http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8173-7474
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ABSTRACT
In arguing for alternatives to test-based accountability, researchers have suggested that teacher-assigned student grades could be used for high-stakes purposes. In this study, Sweden serves as an example of a school system in which teacher-assigned grades have a major role in performance management and accountability. We study how politicians view and legitimise the strengths of grading in an outcome-based accountability system. Based on two-part analysis, we show how grades, through complex processes of legitimation, have acquired and retained a central position in governing the overall quality of the educational system in Sweden. We argue that in the Swedish system, grades used in an administrative rather than a pedagogical way function as a quick language that effectively reduces the complexity of communication between various actors with regard to what students learn and accomplish in education. As such, grades are legitimate in terms of their communicative rationality. However, their use in communicating student learning has not been sufficient to meet the needs of government. We conclude that in order to turn grading into an instrument that can moderate some of the downsides of testing regimes, a broader view of what constitute outcomes in education needs to follow.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
2. Eurydice was originally a network, founded in 1990 by 12 EU member states, with the purpose of exchanging important information. Today, the network includes 42 countries and publishes information from EU member states, as well as Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Montenegro, Norway, Serbia, and Turkey. The Eurydice database is named after Eurydice, the wife of Orpheus, who was allowed to return from death on the condition that Orpheus did not turn around, which he did. The website slogan is ‘Better knowledge for better education policies’. The Education, Audio-visual, and Culture Executive Agency is commissioned to handle the EU funding programs for education, sports, culture, etc.
3. Called ‘Assessment in Primary/Secondary’ education, or ‘Assessment in Single Structure Education’.
4. We address here the aspects usually used in the Swedish grading debate when seeking legitimate support for changes in the grading system. There are other important differences between countries regarding teacher-assessment autonomy, information conveyed to the home, and examinations and transition. These are not, however, covered here (for more, see Lundahl et al., Citation2017).
5. Source Eurydice 2015. This is based on the grading scales students meet first through the course of schooling, as identified in Eurydice. This should not be taken as an exhaustive report of grading scales, as many countries have either not reported such information properly or, as in several instances, information was lacking. Note that the Eurydice database is updated regularly; thus, the countries’ representation may have changed substantially. See also Lundahl et al. (Citation2017).