Assessment of student competence and progress is a regular part of school work, inseparable from learning and teaching. The main purpose of assessment is to guide students about the study and how they can achieve its goals. Assessment monitors how students are achieving the general competence standards of the National Curriculum Guide, promotes learning motivation, stimulates students to progress and assesses who needs special assistance.

Assessment should also provide students and their parents, teachers, host schools and school authorities with information about students’ academic progress, their abilities, work methods and progress, which can be used as a guide when further planning their studies.

Assessment criteria and scales should be explained in the school curriculum so that students, parents and all school staff are clear about what requirements are made and how the school intends to assess how they are being met. Those involved; students, parents, teachers and other school staff, all need to be able to understand the results of assessment in a similar way. This is a prerequisite for the information to be used to improve learning and teaching.

The goals of school work are diverse and there are many ways to achieve them, so assessment methods must be diverse. They must be consistent with the competence criteria, reflect the emphases in teaching and take into account the student group. Assessment should be reliable, impartial, honest and fair to students. This means that all aspects of the study, knowledge, skills and competences, must be assessed with reference to the competence criteria in the National Curriculum Guide.

The National Curriculum sets out assessment criteria at the end of compulsory school for individual subjects and areas of study. Criteria are also set for assessing students’ key competences. The assessment criteria are a description of how well a student has mastered a defined competence. The descriptions are linked to the grades A, B and C and are only defined for the 10th grade. The assessment scale should be used when students graduate from compulsory school.

In parallel with the provisions in section 9.2, compulsory schools are encouraged to use the above assessment scale where appropriate, as it is used as much as possible in standardised tests and screening tests in compulsory schools. The Ministry will issue further guidance on assessment criteria for grades 4 and 7 and further details on assessment in compulsory schools in accordance with the provisions of the National Curriculum Guide.

The assessment scale is defined as six grades: A, B+, B, C+, C and D. Descriptions of assessment criteria are behind the grades A, B and C. The assessment criteria for B are based on the competence criteria defined in the National Curriculum Guide for Grade 10 and are presented in such a way that it can be assumed that the majority of students will achieve that competence. Grade A is given to those who demonstrate excellent competence and grade C is given to those who do not meet the requirements set out in the B grade criteria. Grade D describes competence in learning that does not meet the criteria described in grade C and it is expected that the school will account for the student’s competence based on an individualised curriculum and plan.

The letters B+ and C+ have been added to the assessment scale since the National Curriculum Guide was published in 2011. These grades describe the competence of students who have partially achieved the criteria described in the National Curriculum Guide. No new assessment criteria have been developed, but the grade B+ is used when the student’s competence is comparable to the description corresponding to the grade B, i.e. the student has achieved all the criteria for the grade B and partially the description corresponding to the grade A. The same applies to the grade C+. Here, the student has partially achieved the criteria stipulated by the grade B but not all the criteria for the grade C.

No. 838 September 9, 2015

Criteria for assessing key competencies in compulsory school are presented in five sections that are common to all areas of study:

• The ability of students to express their thoughts, feelings and opinions orally, in writing and in other ways. The ability to communicate their knowledge and skills and to present their case clearly and audibly and to participate in discussions and debates.
• Creative thinking and initiative in the acquisition and processing of material. Students’ ability to apply knowledge and skills, draw conclusions, dare to seek new solutions, and apply critical thinking and reasoning.
• Students’ ability to work independently, in collaboration with others, and under guidance.
• Students’ ability to utilize a variety of media in knowledge search, processing and dissemination and to utilize information in a responsible, creative and critical manner.
• Students’ ability to take responsibility for their own learning and evaluate their own work methods and performance.

By defining competency standards in key competencies from the beginning of schooling, the importance of the primary school creating a platform for students to develop competencies that prepare them for participation in a democratic society is highlighted.

Key competences are those competences that concern the student himself and are widely reflected in the competences and assessment criteria of study areas. It is therefore expected that key competences will be worked on separately and in all study areas and assessed in all year groups. Since it can be difficult to assess some of its aspects, such as morality and ethical attitudes, equality, democracy, human rights and citizenship, it may be appropriate to link the assessment of key competences to the assessment of individual subjects and study areas. It must be borne in mind that some goals are of such a nature that it will not become apparent until later in life whether they have been achieved or not. It is not expected that a grade in key competences will be published on students’ certificates at the end of compulsory school.

At the end of compulsory school, a student shall receive a certificate certifying that he or she has completed compulsory school. The certificate shall record the student’s performance in all studies he or she took in the final year of compulsory school, but it is also desirable to take into account studies in grades 8-10. The certificate shall state the criteria on which the assessment is based.

Upper secondary education is divided into four levels of competence that overlap with the primary school level and the university level. The levels describe the progressive demands on students’ knowledge, skills and abilities. It is important that students begin their studies at the level of upper secondary education that best suits them. Common criteria for assessment at the end of primary school and a harmonised assessment scale should contribute to this. Students begin their studies at upper secondary education either at level 1 or 2, as further detailed in the National Curriculum Guide for Upper Secondary Education and the school curriculum guide for the relevant school.

The A-D assessment scale is defined as a student who receives a B, B+ or A has achieved the proficiency standards in grade 10. It can therefore be assumed that students who achieve these standards have the ability to begin studies in Icelandic, English and mathematics in upper secondary school at a different proficiency level. The assessment of which level is most suitable for each individual is in the hands of the relevant upper secondary school in consultation with students and parents and is elaborated in more detail in the general section of the National Curriculum Guide for Upper Secondary Schools.

It is always an individual assessment. The primary school is responsible for ensuring that there is a valid and reliable assessment at the end of primary school and for providing students, parents and secondary schools with the best possible guidance on studying in secondary school.

Teachers need to help students make realistic self-assessments, explain to them the goals of their studies and how to move towards them. Emphasis should be placed on formative assessment, which is based on students regularly reflecting on their studies with their teachers to approach their own goals in the study and decide where to go. Students need to be clear about the criteria that are used as a basis for the assessment.

The form of assessment tasks must be varied and in accordance with the teaching plan and appeal to as many assessment factors as possible. Thus, oral tasks, practical and written, visual, short limited exercises and in-depth observations, individual and group tasks, tasks completed in a limited time and without a limit, and various types of tests should be assessed. A folder or workbook, where the student collects tasks and solutions, e.g. electronically, can be well suited to obtaining an overview of how well the student has worked, application, activity, working methods, student progress and social skills.

Assessment must take into account the special needs of students and their specific learning difficulties. Schools must do what is possible to meet the needs of the students concerned in this regard. These students have the right to have assessment adapted to their needs, including through longer examination times, specially designed tests, the use of aids, assistance and oral assessment. If students have reading difficulties, it is preferable to present the tasks to them orally or in another appropriate manner in accordance with the student’s special needs.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture is responsible for standardized assessment in compulsory schools, proposes standardized assessment tests to compulsory schools for this purpose, and is responsible for implementing standardized assessment.

Uniform assessment tests in Icelandic and mathematics are administered to all students in grades 4, 7 and 10 of compulsory school. Students in grade 10 also take a uniform assessment test in English. Other tests are held according to the decision of the minister at each time. Uniform assessment tests are primarily intended to measure whether the objectives of the National Curriculum Guide have been achieved and to provide students, parents, school staff and educational authorities with information and criteria at a national level. The principal is authorized, if valid reasons recommend it and the consent of the parents is available, to grant students an exemption from taking assessment tests in individual subjects in grades 4, 7 and 10. This includes students of foreign origin who have recently arrived in the country and have limited knowledge of Icelandic, students with special needs and chronically ill students.

A summary of the overall results of standardized screening tests shall be published and distributed to primary schools, school boards at primary schools, school committees and educational authorities. Information on the results of standardized tests may be provided to others, but confidentiality shall always be maintained towards individual students.

Schools should have access to diagnostic tests and other assessment tools that facilitate the examination of specific aspects of learning and teaching, the results of which can be used to provide students with appropriate guidance and instruction. Standardized tests, such as reading tests, reading screening tests, language development tests, mathematics tests and motor development tests that predict potential learning difficulties, standardized questionnaires and other such assessment tools can prove to be very useful aids in identifying difficulties early in schooling and increasing the likelihood that they can be remedied through systematic measures.

If the results of standardized assessment tests show that a student in grade 9 has demonstrated excellent (A) or good proficiency (B) according to the proficiency requirements for grade 10 and has achieved excellent results in other subjects, parents may request from the primary school principal that their child be graduated from primary school before ten years of compulsory education have been completed.

The principal shall consult with the student’s supervisor and the municipality’s specialist services before making a decision in the matter. The principal shall assess when a student has completed compulsory school and shall be responsible for his/her graduation from compulsory school. A student shall complete all compulsory education according to the National Curriculum Guide for compulsory school with excellent results before graduating from it, in accordance with the following criteria:

• The student meets the criteria based on the competence criteria of the National Curriculum Guide with excellent results.
• The student has received academic and career counseling.
• The principal considers graduation advisable.
• The student has the social maturity to cope with the social environment of high school.

Students who have not completed compulsory school may, however, begin secondary school studies in parallel in consultation with parents, the relevant secondary school and the relevant municipality, where it is clear how the studies are formally assessed. According to the Compulsory School Act, it is expected that further agreements on implementation and arrangements will be made between the relevant compulsory and secondary schools.

If the principal decides to deny parents permission to graduate from primary school before 10 years of compulsory education have been completed, parents can appeal the refusal of primary school to the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, which will rule on the matter.