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Reviews of Evaluation and Assessment in Education

Deborah Nusche, Gbor Halsz, Janet Looney,

Paulo Santiago and Claire Shewbridge

2.2 Main features of the school system

StructureThe Swedish school system is organised in three levels:

Pre-primary education (typical ages 1-6). Pedagogical care is offered at the

municipality level for children aged one to five whose parents work or study.

Municipalities also have the obligation to offer pre-school classes for six-year-olds.

These are usually organised within compulsory schools and are part of the public

school system. Attendance of pre-school classes is voluntary, but 95% of all

six-year-olds attend.

Compulsory education (typical ages 7-16). Children usually begin their compulsory

schooling at age seven though early admission at age six is possible at the request of

parents. Compulsory education lasts for nine years and comprises both primary and

lower secondary education (ISCED 1 and 2). Participation is mandatory and free ofcharge.

Upper secondary education (typical ages 16-19). Upper secondary education

comprises 17 national programmes lasting for three years. Students can also choose

specially designed individual programmes, which combine subjects from the various

national programmes. While upper secondary education is not compulsory, 98.5% of

compulsory school students choose to enrol in an upper secondary programme.

Participation is free of charge.

Distribution of responsibilities

Since the late 1980s, the organisation of the Swedish education system has been

highly decentralised. The central Government holds the overall responsibility for

schooling and is in charge of developing the curriculum, national objectives and

guidelines for the education system. Within this framework, the municipalities and

independent providers are responsible for implementing educational activities, organising

and operating school services, allocating resources and ensuring that the national goals

for education are met. The organisation of schooling within municipalities is further

decentralised with a large degree of autonomy delegated to school districts and individual

schools. Responsibility for budget allocation and organisation of teaching is, in most

cases, left to school districts and school leaders.

As is typical in the Swedish public administration, responsibilities at the central level

are shared between the Ministry and a range of central agencies. The Ministry of

Education and Research is supported, in the area of school education, by three agencies:the National Agency for Education (NAE) which supports and evaluates the work of

municipalities and schools, the Swedish Schools Inspectorate which ensures that

municipalities, independent providers and schools follow laws and regulations, and the

National Agency for Special Needs Education which coordinates the Governments

support for students with special educational needs. These agencies are established by

legislation and operate independently of the Government. 24 2. THE CONTEXT OF

EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT IN SWEDEN

OECD REVIEWS OF EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT IN EDUCATION: SWEDEN -

OECD 2011

Policy development

The Swedish education system has a strong tradition of institutionalised consultationbetween the different stakeholders. Political decision making is oriented towards reaching

consensus between the different participants. When changes are being introduced in the

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education system, this is generally preceded by wide consultations and submissions for

comments. The key stakeholders that are consulted in matters concerning education

policy include the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR)

which represents the views of municipalities, county councils and regions; the Swedish

Association of Independent Schools which represent the interests of independent school

providers; as well as the national teacher unions (Swedish Teachers Union and the

National Union of Teachers), the Association of School Principals and Directors ofEducation, and the different parent associations and student councils.

Financing

The 290 municipalities are responsible for funding a number of basic services

including education. School education is financed by municipal budgets which consist of

both local tax revenue and central state grants. The Government redistributes resources

from wealthier to poorer municipalities through a structural equalisation payment. The

state grants are untargeted, which means that each municipality can decide on the

allocation of resources across different sectors and activities.

The majority of schools are directly run by municipalities, but an increasing number

of grant-aided independent schools have been founded since the 1990s. Municipalities

provide funding for both municipal and independent schools according the same criteria,namely the number of pupils enrolled and pupils specific needs. Funding follows the

student, which means that if a student changes schools, the associated funding is then

provided to the students new school. Many municipalities provide schools with a lump

sum budget covering salaries, buildings, materials and equipment, which is managed by

the school leader.

Guiding principles on equity in education

A fundamental principle of the Swedish Education Act is that everyone should have

access to equivalent education, independently of gender, socio-economic factors, ethnic

background and place of residence. All education in the public school system and higher

education institutions is free of charge. Similar to other Nordic countries, Sweden has a

comprehensive, untracked school system from pre-primary education through to upper

secondary education. With some specific exceptions, schools are not allowed to select

their students by academic ability. Upper secondary schools typically provide both

vocationally-oriented programmes and academically-oriented programmes within the

same institution.

Diversity is highlighted as an asset for teaching and learning. For example, grade

repetition is not a commonly used pedagogical strategy in Sweden. If students are at risk

of not reaching the education goals, individualised extra support is provided to help them

reach the goals. Students may retake an examination if they have failed a course.

Integration and inclusion of students with special educational needs are emphasised as

guiding principles in the legislation for compulsory schools. The legislation suggests thatsupport for students with special needs should primarily be given within the mainstream

classroom (Eurydice, 2010)