The aim of this study is to gain a greater understanding of how marks were distributed among pupils within the early Swedish compulsory school system in regards to gender, age and grade. The primary intention is to compare marks in Speech- and reading, one of the two marks in Swedish, between two teachers, Lindis Berglund and Julia Söderberg, employed at Trysunda elementary school in Nätra parish in-between 1921-1939. Additionally, the study also intends to map the early development of the school and its teachers since who actually marked the pupils are equally important in understanding the distribution of marks at the time. The study therefore employs both a qualitative and aquantitative approach as both are needed to contextualise the issue of the marks, the teachers utilising them and the marking system itself. The results showed a strong tendency of female students being marked higher than male students and that marks were strongly connected to grades. Pupils in the lower grades seldom reached higher marks, but as students moved up a year, they slowly progressed to the upper scales of the markingsystem. In comparison, the two teachers followed a similar marking tendency, but this was more noticeable in Söderberg’s marking as she used an extended marking system. The study concludes that the development of minor parish schools and employment was a local concern and not governed by state interests, clearly exemplified by employing local teachersand falling behind in implementing state regulations. As the development of the school was affected by Trysunda’s remote geographical location, so was the marking as the teachers practiced their occupation in a very specific context.

The purpose of this thesis has been to compare the grades regarding conduct, diligence, history and Christianity in Swedish schools in the early 20th century. The purpose has also been to investigate the differences in grades between a regular school and a school for maladjusted boys. The materials I have used are grade ledgers from the archives in Kalmar and Vadstena. I have assumed two different perspectives; Michel Foucault’s ”The normalized sanction” and Donald Broady’s ”The hidden curriculum”. These perspectives have highlighted the use of grades as punishments and rewards, and the schools expectations on the pupils. The method and approach I have been using is comparative method as an aim to compare the schools and grades. My analysis has come to the conclusion that the grades in conduct and diligence had no effect on the grades in history and Christianity. The pupils at the regular school showed signs to have lower grades compared to the pupils at the school for maladjusted boys. I could not see any change over time, however, it was more common for the pupils in sixth grade to have better grades in the subjects compared to the pupils in the lower grades.