy in favour to promote evaluative diagnostics and assessment accompanying and forming the learning process.