The education authorities set out their policy and provisions on assessment in the National Curriculum Guide. The main policy on assessment has remained largely unchanged for a long time. It has been guided by the principle that assessment is part of learning and teaching and that assessment should be used to plan the continuation of learning and teaching. Emphasis has been placed on a variety of assessment methods that are appropriate to the objectives of the curriculum. Teachers are encouraged to use formal and informal assessment and to assess more than just students’ knowledge, e.g. progress and mastery. In the curriculum’s discussion of assessment, the importance of students’ self-assessment and their participation in assessment has always been emphasised.

From the National Curriculum Guide for Primary Schools

The main purpose of assessment is to guide students through their studies and how they can achieve their goals. Assessment monitors how students are achieving the general competence standards of the National Curriculum, 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.

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.

National Curriculum Guide for Compulsory Schools, general section. 2011, p. 54-55.

The National Curriculum Guide emphasizes student participation and that assessment should guide students to achieve their goals. This emphasis is consistent with research on the impact of assessment and what enhances student achievement.

The curriculum emphasizes diverse assessment methods that assess all aspects of the study, knowledge, skills and competences, taking into account the competence criteria. Assessment should be part of learning and teaching, and more than just students’ knowledge must be assessed. It is also important to look at their progress and skills.

The National Curriculum Guide also states that the student’s competence should be assessed in accordance with the curriculum’s presentation of the competence criteria set out therein for grades 4, 7 and 10.

Formative assessment is an example of a method that enhances student participation and provides guidance on what is needed to achieve the desired competency.

Supporting Materials | Guidance Assessment