College admission tests are of great importance for admissions systems in general and for candidates in particular. The SweSAT (Högskoleprovet in Swedish) has been used for college admission in Sweden for more than 30 years, and today it is alongside with the upper-secondary school GPA the most widely used instrument for selection of college applicants. Because of the importance that is placed on the SweSAT, it is essential that the scores are reliable and that the interpretations and uses of the scores are valid. The main purpose of this thesis was therefore to examine some assumptions that are of importance for the validity of the interpretation and use of SweSAT scores. The argument-based approach to validation was used as the framework for the evaluation of these assumptions.The thesis consists of four papers and an extensive introduction with summaries of the papers. The first three papers examine assumptions that are relevant for the use of SweSAT scores for admission decisions, while the fourth paper examines an assumption that is relevant for the use of SweSAT scores for providing diagnostic information. The first paper is a review of predictive validity studies that have been performed on the SweSAT. The general conclusion from the review is that the predictive validity of SweSAT scores varies greatly among study programs, and that there are many problematic issues related to the methodology of the predictive validity studies. The second paper focuses on an assumption underlying the current SweSAT equating design, namely that the groups taking different forms of the test have equal abilities. The results show that this assumption is highly problematic, and consequently a more appropriate equating design should be applied when equating SweSAT scores. The third paper examines the effect of textual item revisions on item statistics and preequating outcomes, using data from the SweSAT data sufficiency subtest. The results show that most kinds of revisions have a significant effect on both p-values and point-biserial correlations, and as a consequence the preequating outcomes are affected negatively. The fourth paper examines whether there is added value in reporting subtest scores rather than just the total score to the test-takers. Using a method derived from classical test theory, the results show that all observed subscores are better predictors of the true subscores than is the observed total score, with the exception of the Swedish reading comprehension subtest. That is, the subscores contain information that the test-takers can use for remedial studies and hence there is added value in reporting the subscores. The general conclusion from the thesis as a whole is that the interpretations and use of SweSAT scores are based on several questionable assumptions, but also that the interpretations and uses are supported by a great deal of validity evidence.

Friskolereformen 1992 innebar att den svenska skolan konkurrensutsattes. Expansionen av friskolor var snabb och idag går mer än 25 procent av alla gymnasieelever i en friskola. Denna studie avser att studera kunskapsutfallet av friskolereformen i den svenska gymnasieskolan. Studien baserar sig på en jämförelse mellan 19 län och studerar de förändringar som skett under åren 2004 till 2011 när andelen elever i friskola har förändrats. Som utfallsvariabler studeras gymnasiets slutbetyg, högskoleprovsresultatet samt övergången till högskola. Studien använder sig av multipel regression med länsfixa och årsfixa effekter. Resultaten visar att slutbetyget inte påverkas av andelen elever i friskola, däremot påverkas resultatet på högskoleprovet marginellt negativt. Studien finner dock samtidigt att andelen elever i friskola påverka övergången till högskolan marginellt positivt. / The number of independent schools in Sweden expanded rapidly as a result of the 1992 voucher reform. The effects were most noticeable in the upper secondary school with more than 25 percent of all Swedish students currently attending a private school. The aim of this paper is to examine the effects on upper secondary students' study-results as a result of the voucher reform. The paper compares study-results for 19 counties covering the years 2004-2011. The measured outcome variables used are grade point average, SweSAT-scores and transitions to higher education. The tool of analysis used is a multiple regression with county- and year fixed effects. The results from this paper show that grade point average is not affected by the number of students attending private schools, the SweSAT-scores drop marginally with a higher number of students in private schools. Finally the results display a weak positive link between the number of students attending private schools and transitions to higher education.

This dissertation is focussing on students’ experiences of assessments, which means that the assessments are related to studying. The assessments particularly investigated are the main types of assessments used in the application and selection for higher education in Sweden – the grading in schools on secondary level, and the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test (SweSAT). The literature review is an analysis of previous knowledge, resulting in a model of orientations to studying. The empirical investigation consists of interviews with 100 students in upper secondary school, municipal adult education and folk high schools. The interviews are analysed with a phenomenographic approach, and the analysis results in categories describing ways of experiencing what it means to study, ways of experiencing the grades, and the SweSAT. In addition to this, the analysis gives a description of relations between components within categories, relations between categories, and relations between phenomena. The main patterns in the students’ experiences of the assessments are the following: The different categories, describing the experiences of the assessments per se, are focussing on assessment of performance, assessment of personal qualities (including developed knowledge), or uncertainty in relation to the assessment. There are four main aspects of the students’ experiences of the value of assessments, i.e., the relation to future plans, the relation to the student’s personal context, the possibility to influence your result, and the relation to other assessments used in the selection. The final result of the empirical investigation is a reconstructed model of five orientations to studying, where the empirical results are integrated with previous knowledge. The five categories are the knowledge orientation, the duty orientation, the participation orientation, the qualification orientation, and the resistance orientation. These orientations are also described as adaptive and/or non-adaptive in relation to the demands of the education. A further analysis in relation to three social science perspectives shows how assessments can contribute to the colonization of the educational lifeworld, how assessments can be seen as instruments of discipline, and how assessments can be seen as disembedding mechanisms.

Validity is a crucial part of all forms of measurement, and especially in instruments that are high-stakes to the test takers. The aim of this thesis was to examine theory and validity evidence for a recently revised large-scale instrument used for selection to higher education in Sweden, the Swedish Scholastic Assessment Test (SweSAT), as well as identify threats to its validity. Previous versions of the SweSAT have been intensely studied but when it was revised in 2011, further research was needed to strengthen the validity arguments for the test. The validity approach suggested in the most recent version of the Standards for education and psychological testing, in which the theoretical basis and five sources of validity evidence are the key aspects of validity, was adopted in this thesis. The four studies that are presented in this thesis focus on different aspects of the SweSAT, including theory, score reporting, item functioning and linking of test forms. These studies examine validity evidence from four of the five sources of validity: evidence based on test content, response processes, internal structure and consequences of testing. The results from the thesis as a whole show that there is validity evidence that supports some of the validity arguments for the intended interpretations and uses of SweSAT scores, and that there are potential threats to validity that require further attention. Empirical evidence supports the two-dimensional structure of the construct scholastic proficiency, but the construct requires a more thorough definition in order to better examine validity evidence based on content and consequences for test takers. Section scores provide more information about test takers' strengths and weaknesses than what is already provided by the total score and can therefore be reported, but subtest scores do not provide additional information and should not be reported. All four quantitative subtests, as well as the Swedish reading comprehension subtest, are essentially free of differential item functioning (DIF) but there is moderate DIF that could be bias in two of the four verbal subtests. Finally, the equating procedure, although it appears to be appropriate, needs to be examined further in order to determine whether it is the best practice available or not for the SweSAT. Some of the results in this thesis are specific to the SweSAT because only SweSAT data was used but the design of the studies and the methods that were applied serve as practical examples of validating a test and are therefore likely useful to different populations of people involved in test development, test use and psychometric research. Suggestions for further research include: (1) a study to create a more clear and elaborate definition of the construct, scholastic proficiency; (2) a large and empirically focused study of subscore value in the SweSAT using repeat test takers and applying Haberman’s method along with recently proposed effect size measures; (3) a cross-validation DIF-study using more recently administered test forms; (4) a study that examines the causes for the recurring score differences between women and men on the SweSAT; and (5) a study that re-examines the best practice for equating the current version of the SweSAT, using simulated data in addition to empirical data.