OECD Reviews of Evaluation and Assessment in Education SWEDEN Deborah Nusche, Gábor Halász, Janet Looney, Paulo Santiago and Claire Shewbridge ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT The OECD is a unique forum where the governments of 34 democracies work together to address the economic, social and environmental challenges of globalisation. The OECD is also at the forefront of efforts to understand and to help governments respond to new developments and concerns, such as corporate governance, the information economy and the challenges of an ageing population. The Organisation provides a setting where governments can compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice and work to co-ordinate domestic and international policies. The OECD member countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Commission of the European Communities takes part in the work of the OECD. This work is published on the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and the arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Organisation or of the governments of its member countries. © OECD 2011 No translation of this document may be made without written permission. Applications should be sent to [email protected]. TABLE OF CONTENTS – 3 Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................ 5 Assessment and Conclusions .................................................................................................................. 7 List of Acronyms ................................................................................................................................... 15 Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 17 1.1 Purpose of the OECD Review .......................................................................................................... 18 1.2 The participation of Sweden ............................................................................................................. 18 1.3 Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................................... 19 1.4 Structure of the Country Note........................................................................................................... 20 Chapter 2: The Context of Evaluation and Assessment in Sweden ................................................. 21 2.1 National context ................................................................................................................................ 22 2.2 Main features of the school system .................................................................................................. 23 2.3 Main trends and concerns ................................................................................................................. 25 2.4 Main developments ........................................................................................................................... 28 Chapter 3: The Evaluation and Assessment Framework ................................................................. 31 3.1 Context and features ......................................................................................................................... 32 3.2 Strengths and challenges .................................................................................................................. 33 3.3 Pointers for future policy development ............................................................................................ 41 Chapter 4: Student Assessment ........................................................................................................... 45 4.1 Context and features ......................................................................................................................... 46 4.2 Strengths and challenges .................................................................................................................. 48 4.3 Pointers for future policy development ............................................................................................ 54 Chapter 5: Teacher Appraisal ............................................................................................................. 59 5.1 Context and features ......................................................................................................................... 60 5.2 Strengths and challenges .................................................................................................................. 66 5.3 Pointers for future policy development ............................................................................................ 70 Chapter 6: School Evaluation .............................................................................................................. 77 6.1 Context and features ......................................................................................................................... 78 6.2 Strengths and challenges .................................................................................................................. 80 6.3 Pointers for future policy development ............................................................................................ 91 OECD REVIEWS OF EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT IN EDUCATION: SWEDEN - © OECD 2011 4 – TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 7: System Evaluation ............................................................................................................. 95 7.1 Context and features ......................................................................................................................... 96 7.2 Strengths and challenges .................................................................................................................. 98 7.3 Pointers for future policy development .......................................................................................... 105 References ........................................................................................................................................... 111 Annex 1: Visit Itinerary ..................................................................................................................... 119 Annex 2: Composition of the Review Team ..................................................................................... 121 Annex 3: The Thematic Structure of a School Inspection Report in Sweden ............................... 123 Annex 4: NAE Reporting on Municipalities .................................................................................... 125 Annex 5: Comparative Indicators on Evaluation and Assessment ................................................ 127 Tables Table 1. The presentation of the performance of a Swedish basic school in an inspection report ......... 81 Table 2. Population and sample size in PISA 2006 .............................................................................. 107 Figures Figure 1. Presentation of the value added by a randomly selected school (SALSA database) .............. 82 Boxes Box 1. The development of goals for the Swedish education system, 2010 .......................................... 35 Box 2. Moderated student assessments in Queensland, Australia .......................................................... 55 Box 3. The teaching profession in Sweden – training, recruitment and responsibilities ........................ 64 Box 4. Danielson’s Framework for Teaching ........................................................................................ 72 Box 5. Examples of tools for school self-evaluation .............................................................................. 85 Box 6. Proportional and risk-based inspection in the Netherlands ........................................................ 92 Box 7. Key features of the NAE annual reporting on the Swedish education system ......................... 101 Box 8. Sample surveys in the Netherlands and New Zealand .............................................................. 108 OECD REVIEWS OF EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT IN EDUCATION: SWEDEN - © OECD 2011 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY – 5 Executive Summary In Sweden’s highly decentralised education system, evaluation and assessment are crucial to ensure that professionals get the information and feedback they need to improve the quality of their work. Evaluation and assessment are also key tools for the central Government to monitor whether national goals for quality and equity in education are being achieved. The Swedish approach combines national standard-setting and central test development with a high degree of trust in school professionals to carry out evaluation and assessment. While key elements of evaluation and assessment are well established at student, teacher, school and system levels, challenges remain in aligning the different elements to ensure consistency and complementarity. • Increasing the reliability of national assessments and building teacher capacity. As