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 5 th grade and 8 th grade. Introduced in its current form in 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

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.