National tests in Norway – a contested standard in education?

Elisabeth Hovdhaugen, Department of Education, University of Oslo/NIFU

Idunn Seland, NIFU, Oslo

National tests

• Tests in reading, mathematics and English for students in 5th grade and 8th grade.

• Introduced in its current form in 2007. • Two goals of the test: – To give management information to principals, school-

owners and national authorities (management tool)– To give teachers the basis for individual feed-back to the

student (pedagogic tool)• Results from tests are made public through a

national website (skoleporten.no).

Background

• An OECD report (1990) made two remarks: – Lack of information about student results in

Norwegian schools.– Perceived “anxiety for standards”.

• National tests were not intended to function as a standard in education– We propose that national tests have become a

standard, almost by default.

Research questions

• How are national tests employed to meet different needs in Norwegian primary schools and to what extent and for whom are the tests functioning as a standard in the sector?

• What are the policy implications of these findings?

DATA AND METHODS

Data

• Combination of quantitative and qualitative data:– Survey of school-owners and principals– Survey of teachers that have taught the grades taking

the tests during at least one of the last three years. – Interviews with principals and teachers• Six different case schools in three municipalities• One primary school and one lower secondary school in

each municipality was visited. • Face-to-face interviews

– Semi-structured individual interviews with principals– Mainly group interviews with teachers

Methods

• Mixed methods approach: – Combining information from the survey of

principals with interviews with principals. – Combining information from the survey of

teachers with interviews with teachers.

ANALYSES

Teachers

• View on tests is still mixed: 41 % see tests as a good tool, 30 % indifferent and 29% disagree.

• Teachers are generally negative to publication of test results. – Especially a problem in small schools/municipalities, due to random variations.

• Struggle to use tests as a pedagogic tool.

When do teachers spend time on preparing students for national tests

Teacher’s attitudes towards the test

• Challenges of using the tests as a pedagogic tool influence teachers’ perceptions: – A minority think test is a good tool– The majority see the test is a supplement to other

tools used by the school. – Small minority think the tests are not useful at all.

• Teachers who work in teams are generally more satisfied with the function of the test as a pedagogical tool.

Principals

• Focus on the dual aim of the tests, both as management tool and a pedagogic tool.

• Over time principals have grown more positive towards national tests.

• Schools should actively engage with their results, but both publication and improvement work implies comparisons.

• Comparisons may be good for managerial purposes, but less valuable in the pedagogic work.

Principals’ opinion on the tests value as a management and pedagogic tool

School-owners

• For school-owners the tests function as a standard, in the form of a managerial tool. – In some cases as national tests used in school

development projects to set aims – often that aim exceeds the national mean score.

• Not all school-owners use the tests actively, as it may prove problematic in small schools and small municipalities.

School-owners opinion on national tests as a tool for school development

Under 3000 inhabitants 3000-9999 inhabitants 10 000 inhabitants or more All, average0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

75%

91% 91%

85%

Summary of findings

• Teachers see the tests primarily as a managerial tool, which is complicated to use for pedagogical purposes.

• Principals see the tests as a good tool for school development, but this trigger the need for comparisons of results.

• Strong agreement among school-owners that tests are important for school development, and they use the tests to set aims (standard).

Conclusion: national test as a standard?

• National test function better as a management tool than as a pedagogic tool.

• Being used as a management tool it gradually slides into the position of a standard.

• The test have conflicting aims and serving as a standard as a form of “third” aim makes the situation more complicated.– Having an undeclared standard in education,

which is not agreed upon, may prove problematic.