The Mittlere Reife is a school leaving certificate in Germany that is roughly comparable with the American high school diploma. It is regularly awarded after ten years of schooling.
Other names of the Mittlere Reife include Realschulabschluss, Fachoberschulreife, Qualifizierter Sekundarabschluss I and Mittlerer Schulabschluss.
The Mittlere Reife can be awarded to students who attend a number of different schools, including the Hauptschule

Hauptschule

A Hauptschule is a secondary school in Germany and Austria, starting after 4 years of elementary schooling, which offers Lower Secondary Education according to the International Standard Classification of Education...

, the Realschule

Realschule

The Realschule is a type of secondary school in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia , Denmark , Sweden , Hungary and in the Russian Empire .-History:The Realschule was an outgrowth of the rationalism and empiricism of the seventeenth and...

, the Werkrealschule

Werkrealschule

Werkrealschule is a relatively young branch of German secondary education , which offers pupils additional lessons in grades 8 and 9 and allows them to qualify after ten years with a final exam which is equal to graduation from Realschule....

, the Berufsfachschule, the Wirtschaftschule, the Gesamtschule.

Students awarded the Mittlere Reife in most cases will not be allowed to progress directly into a German university, but must attend another school that awards the Abitur

Abitur

Abitur is a designation used in Germany, Finland and Estonia for final exams that pupils take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling, see also for Germany Abitur after twelve years.The Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife, often referred to as...

 such as the Aufbaugymnasium

Aufbaugymnasium

The Aufbaugymnasium is a school for mature students in Germany and Austria. It serves students who graduated from a Hauptschule or Realschule and are headed for the Abitur....

 or the Abendgymnasium

Abendgymnasium

An Abendgymnasium or "Evening Gymnasium" is a German class of secondary school for adults over the age of 19 which allows them to gain the Abitur. Classes are usually held after 17:30 at night, although some classes may be held in the mornings for parents with school-age children...

. Once they hold the Abitur, they may progress to college.

Non-German graduation certificates that compare to the Mittlere Reife such as the American high school diploma generally do not qualify the bearer for attending a German university. However those holding a high school diploma will be able to study at a German university nevertheless, if they did well on the SAT

SAT

The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...

 or ACT.