Session Information
09 SES 08 C, Assessments, Examinations and Grades
Paper Session
Contribution
In the past decades, discussions about assessment, grading, alignment, equity in assessment and accountability have received increasing attention in Europe and worldwide. Accountability and equity in assessment presuppose responsibility and obligations for the carrying out of assessment and grading. For instance, examination and assessment systems vary in European countries, which impacts upon the nature of the obligations that teacher have for assessment and grading. The question is to what extent policy conditions in European countries differ, and what implications such differences have for the understanding and implementation of policies, assessment tools and of research results, i.e. concerning formative assessment. (Black & Wiliam, 2009) Teachers’ assessment processes are framed by ideas and regulations within policy and practice, which constitute and map out the conditions that determine the assessment strategies that are adopted. How teachers choose to manage assessment and grading processes is dependent not only upon their responsibility due to regulations and recommendations but also on their autonomy and professional freedom.
The overall aim of this paper is to review some of the different conditions and prerequisites of teachers’ assessment and grading practices in a number of European countries.
An important aspect that is addressed and problematized, is the unique situation, that Swedish secondary and upper secondary teachers have to grade the national tests of their own students. (Wikström, 2006) In addition the teachers have sole responsibility for both instruction and grading, i.e. the single teacher herself determines the final grade of her own students. Teachers are obliged to use the results (grades) of national tests as one of many assessments (informal and formal) in their grading. Crucial in this context is how important final grades are for the ranking of students in the education selection process in different countries. In Sweden and some other countries in Europe, certificates are awarded solely on the basis of classroom assessment but most countries require certificates based exclusively on final external examinations for admission to tertiary education. (European Commission, 2009) The compulsory education grades are even of bigger importance for admission to upper secondary education in the Nordic countries Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland than in other OECD-countries. (Ståhle, 2004) In those countries, except Sweden, external assessing actors are engaged in the grading procedures.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Black, P. & Wiliam, D. (2009). Developing the theory of formative assessment. Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability, 21(1), 5-31. Forsberg, E. & Wallin, E. (2006). Skolans kontrollregim – ett kontraproduktivt system för styrning? En antologi. Stockholm: HLS förlag. European Commission (2009). Key Data on Education in Europe 2009. European Commission (2009/10). Structures of Education and Traning Systems in Europe. (Different countries). Eurybase Database (http:www.eurydice.org) Skolverket (2005). National Assessment and Grading in the Swedish School System. Stockholm: Edita. Skolverket (2008). Central rättning av nationella prov. Stockholm. Ståhle, B. (2004). Gymnasieskolan i Norden. En nordisk jämförelse av skolor på gymnasienivå. “Den nordiska ISUSS-rapporten”. Århus: Aka-print a/s. Wikström, C. (2006). Education and assessment in Sweden. Assessment in Education. Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 113-128.
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