En välutvecklad läsförståelse är bland annat betydelsefull för skolframgång. Mot bakgrund av att andelen utrikesfödda har ökat i Sverige, har den svenska befolkningen numera varierande språkkunskaper och utbildningsbakgrunder. Syftet med denna kvantitativa undersökning är att undersöka läsförmåga över tid såsom det återspeglas i högskoleprovets LÄS-prov, med huvudfokus på personer med utländsk utbildning. Resultatet i undersökningen visar på ett fallande resultat på högskoleprovets LÄS-prov hos de två yngsta åldersgrupperna och ett ökat resultat hos de två äldsta, oavsett vilken utbildningsbakgrund dessa har. Vidare framgår att provdeltagare med utländsk utbildning generellt har lägre poängmedelvärde jämfört med deltagare med svensk utbildning. Dessutom blir avstånden större mellan dessa utbildningstyper ju äldre deltagarna blir. När olika typer av utländska utbildningar jämförs sinsemellan har deltagare med utländsk högskoleutbildning nästintill genomgående det högsta poängmedelvärdet, medan deltagare med utländsk utbildning under gymnasienivå oftast har det lägsta. Sammantaget ger resultateten av studien visst stöd för interdependenshypotesen, som utgår från att individers läs- och skrivförmågor är gemensamma för alla språk.

En god ordförståelse är att betrakta som en förutsättning för att en individ ska kunna verka i samhället och ta del av det offentliga samtalet. Trots detta visar tidigare forskning att ordförståelsen generellt blir allt sämre. Föreliggande studie undersöker gymnasieelevers ordförståelse i årskurs 1 och 3. Totalt deltar 259 elever i ett ordtest som prövar deras receptiva och produktiva ordförståelse. Ordtestet består dels av idiomatiska uttryck, dels av ord från högskoleprovet. Eleverna ska också skriva egna meningar med fem av orden. Resultatet visar att eleverna har relativt god receptiv förståelse av idiomatiska uttryck, mindre god receptiv förståelse för ord från högskoleprovet och mindre bra produktiv förståelse när de ska skriva egna meningar med de aktuella orden. Generellt kan också sägas att eleverna i årskurs 3 presterar bättre än eleverna i årskurs 1 samt att det finns marginella skillnader mellan flickor och pojkar. Därmed är det möjligt att anta att svenskundervisningen borde fokusera mer på ordförståelse för att forma självständiga elever med förmågor att ta del av samhällets ständiga informationsflöde.

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.

Inom forskningsområdet för serious games (SG) råder en oklar uppfattning om narrativets roll i lärande-spel, samtidigt som SG som koncept har visat sig ha positiv effekt i flera studier. Mot bakgrund av detta undersöker den här studien hur unga vuxna uppfattar den berättelsedrivna speldesignen i ett ordförståelse-spel som självskattad motiverande faktor för att spela vidare. En artefakt, inspirerad av högskoleprovets ORD-del, och enkätfrågor användes för att samla in data från 26 respondenter. Kombinationen av ordförståelse och narrativ kontext visade sig vara ett uppskattat koncept av majoriteten trots ett varierat resultat angående motiverande faktorer för att spela vidare; spelet uppfattades som ett alternativ för att öva ordförståelse. Resultatet utmynnade i ett antal speldesign-principer för spelarens motivation att spela vidare, lämpliga att ha i åtanke vid utvecklingen av liknande lärande-spel. På längre sikt skulle studien kunna fokusera på huruvida spelkonceptet har potential för inlärning och studera eventuella kopplingar mellan detta och motivation. / While serious games (SG) as a concept has been proven effective in several studies, there is a residing unclear perception regarding the role of narrative in games for learning. This study examines how young adults perceive the narrative-driven game design in a word comprehension game as a self-evaluated motivational factor to continue playing. An artifact, inspired by Högskoleprovet, and a survey were used to collect data from 26 respondents. The combination of word comprehension and narrative context proved to be an appreciated concept that the majority, despite varied results regarding motivational factors to continue playing, perceived as an alternative learning method. Game design principles in regards to motivation to continue playing were formed which would be useful to have in mind when developing similar games for learning. Long-term, this study could focus on whether the game concept has the potential for learning and to study possible connections between this and motivations.

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.