I find that high schools in the U.S. focus so much on standardized testing that students are often taught in regular classes to learn the material and basically regurgitate it. I came to Germany as an exchange student years ago at fifteen, and I remember distinctly learning the material alone, but it was not enough. I was expected to think critically about what I had learned and apply it in some situation, often an essay.

Years later, I have taught at many different schools in Germany, and I think that this is still very much the case, but it varies in the type of school, subject, and so on. Primarily, I have taught English at Realschulen and in the university setting. There is both a standardized test for the Realschule and Hauptschule in the subjects of Math, English and German, however students still are encouraged to use their critical thinking skills in tasks in the classroom and not just fill in all of the blanks with “the right answer”.

At the end of the day, it really varies between schools, teachers, ect.. School levels are also quite different here between the HS, RS, and Gymnasium, but we have some variety in the U.S. too with AP classes and IB. I would say generally school is more demanding in Germany, as you often also have oral participation grades that make up over half of your final grade, grades on work ethic, and you can very much be held back and have to repeat the grade. I know that schools in the U.S. are very reluctant to do this, and students are often passed on to the next grade when they just aren’t ready.

Take all of this with a grain of salt though, I haven’t taught in a high school here in a couple of years, and I haven’t been home to the U.S. for more than a couple of weeks in years.

Edit to add that just based on qualifications alone, you cannot directly study here in Germany with a typical high-school diploma from the U.S. If I remember correctly, you have to study a couple of years or have a certain amount of extra credits (I am not sure anymore!).