Alla elever i svensk grundskola har rätt till utbildning på lika villkor och det innebär att deras prestationer bör bli bedömda på ett likvärdigt sätt oavsett sociala, ekonomiska eller geografiska förhållanden. Ett försök att uppnå likvärdiga, rättvisa och jämförbara betyg är att använda nationella prov och det överordnade syftet i föreliggande uppsats är bidra med kunskap om det nationella provet i svenska för årskurs 6 ur ett reliabilitetsperspektiv. Studien genomförs med en kombination av kvantitativ och kvalitativ metod. I den kvantitativa delen undersöks samstämmigheten i 15 svensklärares bedömningar av 30 elevtexter från ett tidigare nationellt prov i form av statistiska samstämmighetsmätningar. I den kvalitativa delen av studien analyseras tillämpningen av anvisad bedömningsmatris i sambedömningssamtal. Materialet som används i uppsatsen är skapat inom ramen för projektet Equa, som är en studie där effekten av en specifik bedömarträningsmodell, Rater Identity Development (RID), på reliabiliteten vid bedömning av elevers språkförmåga undersöks. Studiens resultat visar att nivåerna av samstämmighet i bedömargruppen är låga, vilket innebär en variation i bedömningarna med stora konsekvenser för elevernas resultat. Resultaten indikerar vidare att lärarna är skickligare på att rangordna elevtexterna på ett likvärdigt sätt än att vara helt överens om betygssättningen. Analyserna av sambedömningssamtalen visar att bedömningsmatrisen visserligen ger lärarna viss stöttning, men i stor utsträckning skapar densamma även utmaningar i bedömningsprocessen. / Every student in the Swedish school system have the right to equal education which means that their performances should be assessed on an equal basis regardless of social, economic or geographical conditions. As one way to obtain equivalent, fair and comparable grading Sweden has for some time had a system of national tests as a guide for teachers setting final overall grades and the main purpose of this essay is to provide further knowledge about the national test in Swedish for year six in a reliability perspective. The study was carried out using a combination of quantitative and qualitative method. In the quantitative part of the study the reliability of the assessment of 30 student texts from previous national tests done by 15 Swedish teachers is measured. The qualitative part consists of the analysis of the application of the designated rating scale in the recorded collaborative assessment talks. The material in the study is created within the Equa project, which is a study where the effect of a specific rater training model, Rater Identity Development (RID), on the reliability of the assessment of students language performances is studied. The results of the study show low levels of inter-rater reliability, which means that there is a variation in the ratings with large consequences for the students´ results. The findings also indicate that the teachers are more skilled in ranking the students texts in a similar way than to exactly agree on the grading. The analysis of the collaborative assessment talks indicate that although the rating scale may be of some help, it also poses many challenges in the assessment process.

The overall aim of this study is to analyse and describe reading ability from the second to sixth year of schooling in Sweden (ages 8–13). An intro­ductory study presents the pupils’ reading profiles and also the extent to which teaching in reading comprehension is given at their schools. In a second study, the results and effects of the national test in Swedish in grade three (age 9) are studied and compared with other recognised test data on the development of children’s reading. A total of 428 pupils at four schools participated in the study. Each child was tested once a year during two consecutive school years. In addition to collecting results on the national test for all the pupils in their third year, standardised tests of word decoding ability and reading comprehension were administered to all students in the study. A questionnaire dealing with teaching reading and skills development was answered by 23 teachers. The study reveals that there are stronger links between phonological tasks and reading comprehension for pupils in their first three years than for those in years 4–6. The study also shows that the national test identifies some pupils with reading difficulties but not all of them. A number of pupils who have problems with word decoding nevertheless attain the national test threshold for reading comprehension tasks in the third year. There are also pupils who cannot manage the age-adapted reading comprehension tasks but who still pass the national test in their third year. The findings reveal that teachers work with reading comprehension exercises to only a small extent in both the first three years and second three years of schooling. The study indicates the importance of using a diagnostic approach, so that early and effective measures can be adopted to prevent the emergence of reading comprehension problems.

No description available.

AbstractThe aim of this essay is to identify English out-of-school activities among students with an immigrant background to find out to what extent English out-of-school activities have an impact on the students’ results at the National Test of English.An additional aim is to find out if English out-of-school activities are a way of integration outwards or vice versa if the lack of English out-of-school activities is a sign of integration inwards. The present study is based upon a questionnaire with closed questions, which was filled in by 54 third graders enrolled in the Child and Recreation Programme. The informants are divided into two groups, one of which is a control group of native Swedish students. The study showed a tendency that students with an immigrant background who are not involved in English out-of-school activities obtain lower grades in English and that they integrate inwards by using their native language on the Internet, listening to music and watching films from their home country. Furthermore, the study showed that there is a slight difference between native Swedish students and students with an immigrant background as regards computer habits.Keywords: English out-of-school activities, integration, third language acquisition, informal learning, computer habits, National Test of English, the third culture

The aim of this study is to contribute to greater knowledge of the basis on which teachers award grades and how they view the national test. Five upper secondary school teachers of Swedish were asked in semi-structured interviews to say what significance they ascribe to the national test in general, what reasons they can see to explain why the course grade differs from the test grade, how they reasoned when they awarded a course grade that differed from the grade on the national test, and how they view a strengthened and clearer relationship between national tests and course grades in order to increase equivalence in Swedish schools. The material was then analysed with a method inspired by phenomenology. The study shows that there is no agreement in the outlook on the national test. One of the teachers does not think that the national test is more important than other tests, three think that it is more important, and one uses the national test chiefly to confirm previous results. There are three reasons why the course grade can differ from the national test grade: (1) the design of the test, (2) that the test result does not reflect the pupil’s knowledge and skills, and (3) that the teacher deliberately awards a wrong grade. The teachers was to see greater equivalence. Some think that a clearer and stronger relationship between national tests and course grades is not the right way to go, while others are in favour of the suggestion. Regardless of their opinion, however, most of the teachers wonder how it will be possible in practice to link the test grade to the course grade.

The purpose of this essay is to investigate Year 5 pupils’ evaluation of their own abilities regarding spoken English and to see if this is reflected in an individual’s communicative activity and participation in the lesson. This essay also poses the question if it is possible to increase spoken communicative activity in the lesson through a three-week programme of interactive exercises designed to emulate the criteria of the syllabus and the National Test. A class of 24 pupils participated in the study. The material was collected through a pre-study questionnaire and a post-study evaluation, class logbook writing after each activity and my own active observations as teacher. Results show that although the majority of pupils at this age believe they can cope in a communicative situation in English, this is no guarantee of their active participation in classroom speaking activities. However, communicative activity can be increased with the establishment of the dialogical classroom characterised by genuine discourse, authentic questions and subjects relevant to the age group. At this stage, differences can be witnessed in pupils’ language skills with some able to use language strategies to achieve understanding whilst others rely on translation into their mother tongue. The study concludes that controlled practice helps those pupils with lower self confidence in the subject and pair- or group work maximises participation from all parties. It is essential that the teacher draws on the pupils’ enthusiasm for the subject in order to create a successful forum for language acquisition.

Since the school subject Swedish as a second language was established in the Swedish school system in the mid-1990s, the organization of the subject has varied widely across schools, and the outcomes have been poor. This thesis investigates these problems linguistically. The main objective is to explore the school subject Swedish as a second language in relation to the language of students taking the subject. Another aim of this thesis is to illuminate the complex relation between the Swedish language and the use and conception of Swedish as a second language. A critique of the concept of ‘language’ and of language attitudes in the school context is a recurring theme in the thesis. The thesis contains four papers addressing different aspects of the school subject Swedish as a second language. Paper I examines texts and oral presentations from a group of students born in Sweden, analyzing their language from a normative, mainly grammatical, perspective. Paper II develops a model for analyzing text as activity. In Paper III, the model from paper II is applied to analyze students’ narrative texts written as responses to an assignment, focusing on texts that received failing grades. Papers I and III include comparisons with Swedish as a language and as a school subject. Paper IV, finally, analyzes views of language in policy documents. One critical result of the thesis is the identification of a need for a raised awareness about language in schools and society. In the current situation it is hard to establish a discrete boundary dividing the language of students in the subject Swedish as a second language from the language of students in the subject Swedish, but differences can be observed, which in some sense resonates well with the definition of the subject given by the policy documents. Swedish as a second language in schools can be vaguely defined as Swedish with non-Swedish or foreign markers. The vague definition of the subject and the many linguistic conditions built into the subject entail that Swedish as a second language does not seem well-suited for anyone. Employing a combination of a traditional and an alternative view of language, as proposed in this thesis, may be a fruitful way to accommodate all students.

This thesis presents the contribution to research that my doctoral education led to. My starting point was a large scale qualitative research project (here after called the VR-project) which reviewed the implementation of national tests in the third grade on the subject of mathematics. The VR-project investigated how the test affected the pupils with a special focus on pupils in need of special support. An urge to look further into issues concerning the support, the pupil in need and the test was revealed in he initial VR-project. These issues therefore constitutes the problem area of this thesis. The VR-project studied a total of 22 classrooms in two different municipalities' during 2010- 2012. The methodology used for this project was inspired by ethnography and discourse analysis. The raw data consisted of test instructions, video observations of the actual test subjects, interviews from teachers and pupils about the test, the support that was given throughout the testing as well as the observations and interviews of the pupils requiring special assistance. Activated discourses and positions of the participants were demarcated. The results revealed that a traditional testing discourse, a caring discourse and a competitive discourse are activated during the tests. The testing discourse is stable and traditional. Much of what was shown and said in classrooms, routines and rules regarding the test were repeated in all the schools and in all the classrooms. The discourse on support is affected by ambiguity, which is revealed especially when issues of pupils’ equity is put against the tests equality. This is connected to the teachers restricted agency to give support due to the teacher position as a test taker. The positions in need that are available to students are not the same in pupils, teachers and steering documents. The situation is especially troublesome for pupils that do not manage Swedish good enough to take the test and for pupils in need of special support. Some of the conclusions from this thesis is that the national test format: Disciplines not only the pupil, but also the teacher, the classroom and the school at large. Results indicate that the test: Activates a focus on achievementLeads attention away from learning Activates issues of accountability Influences pupils and teachers with stakes involved Besides evaluating knowledge, the test disciplines not only the pupil, but also the teacher, the classroom and the school at large. Discussing the national test as an arena for equity might be a way towards attaining equality in education for all pupils. / Nationella prov i matematik – vad gör testandet med eleverna?

Den här studien har haft som syfte att studera om kvalitetskraven i betygsskalan stämmer överens mellan nationellt prov i SVA1 och motsvarande kursplan svenska som andraspråk 1 (SVA1) samt på vilket sätt det nationella provet underlättar tolkningen av kunskapskraven i kursplanen för SVA1. Undersökningen begränsar sig till att omfatta enbart den muntliga delen, delprov A muntlig framställning. För att beskriva och analysera vilka kunskaper som anses vara eftersträvansvärda i muntlig framställning har en kvalitativ innehållsanalys genomförts som ger en grundmodell till den efterföljande kunskapsanalysen. Resultaten från studiens innehållsanalys visar fram en hur processen kring den muntliga framställningen utgår från den retoriska arbetsmodellen med ett gediget förberedande arbete som följs upp med anförande och avslutas med elevresponser. Resultatet från kunskapsanalysen visar hur eleverna behöver behärska en kombination av kunskapsformerna episteme, techné och fronesis för att uppfylla betygskraven på de högre nivåerna. Studiens slutsatser är att kvalitetskraven stämmer överens mellan det nationella provets bedömningsmatris och kursplanen i svenska som andraspråk 1 (SVA 1) vad gäller bedömningen av elevens språkliga kvaliteter. Dessutom går det att dra slutsatsen att de krav på anpassning till det retoriska sammanhanget också är krav som återfinns i kursplanen men beskrivs mer allmänt i ett språkutvecklande perspektiv vilket underlättar tolkningen av kunskapskraven i kursplanen. Studien visar hur eleven för att få det lägsta betyget (E) behöver kunskaper om en retorisk framställning och att eleven kan presentera ett förberett innehåll inför en publik. / This study has aimed to study whether the quality of the grading scale is consistent between national test in Swedish as a Second Language (SSL) and corresponding syllabus in the curriculum of SSL 1and the manner in which the national test facilitates the interpretation of proficiency in the curriculum of SSL 1. The investigation is limited to include only the oral part, Section A Oral presentation. To describe and analyze the skills that are considered desirable in oral presentation, a qualitative content analysis was carried out to provide a basic model for the subsequent knowledge analysis. The results from the study's content analysis shows how the students developed a gradually expected to litigate an oral preparation taken from the rhetorical work model with a solid preparatory work followed up with speech and ends with response from the pupil class. The result of analysis shows how the students need to master a combination of knowledge forms episteme, techne and phronesis to meet rating requirements at the higher levels. The conclusions drawn from the study is that the quality is consistent between the national sample assessment matrix and the curriculum in Swedish as a Second Language (SSL) regarding the assessment of students' linguistic qualities. I also find that the requirements of customization available in the subsample to the rhetorical context is also the requirements listed in the syllabus but are more commonly described in a language development perspective. Thus it is possible to say that the national test facilitates the interpretation of the knowledge requirements of the curriculum. The study shows how the student to get the lowest score (E) requires knowledge of a rhetorical presentation and the student can present a prepared content to an audiense.

The main purpose of this study is to analyze texts written by pupils during the national test in the subject Swedish for grade 9 in order to identify and illustrate how they have met the instructions for the writing task including genre. The texts have been analyzed using Palmér & Östlund-Stjärnegårdh’s (2005) model for student text analysis. This model has been supplemented by studying word and sentence length, as well as indexes for level of readability (LIX) and word variation (OVIX) in order to illustrate possible differences in a gender perspective. The results of this study are in line with previous research, as the girls’ texts are longer and more descriptive, while the boys’ texts are shorter and show a wider range of word variation. The pupils have succeeded in fulfilling the genre and have to a large extent met the task instructions, producing communicative and engaging writing. However, the results of the analysis would have further improved and developed the texts.