Country information for Sweden - Assessment within inclusive education systems
The local municipalities are autonomous in terms of governance and the organisation around the provision of special educational support can therefore vary.
According to the Education Act, every school must have a learner health and well-being team supervised by the head teacher. The learner health and well-being team’s purpose is primarily to foster good health and prevent ill health. The team has a holistic mission and consists of both health professionals (doctor, nurse, psychologist) and social and education professionals (curator, special educator and special educational needs specialist). Teams handle many tasks from regular health checks for all children to working with learners, parents, school staff and, where required, social and other services to provide special educational needs support to those who need it.
Parents approve longer-term or more detailed investigations by psychologists or medical staff. This is not the case for pedagogical investigations.
Parents or guardians must be consulted and have the opportunity to influence their child’s education. Each pre-primary and school unit shall provide at least one forum for consultation with learners and guardians. Within these fora, learners and guardians must be informed of any proposed measures and be given an opportunity to comment before these are decided. The head teacher is responsible for ensuring that proper consultation takes place.
Municipal childcare, pre-primary activities, compulsory schooling, after-school centres and youth centres are often part of the same organisation, with a common school board. Often, several of these activities are integrated, with staff organising joint work together. This facilitates a holistic understanding of each learner. It is common practice to provide for the learners’ needs in close co-operation with their parents. The Education Act (Skollagen 2010:800, 13 §) states the importance of parents’ participation in planning learners’ education.
Grading system: A to F
The grading scale has six levels: A–F. For each subject and course there are knowledge requirements (standards) for grades A, C and E. Grades A–E are pass results, while F is not a passing grade. The ratings serve to express a holistic assessment of the extent to which a learner has attained the knowledge criteria for each subject and course. If the learner has been absent frequently and a grade cannot be awarded as it is impossible to assess their knowledge, then the symbol (-) is inserted in the grade records. However, grades F and (-) should not be used in compulsory or upper-secondary schools for learners with intellectual disabilities.
Teachers can use an official exception when awarding marks to learners with disabilities to give them an equitable chance of achieving passing grades. This applies to learners whose disability is not temporary and represents an obstacle to achieving a few specific component parts of the marking criteria. It is not intended to be used for overall failing grade learners to achieve a pass.
In years 3, 5 and 9, learners undertake national compulsory testing in maths, English, Swedish and Swedish as a second language. Additional tests are given in years 6 and 9 in one subject from biology, physics and chemistry, and one from geography, history, religion and social studies. These tests are the basis for individual evaluations, school plans and national comparisons.
Grades are awarded in years 6, 7 and 8 in compulsory school. In the eighth year, a term grade is awarded at the end of the autumn and spring terms. In the ninth year, a term grade is awarded at the end of the autumn term and a final grade at the end of the spring term. The final grade is used for applications to upper-secondary school. For more information about the grading scale, refer to the National Agency for Education website.
Last updated 12/03/2023