Background and purpose of the national tests
The government has commissioned the Swedish National Agency for Education to be responsible for developing the national tests in cooperation with universities and university colleges. The tests are constructed in conjunction with the curricula for compulsory schools, Lgr22, and upper secondary schools, Gy 2011.
There are several reasons for requiring national tests. Student achievements should be assessed in uniform manner, regardless of school, material and teaching method. The tests can also serve as a basis for a personal development dialogue between teacher-guardian(s)-student as well as a support for the teacher in grading. This website features an outline of what the student encounters in the different materials and tests.
A description of the national test system
Course tests for forms 3, 6 and 9
The primary aim with the course tests at the end of forms 3, 6 and 9 is to test the student’s general knowledge of the subject in order to determine whether the goals for each form are fulfilled. In 3rd form there are no grades, therefore the tests serve as an assessment of the student’s general knowledge at this stage in compulsory school. In connection with the introduction of the new school system, grades was introduced in form 6. The test in this form, as in the 9th form, therefore also have the purpose of helping the teacher in grading the students. The tests include oral, reading and writing exercises.
Course test for upper-secondary school
The national test in Swedish/Swedish as a second language, course 1 and course 3, is aimed to give the students in both upper-secondary school and adult education an opportunity to demonstrate their acquired language level, regardless of their educational programme. The test must therefore include a great variety of tasks.
The present test at the end of course 1 includes an oral part, a reading comprehension test and a writing exercise. The test at the end of course 3 includes an oral part and a writing exercise. New tests are constructed and offered to the schools each term; they are compulsory for upper-secondary school and for adult education.
Test construction
A group at the Department of Scandinavian languages at Uppsala University has been appointed by the Swedish National Agency for Education to construct the national tests in Swedish and Swedish as a second language. A great number of teachers from compulsory schools and upper-secondary schools throughout the country are engaged in trying out and evaluating the test materials as well as serving as reference persons. Researchers and persons with specialist knowledge are also part of the construction of the tests in various ways.
Current tests
Please contact us on the page Kontakta provgruppen if you have questions or want to know more about the National Tests in Swedish and Swedish as a Second Language.
Research and publications concerning the national tests
According to a certain system developed by the Swedish National Agency for Education the schools are asked to copy and send in accomplished tests to the research group. A relatively large material is stored and can be object for research, both by university staff and university students at different levels. Examples of the research results can be found on the page Forskning och rapporter.
Contact
The national tests in Swedish and Swedish as a second language are constructed by a group at the Department of Scandinavian Languages, Uppsala university.
Project coordinators
Stina Laursen
Phone: +46 18 471 37 29
E-mail: stina.laursen@nordiska.uu.se
Saga Bendegard
Phone: +46 18–471 21 36
E-mail: saga.bendegard@nordiska.uu.se
Kristina Eriksson
Phone: +46 18 471 52 09
E-mail: kristina.eriksson@nordiska.uu.se
Visiting address: Thunbergsvägen 3 H
Postal address: Box 527, SE-751 20 Uppsala