The National Audit Office's report on the state's efforts for equitable grading

Fredrik Malm (L)

Mr. Speaker! We now have to debate the Education Committee's report concerning an audit report from the National Audit Office. The National Audit Office is an agency that is under the Riksdag, and its reports are first sent to the government. Then the National Audit Office often has a number of recommendations, and the government then has 90 days, if I remember correctly, to respond to this. The government does so in a communication, which then comes to the Riksdag and is handled by the relevant committee. When it concerns the school, it is reasonably and appropriately the Education Committee.

What the Swedish National Audit Office has now looked at is whether the measures that the government and the Riksdag have taken to try to counteract grade inflation have been effective and yielded results. Particular attention has been paid to the difference between the results on the national tests and the grades that the students have subsequently received.

The simple answer is that the Swedish National Audit Office finds that the measures that have been implemented have not yielded results. We see it clearly, to take a concrete example, in that 40 percent of the students in grade 9 receive higher grades in mathematics than what the results of the national tests indicate.

I can quote from page 6 of our report, Mr. Speaker, under "Riksrevisionens slutsatser", so that we get some context:

The Riksrevision's overall conclusion is that the introduction of the provision in the Education Act regarding the special consideration of results on the national tests during grading, and the Skolinspektionen's supervision and quality review, have so far had little impact on the equivalence in grading. There are still large discrepancies between grades and results on national tests. Furthermore, according to the Riksrevision, central correction and digitalization of the national tests will not remedy the problems. These measures affect the assessment of the students' solutions, not how the grades are set in relation to the results on national tests. The Riksrevision's assessment is that the legislation is too vague to achieve an equivalent assessment. The Riksrevision therefore assesses that the government needs to implement further measures to increase equivalence.

This report is very important. Both we in the Riksdag and the government naturally have a very great responsibility in this.

The Government agrees with the criticism, and so does the Education Committee. Just as the Minister for Education clarified during the question period here in the chamber an hour ago, Mr. Speaker, directives shall be ready within a few weeks for an investigation that corresponds to the recommendation put forward by the Swedish Schools Inspectorate. The National Audit Office also considers that the Swedish Schools Inspectorate needs to improve the follow-up of grading in the quality work, and that is something that both the Government and the Swedish Schools Inspectorate, and also the Education Committee here in the Riksdag, agree on. In that part, there is therefore a very broad consensus.

Why is this so important then? Yes, it is because in Sweden, grades are used both for admission to upper secondary school and for admission to higher education. If we cannot trust the grades, if certain schools systematically give higher grades, then the entire free competition, if one puts it that way, is undermined when it comes to being able to apply for education and so on.

A lot of people are now graduating. We have seen graduation floats driving around every day for the past few weeks. The graduates are overjoyed to be finished with high school. One or another might even empty their parents' liquor cabinets to celebrate a little extra. But then one must know that some of these graduates might not get into their dream education because other students go ahead because they attended schools where they were given grades that were too high. It is completely unreasonable.

And because we in Sweden have chosen to give grades such a large role for intake and admission, it becomes extra important that one can rely on the grades. Is it the case that grade inflation creates these problems? If we have these problems, they are in themselves driving grade inflation, I would say, which also further exacerbates the problems. In the long run, it threatens the legitimacy of the entire grading system we have.

I mean, Mr. Speaker, that there are obviously also other ways to have admissions. One can have entrance exams, interviews, and much more. The advantage with grades is that they, if they function as intended, should be able to measure sacrifices, commitment, and results over a longer period. That which occurs at a single occasion tends perhaps to favor a certain type of youth, and therefore the grades still fulfill a very important role.

I look forward, Mr. Speaker, to the government now promptly producing the directives that have been promised, that the investigation will begin and that we can really take decisive action to straighten out the system so that it functions significantly better in the future.

With this, I move for approval of the committee's proposal.

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Linus Sköld (S)

Mr. Speaker! We are debating a report from the National Audit Office. As part of the response to it, the government states that an investigation shall be appointed, as Fredrik Malm very rightly said in his speech.

From the Social Democrats' side, we think that one could take a broader approach than just having the single-track entry that the government has chosen. Their entry is about anchoring the grades in the results of national tests. It is, so to speak, the only method that is to be investigated.

The grading system that Fredrik Malm's party comrades are responsible for and have constructed leads to the elimination of students. It leads to pressure and stress and poor mental well-being. It is well-researched - this assessment practice leads to that, in particular, low-performing students' opportunities and well-being become worse.

About a year ago, Fredrik Malm was confronted with that fact by a researcher in SVT's Agenda. He handled it by referring to his own children's experiences of receiving grades in school.

I think that when one chooses to reject our motion to look at how the system can be reformed so that the weeding out ceases and so that students' mental well-being improves - it is about how the assessment works - one does roughly what Fredrik Malm does and does not want to investigate even the most obvious flaws in this system.

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Fredrik Malm (L)

Mr. Speaker! I would say this in response: The Social Democrats are partly talking about something else. What the National Audit Office has looked at in this report are discrepancies between grades and national tests. As I understand Linus Sköld's reply, Mr. Speaker, he is actually calling for a much larger change of the entire Swedish grading system. We can of course do that. In such a case, it is not the first time we do it, I can point out.

When I was in secondary school, we had grades 1-5. It was a relative grading system, and you couldn't fail. When I started high school, they had changed it. Then you could get IG, G, VG, or MVG. Then you could fail. After that, the grades were changed again to the grading system we have now with A, B, C, D, E, and F, where you can also fail. This past year, the Riksdag decided that we should change the system in high school. It was to be switched to subject grades instead of course grades. It is therefore the same system in high school as one actually has in primary school.

It therefore depends on what one wants to do. Do the Social Democrats actually want to remove the fact that one can be failed if one has not reached the goals? It is not our view that one should do that. It is neither my view, my party's view, nor the government basis's view. On the other hand, I think that one can very well continuously discuss other aspects of the grading system to make it function better. But this investigation will specifically look at the question of the national tests and the grading.

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Linus Sköld (S)

Mr. Speaker! As Fredrik Malm very rightly points out, we have just made a major grading reform, primarily regarding upper secondary school. But it also concerns the small change in how the grades are to be set – a collective assessment of the student's knowledge and a grade that best corresponds to them as a whole. Both that and the subject grade reform aimed to reduce the stress and pressure on the students and to give the teachers greater autonomy in the grading.

Now the government is choosing another direction, which will increase the pressure on the students. The national tests are high stake already as they are, and they will become even more high stake if they are to determine which grade is possible for a student to receive. It is like a movement in the diametrically opposite direction, I would say, that the government has locked itself into as the only way to solve the grade-fiddling.

As Fredrik Malm points out, the first thing the government did was to scrap the investigation that is ongoing to look at the path from primary school to the labor market. When it comes to the part concerning the weeding out in the transition between primary school and upper secondary school and the part concerning the grade step failed, they do not even want the investigator's analysis of the pros and cons. It is to be removed.

The government wants to preserve the status quo in this system in every way. A system has been constructed that leads to poor well-being, and they want to keep it that way.

When one is going to conduct a grading review anyway, it might have been appropriate to conduct the continuous review and have the continuous reflection: How does the system work? How does it become good for the students who are in it?

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Fredrik Malm (L)

Mr. Speaker! Now I am a bit surprised. Now I almost interpret it as that the Social Democrats do not want national tests in Swedish schools. I have not previously understood that it has been the party's view.

What the Swedish National Audit Office has looked at in its report are measures that this government has not taken. They are measures that the previous government and the National Agency for Education have taken. It is the Social Democrats' own reform of measures that the Swedish National Audit Office has had to look at, and they have concluded that those measures are insufficient to achieve what is intended.

Mr. Speaker! I believe we are also talking about somewhat different things here. We have a grading system in Sweden that is based on tens of thousands of teachers of different ages in Swedish schools setting grades based on criteria. Those criteria are knowledge-related. This means that it can state in a grading criterion that for a student to reach, for example, level C or level A, they must be able to analyze at a certain advanced level. It is clear that it is a matter of judgment from teacher to teacher how the student achieves this. Some teachers may judge it in one way, some teachers in another way.

If we want equality in the grading system, we will need national assessments that mean we will have greater opportunities to compare. Linus Sköld calls that stress, Mr. Speaker. I call it rather a kind of quality assurance in terms of the grades becoming representative to a significantly greater extent.

Then there is a lot of other things to discuss regarding stress in school. The question is what is the chicken and what is the egg. It can be that a student who is not doing particularly well receives worse grades because of it. It can also be that a student who does not reach the expectations or goals that one has feels bad because of it. I am not sure that it is always the case that the stress follows exactly what Linus Sköld means.

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Niels Paarup-Petersen (C)

Mr. Speaker! I fully agree with Fredrik Malm that the grading system and the framework that exists in it creates an unreasonable and unfair situation. I am very pleased that it is beginning to approach a consensus regarding this.

I thought Fredrik Malm explained this excellently. It is people who are being snubbed out of their positions. They have earned their positions, have acquired knowledge, and have tried to work as hard as they can. Then they are snubbed out of their positions by others who have attended other schools where they receive higher grades. It is not a reasonable situation.

Another problem with today's grading situation is that it is not legally secure. One cannot know the background to the grading with certainty. The grades are not equivalent. They are not reasonable. Then the question is: What should we do? The National Audit Office has created a good basis.

The Minister, who belongs to the same party as Fredrik Malm, has been out and said that there should be a stronger anchoring in national tests. Then it is a question one must ask based on that interview, which I believe was in Dagens Nyheter. There are practical subjects in the school system where there are no national tests. There is a huge amount of grade inflation there. There, the school minister raised the possibility that it could be linked to the results of the theoretical subjects' national tests, and she has also done so in the committee.

I would very much like to have an answer from Fredrik Malm: Does he consider it reasonable to link the practical results to national tests in theoretical subjects?

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Fredrik Malm (L)

Mr. Speaker! Fundamentally, one should receive a grade in mathematics based on what one knows in mathematics and a grade in music based on what one knows in music. I think that is a reasonable starting point.

There are a number of subjects that do not have national tests in Swedish school, and furthermore, one has different national tests at different ages. There has long been a discussion about how one should approach, for example, aesthetic subjects in school. I have seen proposals that one should not have grades at all in certain subjects and that one should instead have, for example, participated/not participated. I think that is fundamentally wrong. I think that students who perhaps do not get such high grades in the theoretical subjects but are very good in the practical subjects should receive a receipt of that when they have finished school.

There are also some examples of schools where very high grades are given in precisely those subjects that do not have national tests. One can guess that perhaps not everyone in a class has an A in art. Even though they have received an A, they might not have reached that level, and that is a problem.

The rector of Handelshögskolan wrote an article about how they do not trust the grades that the students have received - he also mentioned a number of schools specifically - and that they therefore want to move in a direction with entrance exams and other things. Handelshögskolan can do that if they want to. I think that it could have a certain restraining effect and could be a tool in the work against grade inflation.

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Niels Paarup-Petersen (C)

Mr. Speaker! I appreciate that Fredrik Malm also considers that those who are good at the practical but not at the theoretical must also receive a receipt for this. It is fundamentally a very reasonable and fair view. School is very closely linked to the theoretical, and the children who actually do not have very good theoretical abilities but fantastic practical abilities have nowhere else to show it than in these subjects.

If we proceed, the only thing the investigation may look at regarding grade inflation linked to national tests is that. The investigation may not look at economic incentives, nor at the possibility of sanction fees or rewarding schools that take responsibility for hiring qualified teachers. This must not be looked at, even if it might perhaps be something.

Either national tests in theoretical subjects shall determine the grades in the practical subjects. That is one possibility, otherwise grade inflation will remain where it is, and that is where it is currently greatest. Or should the practical skills not be counted at all?

What are we to do? I received no answer to that question. One cannot link all grades to national tests and at the same time say that the practical subjects should count. It is not possible, because then it is the theoretical subjects that will take over. But otherwise, one will not be able to stop the grade inflation in the practical subjects.

How does the government think here? We have not been able to get a clear answer from the minister. I would very much like to have a clear answer on how the government actually intends to proceed in these matters, because it is difficult.

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Fredrik Malm (L)

Mr. Speaker! It seems logical that it is difficult to link the grades to national tests in the subjects that do not have national tests.

There are other tools in the educational policy toolbox. One such tool is the School Inspectorate and their inspections of schools, for example. If we speak specifically about the independent schools, I think the independent school sector has to take responsibility for its sector, if I put it that way. They need to get better, I would say.

This week there was a review of some independent schools, and then I saw a very clear press release from the chairman of the National Association of Independent Schools. It is positive that the independent schools, which nevertheless have common bodies, for example the National Association of Independent Schools, also discuss issues that may have some connection there, even though I am completely convinced that there are problems with grade inflation even within municipal schools, Mr. Speaker.

In conclusion, it is what Niels Paarup-Petersen raises about economic incentives, sanctions, and other such things that can be covered by other investigations, not least the free school investigation which will begin its work shortly and surely also other investigations. There is often a tendency in politics that when the government wants to investigate something, the opposition always, regardless of which parties are in opposition at that time, demands that a mass of other issues be poured into that investigation. It is, however, always a trade-off: How quickly do you want to be able to get the investigation's report, and how quickly can you produce legislation? We must also reach a conclusion, so sometimes it is justified that the investigations are not super broad.

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Daniel Riazat (V)

Mr. Speaker! In some matters, it is very easy for the government parties to appoint somewhat broader investigations, for example when it concerns repressive proposals, higher penalties, reporting systems and the like. But just when it concerns matters regarding the school, it seems to be the case that one must be careful and take it easy, so therefore it simply is not possible to add certain reasonable assignments to the existing investigation assignments.

Mr. Speaker! There is not just one reason why we have grade inflation and fake grades within the Swedish school system. We know that the answers are many. But we also know that there is one issue that researchers and various types of reports have mentioned time and again, including the National Audit Office's report, and that is that independent schools are more generous with awarding grades than the municipal schools are.

It does not mean that municipal schools do not have any problems with fake grades, but one can see that the problems have primarily emerged after the number of independent schools (friskolor) has increased explosively in the Swedish school system. Studieförbundet Näringsliv och Samhälle says in a report that I believe was released at the end of last year that this is a huge problem and that it is seen that primarily school corporations have systematized having grades that are too high compared to the students' actual knowledge.

The government mentions nothing about this, and I would like to know what the Liberals and Fredrik Malm want to do. What will the government do to stop the enormous problem with cheated grades and false grades that the school corporations have contributed to?

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Fredrik Malm (L)

Mr. Speaker! It was no surprise that I would receive that question from Daniel Riazat, and it is an important question. I want to point that out, Mr. Speaker. For the legitimacy of the Swedish grading system, for Swedish schools in general and also for the independent schools, regardless of whether they are run by limited companies or are purpose-driven in the form of foundations or so, it is very important that the grading system is equivalent, transparent and fair. We must not have cheated grades, grade inflation and so on.

Many of the issues concerning the friskolor will be addressed in the friskole investigation, which will receive its directives during the spring. If one wants to know what that investigation is to contain, one goes on Google and types "Tidöavtalet". One can both write it as separate words and write it together, even with a hyphen. In the school section of Tidöavtalet, it is listed, and it is the largest reform of the friskole system since it was introduced in 1992 in Swedish schools. It is certainly the case that some of the changes should have been made earlier, but now they will be implemented.

But it is also important that we discuss what the report is about. The National Audit Office has not audited the grades based on the principal, whether the school is municipal or independent, but they have specifically looked at whether a change in the Education Act regarding the national tests being more parallel to the grades has led to the effect that the legislator intended.

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Daniel Riazat (V)

Mr. Speaker! I do not quite feel that Fredrik Malm gave an answer here. He just said that we should Google. It is not possible to say much more than that people listening to the debate should go home and Google what is written in the Tidö Agreement. There are very many points in the Tidö Agreement, but there is absolutely not one point about the problems with school corporations being rectified and that the problems with the fake grades that the school corporations issue should be rectified.

Fredrik Malm has said that the independent school inquiry to be appointed shall address the issue. It is not the first time the issue is being investigated, but it has been investigated time and again.

Skolverket has shown that students attending independent schools fare worse in higher education than students who have attended municipal schools. SNS, the business community's own study organization, has stated that independent schools award higher grades. The teachers' unions have presented reports showing that grade inflation is largely due to the group schools awarding false grades. There are a number of research studies from Stockholm University, the University of Gothenburg, and other universities stating that the market school is one of the biggest reasons why there are false grades. Does it mean that the investigation concerning the market school, which it is claimed that Tidögänget has concluded, will involve putting a stop to the market school? For example, it is systemic to employ unqualified teachers, which is another reason why some schools award more false grades than others. Will the Liberals act so that a stop is put to the biggest cause of grade inflation, namely the market school?

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Fredrik Malm (L)

Mr. Speaker! Daniel Riazat and I have slightly different starting points. My starting point is that we have problems with grade inflation, with cheated grades, in Swedish schools, and we must do something about that. Daniel Riazat's conclusion, as I interpret him, is that we have problems in Swedish schools with grade inflation and cheated grades, and we should therefore use those problems as a tool to close independent schools.

This shows different starting points. Vänsterpartiet is against free schools, and the party is also against grades. With Vänsterpartiets policy, there will be no freedom of choice, but there will also be no grades. It then becomes difficult to motivate students to make an effort in school and study, which grades contribute to. We therefore have different starting points in the issue.

National assessments have always existed. Previously, there were graduation exams in Swedish schools, but they have been abolished. When I was in primary school, we had a lot of diagnostic tests, and they still exist in Swedish schools in many places. In Stockholm, there is a specific Stockholm test to compare schools.

It was controversial when national tests were introduced. The left wing was very much against it because they were actually against tests. But now many on the left wing have also understood that the tests are important because they increase the equivalence in grading. That is why the entire discussion surrounding grade inflation today is about being able to use the national tests to create more equivalent grades. I wish that the Vänsterpartiet could also join in on this.

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Linus Sköld (S)

Mr. Speaker! Tomorrow I will spend the day at home in Älvsbyn at my children's school graduation. My son receives a complete report card for grade 6 for the first time. Now they have managed to read all the subjects for which they receive grades. For the first time, the report card is complete. It still feels like a big deal for him.

Grades are important because they determine young people's future prospects. They must under no circumstances be unfair. The grades must in an adequate way reflect what knowledge students have. This may sound simple, but if we begin to reflect on how grades function, what we use the grades for and how they are set, another picture will emerge. Then things are no longer so simple.

The grading system is designed to provide feedback to my son on how he is doing in school. They are expressed knowledge goals that are to be assessed, and it is to what extent he reaches them that the grades are primarily designed to show.

But we still use the grades for more purposes. We use the grades, which were supposed to be a feedback to my son, to also rank him in relation to his classmates when he moves to the next step in the educational chain at the upper secondary school - even though the system is not designed to do this.

We also use the grades to compare schools with one another. The discussion just now about the school market and competition is evidence that the grading system as it is constructed is not made for that purpose. It simply does not work to compare schools with one another based on grade results that the schools themselves completely determine. It does not become an objective comparable measure - neither a fair selection for the next step in the educational chain nor a fair comparison between the quality of two schools.

Grades are furthermore decided at the very end. It is the individual teacher who makes the decision on the grade. For goal-related grades, the goals are formulated in such a way that everyone in the room means different things by the words written there, that is, they read different things into the words in the goals. The decision shall then be made by an individual teacher. In that case, equivalence is almost impossible to achieve. We must, of course, do everything we can because the grades must not be unfair, but it is almost impossible to achieve total equivalence when the decision-makers are to make decisions based on such interpretable criteria.

Furthermore, the market interest corrupts the grading. We have seen many examples of this during the spring. It has been revealed, in scandal after scandal, about principals who set salaries based on how high the grades the teachers give are, about principals who change already set grades because they are not high enough, about prestige schools that distort the competition for places in the next step in the educational chain. This is what the schools do because they can make money by giving high grades. That basis is something we really would need to rectify.

Today we are debating the National Audit Office's report and the government's communication regarding it. As Fredrik Malm mentioned in his statement, the National Audit Office has examined precisely the state's efforts for equivalent grading. It has summarized that the efforts that have been taken are not sufficient.

The National Audit Office recommends that the government let an investigation be conducted on how grades can become more comparable. This is, of course, welcomed. The government has said that it intends to follow that recommendation and appoint such an investigation. The Social Democrats think that it is welcomed.

But the government has also been incredibly narrow in what that investigation should look at. It feels one-track minded to say that the only solution to the problem is the anchoring in national tests.

It should absolutely be considered as a method. But it will be important that one does that anchoring at the group level or school level so that an individual testing occasion does not decide, and so that we do not reintroduce the graduation exam in the Swedish school that Fredrik Malm spoke about. That would be unfortunate.

At the same time, there are reasons to believe that the construction of the grading system affects the students' mental health. There are also reasons to believe that a more exam-heavy grading will increase the stress and pressure for the students. It is in direct conflict with the latest reform we implemented of the grading system, which aims to reduce the pressure and stress for the students.

It is 15 percent of each year group that is kicked out of continued studies in the transition between primary school and upper secondary school. It is a direct consequence of how the grading system is constructed and what the admission rules to upper secondary school look like.

It is a constructed weeding out. Before the introduction of the rejected grade step and the goal-related grading system, we had no weeding out in the transition between primary school and upper secondary school. It is constructed. It should cease.

Finally, the investigation should also highlight the market school's impact on grades and the pressure from profit interests upwards on the grading. Grade cheating and fraud lower trust in the school system. Therefore, it must be countered.

Since the Moderates, Christian Democrats, Sweden Democrats and the Liberals want to preserve the school companies' opportunity to extract cash from the Swedish school system at all costs, they choose instead to increase pressure and stress for students in the school situation. The students have to pay for the right's continued market school. I regret that.

With that, I move for approval of reservation number 1.

(Applause)

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Patrick Reslow (SD)

Mr. Speaker! In Linus Sköld's previous reply but also now in his speech, he speaks about the fact that the grading system's construction is incorrect.

If I remember correctly, it was the Social Democrats who once in a while started the reform of a goal-related system in the 80s. It was a bourgeois government that implemented it. But it was the Social Democrats who started the investigation into goal-related systems because they were opponents of the selection system with the relative system.

The construction itself fundamentally comes from the Social Democrats. It feels strange that it is then criticized so openly. Furthermore, there have been opportunities to change the construction if one had wanted to during the process. But that has not been done. On the contrary, only minor adjustments have been made. But that the goal-related system should be incorrect is something new I hear from the Social Democrats. Linus Sköld may correct me if he meant something other than that.

Linus Sköld also speaks a lot about the investigation that is to be appointed. It is funny that he says it is a narrow mandate when the investigation has not yet received its directives. We are currently working on them. What is it that Linus Sköld knows that we, who are currently working on it, do not know? It is a somewhat strange comment.

Of course, one must blame the friskolor. The friskolor do everything wrong. We, from our side, say that equivalent grades are important. The grading system must be upheld. It is important that a grade step represents the actual knowledge one can expect.

But to constantly say that grade inflation and the like only exists in independent schools and only point out the profit-driven companies is wrong. There are also many municipal schools that engage in grade inflation.

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Linus Sköld (S)

Mr. Speaker! I note that Patrick Reslow intends to vote for our reservation next week because he would like to see a broader look at how the grading system works.

The consequences that I have described that the grading system has and how they can be mitigated, Patrick Reslow will review. I hear that. I expect that Reslow will vote for our reservation when the matter is to be decided.

I am perplexed. Is it the case that Patrick Reslow here in the chamber denies that one can earn money by giving high grades? Is it the case that Patrick Reslow means that it is not a competitive advantage to have a high grade point average when competing for students?

Otherwise, I do not understand the objection that we should not speak about the profit incentive. It is precisely at the core. That is how grade inflation arises. Someone who can make money by giving high grades has very good motives to push up the grades at their school. Doesn't Patrick Reslow agree with that?

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Patrick Reslow (SD)

Mr. Speaker! First and foremost: I will not vote for any Social Democratic reservation, so we have that settled.

Then it is a question of whether profit incentives are grade-driving. The problem I see with Linus Sköld's argumentation is that he generalizes. If it is the case that this is happening, it is of course a problem perhaps precisely at the school where it occurs. But to constantly point out an entire sector in general terms as the reason why we have grade inflation is a bit like closing one's eyes to the problems.

There are also very many municipal schools that raise their students' results. This applies in particular from F to E. It would mean so many problems if one were to perform all the support measures required to lift a student from F to E. It lies somewhat in the construction of the grading system.

I can agree with Linus Sköld that when it comes to the teacher's role, it is not the teachers who are the problem. A goal-oriented system relies somewhat on the teachers making the assessments. It is the concretization of the grading system that we need to look at.

We should go in and look at the grading criteria. What is it that we can strengthen there? We have made changes there together. We from Sverigedemokraterna believe that we must do more than that. We must make much more clear and concrete descriptions of what each grade level shall contain.

But to constantly blame an entire sector, all the teachers who work there, all the students who go there, all the parents who choose just those schools, I think is indecent. It is not fair.

Focus on the problems where the problems are and do something about it! If we can do that, we can go far in a joint action.

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Linus Sköld (S)

Mr. Speaker! I want to remind Patrick Reslow that municipal schools also operate in a competitive environment as a result of how the school system is constructed. But the motives to give high grades are stronger for company-run schools.

Every limited company has as its primary purpose to provide profit to the owner. Patrick Reslow knows that. If one can earn money by giving high grades, it is entirely rational for the limited companies to maintain the grades in order to deliver on their purpose, that is to say, to provide profit to the owner.

For me, it is incomprehensible that Patrick Reslow takes the system into defense and at all costs wants to preserve the school companies' opportunities to provide profit to their owners. I find it offensive.

The criteria are, as Patrick Reslow pointed out, just recently revised. Today we have together received a presentation on how simplified they actually are. We should perhaps let that change take effect before we embark on the next curriculum revision. I am not saying that the curriculum is perfect or that the syllabi do not need to be changed or should never be revised again, but we have just now produced a completely new curriculum; we did it by consensus. Let us see what it leads to.

(Applause)

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Patrick Reslow (SD)

Mr. Speaker! Much of what I would say has been said by the previous speaker - by Fredrik Malm, I should say, so that it is not misunderstood in the minutes.

Grades are important for many reasons, not least for selection. Historically, during the 70s and 80s, there was a larger discussion about the role of selection in the grading system and how it should and should not be. Sometimes one senses that the ideological differences remain and emerge every now and then.

Grades are important for selection. In order for us to be able to select who should go into a certain track or similar, there is no better way than to measure whether the knowledge one has is sufficient to manage the education that awaits. In that case, grades are important.

But this also relies on the grading system being transparent and clear and that the grades given correspond to the actual knowledge one possesses. If one receives an A, one should have knowledge that corresponds to an A, as they are formulated in the target document.

This is not always easy. Skolverket released a report a few years ago pointing out precisely that the system's very construction relies heavily on the fact that, with a goal-related system, it is a number of teachers who are to make assessments, and it is perhaps not always easy to ensure that the teachers actually make the same grade assessments. It is difficult to achieve equivalence if one does not adjust the grading system itself.

Changes have been made. We just heard in an exchange of remarks that minor changes have been made to clarify and simplify. But from our side, we believe that even more is required. Perhaps one should consider some form of relative element, not least at the school unit level, to guide. Something such should be considered, and therefore a discussion has now been initiated on how the investigation's directives should look so that we can create a grading system that is as legally secure and equitable as possible. The idea is also that this should lead to a student coming from municipality A being assessed in the same way as a student coming from municipality B. This must be the objective. We must be able to do this even in a goal-related system, even if the challenges there may be even greater.

The political debate has focused so much on the system that it has been about what is called the market school. People speak of the market school in negative terms. I want to point out, Mr. Speaker, that the market school, therefore, is about the student's right to choose a school. This is what is the meaning of the market school. When one criticizes the market school, one criticizes the student's right to choose a school. Without several alternatives, it is not possible to make many choices.

We defend this right to the fullest. It is inviolable, in our view. It is the student who should choose school, not politicians or civil servants.

Warning signs have been coming for a very long time. I remember that the universities 20 years ago said that the knowledge the students brought with them from upper secondary school was insufficient. They had students who arrived with passing grades but could not manage the teaching. Above all, it concerned foreign languages then – now it has also concerned mathematics.

The warning signs were there. For very many years, we had a Social Democratic government that did not take them seriously. Even then, one could have started to wonder if there was some problem with the grading system, that is, the equivalence. This was long before their fabulation about the market school began popping up in the discussion.

There are also upper secondary schools that have said that they receive students who do not manage the teaching because they have received a "mercy-pass," which is what it is usually about. People have thus been passed despite the fact that they may not have had sufficient knowledge to be able to accommodate the education.

Now the School Inspectorate has reviewed this, and that is what forms the basis for this debate. We can agree with many of the proposals that the National Audit Office highlights, and it is also this that is the basis for the investigation that will follow.

I think, however, that one can problematize this a bit. Sometimes the political debate becomes more or less focused on certain issues. We previously had an exchange of remarks regarding the connection between national tests and grade results, not least when it concerns the practical subjects. It is a bit flawed when it is said that there is grade inflation in the practical subjects because the grade results there do not correspond with the national tests that the students take in Swedish, mathematics, and English. That becomes a bit strange, because being good in the theoretical subjects does not necessarily mean that one is good in the practical ones, and vice versa. I think it is very difficult to make such an assessment.

When it is said that grades in subjects without national exams deviate more, it becomes a bit strange – deviate from what? I might have wished for a slightly more intellectual discussion on how one could go about resolving the matter, if one considers that the grades are too high in the practical subjects – which perhaps is not the case, but that is at least how it is portrayed. This is perhaps also something that the investigator should look into a bit, without, for that part, making any reference to the national exams in theoretical subjects.

In the political debate regarding this matter of national tests, one also tends at times to argue that the grade you receive on the national tests is the grade you should also have in your final grade. This is also not correct. The national tests are only indicative. If the knowledge has been achieved in other ways, the national test cannot lower the grade.

I also assume that a school invests time and effort and makes interventions when it is discovered that students receive slightly poorer results on the national test. This could involve holiday school or other targeted interventions that cause the student to increase their knowledge after the national test has been taken. In that case, it is also not strange that the grade results are higher than on the national test. That this is done is perhaps even clearer in a smaller school than in a large school.

There are, therefore, many things to problematize. We hope that this investigation will mean that we get more equality in the system.

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Niels Paarup-Petersen (C)

Mr. Speaker! I appreciated Patrick Reslow's request for an intellectual discussion linked to the grades, so I intend that we shall attempt such a discussion.

What I fundamentally want to know is this. My perception is that C and SD share the respect for practical matters and the view that it is not only the theoretical that has value here in this world. All people should, based on their own circumstances, be able to create a good path in life, even if one is not the best at the purely theoretical.

I asked the same question to Fredrik Malm but did not quite perceive that I received an answer. Does SD consider it relevant to link grades in practical and aesthetic subjects to the national tests that students take in theoretical subjects? I hope that is a relatively clear question. We see that there can be differences. There is a risk that what students who are only good at the practical or aesthetic cannot really be valued. If one is not ready to let the grades in the practical and aesthetic subjects be linked to national tests in theoretical subjects, how does SD then intend to step in and do things linked to grade inflation?

We see that grade inflation has to a large extent shifted over there. Previously, it was very much in the theoretical subjects, but after there has been more attention on this, we can see that it has shifted over there. I believe that Internationella Engelska Skolan and a few others were clearly pointed out, because there were large differences there. They were pointed out because there was particularly much there, but it exists in municipal schools as well. But it has decreased after one has become clearer with this with the national tests.

So, a lot of grade inflation has now shifted over to the subjects where there are no national tests. How does SD think about that issue? I would like to hear a bit about that.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Patrick Reslow (SD)

Mr. Speaker! I think Niels Paarup-Petersen is onto something important.

No, the Sweden Democrats do not think it is a good idea to link grades in practical subjects to the outcome of national tests, because they are two completely different things. National tests in primary school in Swedish, English, and mathematics are something completely different. They are completely different requirements and conditions than in, for example, home economics and handicraft.

Just because one is good at home economics, handicrafts, and the like, it does not mean one needs to be good in math, English, and Swedish, and vice versa. We have constantly said that the connection is wrong. When it is said that there is grade inflation in these subjects and the results in the national tests are pointed out, it becomes a strange comparison.

How should one do it then? If I had the solution to this, it would be great, but I do not. This is something that one must reflect further on. We must be able to find a way that ensures we also do not have grade inflation in the practical subjects.

How this should be done, how it should be measured, and how it should be weighed must be looked at by an investigation. We would like to see that. But we absolutely do not want any connection to national tests in theoretical subjects.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Niels Paarup-Petersen (C)

Mr. Speaker! Very good, Patrick Reslow! Thank you for that! That was a clear answer.

When the investigation is to be appointed and so on, it will be interesting to see what one is actually supposed to look at. My opinion is the same. It is not particularly reasonable if one were to do so. I hope that one can eventually get a clear answer from the government on this as well.

The solution of linking national tests to grades in the practical-aesthetic subjects therefore does not work as a way to stop grade inflation there.

We can take an example from our home city Malmö - it should always be highlighted in this chamber as much as possible. The highest grade point that can be obtained is 20 points. Then one has received the highest grade in all subjects. Half of all independent schools in Malmö had 17 points or more out of 20 in grade 9 in music, art and craft. Among the municipal schools, it was one tenth.

Then one can, of course, assume that the independent schools have fantastic musicians or students who are incredibly skilled in handicrafts. It could be that they have students who are insanely much better at handicrafts, art, and music. But it could also be that there is a grade inflation that has shifted from the theoretical subjects to the practical-aesthetic subjects. The large grade inflation can be decisive.

The children from the municipal school will not get into theoretical subjects because they have lower grades in practical subjects, while students from the independent school will. That problem is just as large regardless of whether it concerns math, art, or something else. Linking it to national tests will not solve it. What do the Sverigedemokraterna want to do then?

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Patrick Reslow (SD)

Mr. Speaker! It will be a hypothetical reasoning. The difference can be due to many things. It could be a small school. The school might have a music profile. One might have a large focus on practical subjects. I can list a number of independent schools in Malmö specifically that have a strong music profile, and where other aesthetic subjects follow.

It can also be the case that at an independent school, there are very active parents who have chosen that specific school. In that case, the students have a completely different pressure from home when it comes to achieving results.

I believe it is true that one must weigh things and look at other aspects when it comes to theoretical subjects. Perhaps one needs to look at how the grading criteria are designed in, for example, the practical subjects.

It could also be that municipal schools set grades that are too low. We do not know that either. There could be many who are absent in the practical subjects. There are many questions that have not been highlighted. The only thing that has been highlighted is that we see that students have higher grades in the practical subjects related to the national tests, and we mean that is an incorrect comparison. It is at least this that the debate has been focused on.

I think we may not be able to find support for the hypothetical reasoning that Niels Paarup-Petersen is on, but an investigator must find out how to ensure that there is also no grade inflation in the practical subjects.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Daniel Riazat (V)

Mr. Speaker! We are here to talk about something that is almost to be considered as fraud against the Swedish population. Fraud is also an issue that is close to Patrick Reslow's heart.

When one has a receipt of what these frauds in the Swedish school system are about, should one not examine this on a broader level? It is already known that it involves, among other things, the market school, as researchers at many universities have pointed out. Grade researchers can, for example, show that the proportion of students with the grade A in Swedish as a second language is almost 109 percent higher in independent schools than in municipal schools. In the technology subject, the difference is 79 percent. In English, it is 74 percent. One can see that the skyrocketing grading is driven by the market system we have.

Somewhere one has to say that enough is enough with the platitudes in this chamber. One cannot simply wave away all the problems that all researchers in this country agree on, except possibly those employed by Almega, and focus on something else. That has to be enough. Now it is time for the Swedish government, which is governed by the Sverigedemokraterna, to also answer whether you will take action on this grade fraud or this experiment, as Fredrik Malm called it. Will you take action on it?

Will the Sweden Democrats allow that this is addressed, or is it still more important to ensure that Patrick Reslow's and the Sweden Democrats' friends within the school market can make profits at the expense of children receiving grades they actually should not have, which will expose them to a terrible situation ahead when they do not have the knowledge they need for the jobs they get?

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Patrick Reslow (SD)

Mr. Speaker! Fraud is something that Patrick Reslow holds dear, said Daniel Riazat. I have previously pointed out to the Speaker's Bureau that I do not accept Daniel Riazat making such insinuations. It is criminal to point out someone as criminal if he is not.

Daniel Riazat can first and foremost explain here, in public, what he means by that fraud lies close to my heart.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Daniel Riazat (V)

Mr. Speaker! I intended to focus on this debate, which concerns the fact that a fraud is being committed against the Swedish population in the form of false grades. The market school system is one of the reasons why this is increasing.

I understand that Patrick Reslow does not want to speak about it. But I ask the question again. After all, it is I who have requested this turn to speak. I simply wonder: Will the Sweden Democrats continue to block any way of addressing the consequences of the market school for the grading, or will you not do that?

Then I must nevertheless say that if Patrick Reslow takes offense regarding the wording that fraud lies close to his heart, it must be attributed to Patrick Reslow. I cannot be responsible for that at all. Patrick Reslow simply has to answer for that himself.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Patrick Reslow (SD)

Mr. Speaker! This is not the first time that Daniel Riazat has made such insinuations. Sometimes he is also very direct. I do not tolerate that.

As long as Daniel Riazat cannot behave decently in this chamber and cannot respect us others as the members of parliament we are and as the people we are, I do not intend to answer his questions.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Daniel Riazat (V)

Mr. Speaker! I want to begin by moving for approval of reservation number 1, which we have together with the Social Democrats, so that I do not forget it.

We are here to discuss grades and why we have grade inflation here in the country. A Swedish National Audit Office report and a letter regarding it have been received, and we are here because we have somewhat different opinions on how to act in this matter. Some of our parties believe that the mandate can be broadened and the investigation that is to be appointed can look at the issues from different angles, while other parties do not always believe that should be the case because they have other interests in this matter.

Mr. Speaker! When you run a restaurant, you must lay out a plan that leads to profitability. It may seem – I do so anyway – that it is the quality of the food that should determine how many customers the restaurant gets and thus also how high the restaurant's profitability will be, but we no longer live in those times.

We live in a time where a restaurant needs to have someone who is a communicator and who ensures that advertising for the restaurant is done on social media. The restaurant also needs to have service staff who act so nicely towards the customers that these return to the restaurant. Marketing managers and CEOs in companies are needed to ensure that it works and becomes profitable. Now I am talking about a restaurant.

What else is needed for a restaurant? Yes, that customers give it high ratings. One can, as someone suggested here earlier, go on Google and search for different restaurants and see how high ratings they have. This affects whether one will go to the restaurant or not.

This is perfectly reasonable when it comes to restaurants. It is just that we are not here to discuss restaurants, but we are here to talk about the school. Isn't it skewed that we have exactly the same system for placing our children in school as we have for choosing a restaurant, and that people want schools where there is service personnel, as the teachers have become, where there are communicators who advertise the schools, and where grades are used as a means to get more so-called customers, who in this case should be called students?

I mean that this is tragic for the Swedish school system. We must think about how we are to counteract grade inflation. Then we need larger investigations that establish what many previous investigations and research reports have established, namely that the market school leads to grade inflation and to that grades are used to get more of what is called customers.

Now several of the political opponents have left the chamber. It should be said that it is not the first time, but this has occurred at a number of previous debates. It has also for a longer time been established in the system that there is no desire to discuss these issues with Vänsterpartiet, nor with other parties in the opposition. This does not mean that the issue can be brushed aside. We have a problem in Sweden, and the biggest problem in the Swedish school system is called the market school.

Regardless of whether Sweden Democrat members leave the chamber or not, and regardless of whether other party representatives refuse to discuss the issue and realize the gravity of it, it is a fraud against the Swedish children and the Swedish population. It is not something that I will back down from, but in debate after debate, I will stand here as I have done before and speak about the consequences of the market school for the Swedish school system.

Today it is about the grades and another time about how to cut back on school health, but the fact is that this system is non-functional and must be abolished once and for all.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Josefin Malmqvist (M)

Mr. Speaker! I think this debate has been extremely illuminating. One is not focusing on the core issue and the main issue here, namely that students all over Sweden who work hard to gain knowledge and who struggle to get into an education in the future and get the opportunity to create their own future are not receiving fair grades.

The opposition completely ducks that question. They only engage in pie-throwing and in talking about other issues than the fact that the problems with incorrect and unfair grades have been neglected by several governments, not least the government that we last saw leave the Government Offices.

I think this is very provoking for all the students, teachers and parents who are watching this debate and wondering why nothing has happened in this area. The years go by, and as we have heard here in the debate, the problem is hardly new. But now we are taking action on this. We know that there is a fairly broad knowledge of what we need to do. It is no secrets, but now we can actually get to work on this.

As several of my colleagues, both Fredrik Malm and Patrick Reslow, have been in here earlier today, we now have, among other things, an investigation underway regarding the knowledge focus of the grading system. It is an important part of the work that we are now launching to remedy the problem that governments have neglected and simply ignored for far too long.

I want to raise another example here concerning the reliability of the national tests. We have taken measures to ensure that the national tests are digitized and graded centrally. It is an issue that has been pushed onto Skolverket for very many years, but now we have tasked Skolverket to return in September with an updated timetable for how we will promptly get this in place.

It is obviously completely central in this issue. If we are to link the grades to the results of the national tests, we must also ensure that the results of the national tests are reliable and that we obtain there the assessments of students' knowledge that we need in order to be able to make a reasonable assessment.

But we obviously do not stop there, as there is much left to do. In the School Inspectorate's report on principals' work regarding specifically grading, which was published in June, it is highlighted that further things need to be done. This concerns, among other things, the issue that has been raised here in the debate regarding subjects that do not have national tests. That is a concrete example.

It is also about the weak trust in the national tests among teachers and principals, which is cited as a reason why the results of the national tests are not linked to the final grades to a greater extent. This is something that we need to look at.

Another example that is highlighted is pressure on teachers' grading from, among others, parents. That is why we think it is so important to accelerate the work with central grading of the national tests.

In area after area, we are now taking measures. There is absolutely more to be done here, but in just a few months, we have launched extensive reforms to remedy a problem where I note that the political left wing only engages in mud-slinging.

With this, I move for approval of the committee's proposal.

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Linus Sköld (S)

Mr. Speaker! As Josefin Malmqvist is well aware, the issue of grade inflation has not been neglected by previous governments. The legislation that the Swedish National Audit Office has evaluated was developed by the previous government in order to reduce grade inflation, that is, to assign special weight to the national tests in the grading.

Previously, the national tests were, according to the regulations, one test among others. We changed the law so that the national tests would be assigned special weight in order to address grade inflation.

We commissioned an investigation on subject grades. The investigator Jörgen Tollin was tasked with developing different alternatives to counter grade inflation. Josefin Malmqvist should read the investigation to see what alternatives exist and what the grade inflation looks like. There is an excellent knowledge base for the government parties to take forward in the work now.

Stop throwing pies, to use Josefin Malmqvist's own words.

I think that Josefin Malmqvist, just like Patrick Reslow, needs to explain how she views the profit interest and the connection between grade inflation and the school market, i.e., grades as a means of competition. Does Josefin Malmqvist not think that it affects the inflation of the grades at all?

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Josefin Malmqvist (M)

Mr. Speaker! Now we have a government that is finally tackling the issue of unfair grades in Sweden. Today we have discussed the investigation that we intend to appoint to obtain a substantial knowledge base in order to remedy these problems.

Just as is established in the report from the Swedish National Audit Office that we are discussing today, the previous toothless regulation has not worked. We need a different type of regulation to ensure that a grade becomes a reasonable proof of what one actually can do. Here we see that more needs to be done.

There is a fairly broad international knowledge, and there is a broad competence among researchers in Sweden regarding different models and different designs of this. So knowledge and research exist. Now it is about landing on how we in Sweden can take advantage of the knowledge we have to produce a model that also works in Sweden. And I look forward to appointing such an inquiry. I wish that the previous government had done that. Now we are doing it.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Linus Sköld (S)

Mr. Speaker! As I said earlier, I believe that this investigation, based on what has been said about it so far, will have an all too narrow perspective.

Factors affecting grade inflation and inequality must, of course, be considered by this investigation. One cannot land on the method of anchoring in national tests and feel satisfied with that when we have a system that makes certain schools have strong incentives to keep up the grades. One cannot simply neglect that and say that I am throwing a tantrum and not debating the issue, which is exactly what I am doing. It is a reason for the grade inflation that we have.

If the investigation is to address grade inflation – if that is the purpose of this investigation – then one should truly let it analyze what consequences the market system has for the disparity in grading. Doesn't Josefin Malmqvist also think so?

What I believe is the reason why Josefin Malmqvist stands here and feels so satisfied, despite not wanting to look at this issue, is that the real reason this investigation will have this narrow construction is that the only thing Josefin Malmqvist and her government friends want is to preserve the school companies' opportunities to continue to extract profit from the Swedish school system. Then they must solve the issue of grade inflation. With this amount of revelations and scandals, they must do something about this. So they have found a way here, a construction that allows them to do something about it without doing anything about the real problem – that the school system is leaking tax money that was intended for young people to receive an education.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Josefin Malmqvist (M)

Mr. Speaker! I can reassure Linus Sköld that he will have good opportunities to debate the investigations that the government intends to appoint here in the chamber as they arise. But for the time being, this investigation has not been appointed yet, and the directives have not been published. That Linus Sköld can stand here and state with certainty what it will or will not contain surprises me very much, I must say. But I can promise Linus Sköld that there will be an opportunity to return to this investigation a bit further ahead.

The fact remains: There is a great deal that we need to do to get Swedish schools in order. We from the Tidö parties have signaled that we will appoint an inquiry to also look at independent schools. An independent school inquiry will also be appointed.

I can therefore reassure Linus Sköld that a lot will happen there that I wish previous governments had taken measures on, but which they actually refrained from doing.

I think it is telling that one has an answer that one constantly returns to, namely that the entire problem is about independent schools. It is truly a way of avoiding the entire issue.

I read an article from December in Vi Lärare, published by the union Sveriges Lärare. There, it was written about new figures from Skolverket: "More than every third final grade in mathematics, Swedish, and SVA in grade 9 is higher than what the students have performed on the national tests, new figures from Skolverket show. Municipal schools tend to raise more final grades compared to the NP grades than the independent schools do."

For me, it doesn't matter whether it is the municipal or the independent schools that are driving grade inflation the most. I think it is an equally large problem that students in independent schools and in municipal schools receive unfair grades. We must find a model to ensure that grades become more fair. That is the foundation, regardless of the form of operation.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Daniel Riazat (V)

Mr. Speaker! It is pleasant that several members have returned to the chamber.

I clearly intended to ask the same question that Linus Sköld asked, but add that Fredrik Malm from Liberalerna, earlier here in the speaker's chair, called this grading system a grading experiment.

It has also been said from the rostrum that there is an intention to address the problems that still exist with the market school and its connection to these "joy grades," or false grades, as we see.

Can the Moderates still promise, to make us a bit calmer, that they will follow the research that exists where it is incredibly clear that the market school system has led to higher grade inflation? Even though it is said that it doesn't matter which school system it is, it actually does matter because this is primarily driven by market forces, which Svenskt Näringsliv also points out through its own institute SNS. Can the Moderates calm us down by simply saying that this will be included in the upcoming investigation? That is my first question.

Since then, I have an addition to the final remark that Josefin Malmqvist had in her exchange with Linus Sköld from the Socialdemokraterna, where she stated that our side wants to talk only about this issue.

In our reservation which is to be voted on next week, this is just one of many points that we mention. So it is not just about the market school. No one has said that. But there is a question where there is a fear of contact from your side and the government's side, and that is the question of the market school. I wonder therefore: Is it okay to talk about that question without being accused of it being the only thing we take up?

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Josefin Malmqvist (M)

Mr. Speaker! We from the Tidö parties will appoint a number of inquiries. We have signaled this within the framework of the Tidö Agreement. And a feverish work is currently underway here. If I can reassure Daniel Riazat in any way, it is possibly there, that is, that very much is going to happen in the near future.

We will appoint an inquiry concerning primary schools. We have signaled this within the framework of the Tidö Agreement, and it will be established.

We will appoint another investigation, which we have talked about here today, which concerns precisely grading and how it should become more fair with an increased focus on knowledge in Sweden.

It is two of the investigations that we have talked about today. I mentioned in my speech reforms to accelerate the central correction of national tests, which is also an important measure to ensure quality-assured results and grades in order to produce a quality-assured measure of the knowledge one has.

We will not stop there. There is a long line of measures that we need to get in place, but these are some of the measures that we intend to take. We see that the problem with grade inflation is widespread in Sweden. It is about ensuring that one finds a clear, objective measure of knowledge.

The School Inspectorate pointed out in its report that teachers are subjected to pressure. We also see that there are far too large differences between different schools. These are issues that we are now doing something about. I look forward to debating the investigation when it is finished, here in the chamber. Hopefully, it contains several concrete proposals and reforms that we can get in place.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Daniel Riazat (V)

Mr. Speaker! I would like to thank Josefin Malmqvist for the answer. Of course, I am never at ease when a right-wing government is in power, regardless of which investigations are carried out, but it is still positive that there will be investigations into these issues. Admittedly, it is not the first time – grade investigations and free school investigations have been carried out previously. All of them have, in principle, come to the same conclusion as Forskarsverige, the majority of the population, 97 percent of the teachers, or the majority of the Moderaternas voters, namely that the market school needs to be abolished in order to address many of the problems.

What I find very strange is when one hears that parents are putting pressure on certain teachers to raise grades. We know that it happens in some corporate schools, where there are the greatest problems in this issue. Even Handelshögskolan - which at one time was the Moderaternas own project - goes out and says that this is starting to become a problem. Svenskt Näringsliv goes out and says that the system is no longer holding up. Then one might want some more reassuring words from the Moderaternas representative Josefin Malmqvist about whether they can imagine agreeing already to broaden the mandate of the investigation that the government will anyway have to lead itself, and say that they will listen to the researchers, Svenskt Näringsliv, and the majority of their own voters who say that this is a problem.

I haven't heard any of this yet. The fact that a free school inquiry is coming up does not mean that the problems with free schools will be solved. There was a free school inquiry also in the early 90s, and we know what it led to. That is why we are standing here today talking about grade inflation. We would not have done that otherwise.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Josefin Malmqvist (M)

Mr. Speaker! I think perhaps it is here somewhere that the consensus ends, because I do not share Daniel Riazat's perception that there should be any kind of clear consensus among researchers in Sweden regarding the existence or non-existence of friskolor. It simply is not the case.

We will now undertake a long series of reforms supported by research - evidence - and in the areas where there is international, proven experience. We will implement reforms to bring order to the Swedish school. It concerns a long series of different reform areas - everything from study environments and order and discipline to increased knowledge in the classroom - and a fair grading system with a comparable measure of the knowledge you possess. These are reforms that we intend to implement, and I can only regret that more has not happened in this area earlier.

Now we will ensure that a knowledge base is produced that we can base a decision on to actually remedy the problems that ultimately affect the students and teachers who are working hard in various places around Sweden for the opportunity of a better future. I am very proud of that, and I look forward to continuing that work.

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Niels Paarup-Petersen (C)

Mr. Speaker! I would like to begin by moving for approval of reservation 2. It is perhaps not so surprising.

The Swedish grading system as it looks today is neither fair, reasonable, nor legally secure. That is where we stand right now, and we cannot have it that way.

Let us begin with why it is not fair. Today, different principles apply for how students are assessed depending on which level they are at in school. If you are at an A, B, C, or D, you are assessed based on one principle. If you are at approximately an E or F, you are assessed based on another principle.

A child's knowledge shall be assessed as a whole if the grade is to be an A, B, C or D - but if it is to be an E, the child must fulfill every single knowledge requirement that exists. This means that if the child in one case is at the grade criterion A, in the second at an A and in the third at a C, they can get a B. The child does not need to get a C, where the knowledge is at its lowest. But if the child's knowledge is at A, A and F, it becomes an F. The rest of the knowledge is therefore not worth anything at all if it is a small part that is an F! It is not fair, but that is how it works right now. The grade criteria are unfair.

And why are they not reasonable? Yes, because if you, for example, are to get an E in craft in ninth grade, you can be as good as anything at craftwork - even better than a craftsman you can hire to fix up your house - but if you cannot reason about how the work has affected quality, expression, and environment, you cannot get an E. It is not reasonable. You can be as good as anything at practical subjects, but if you cannot reason about how it hangs together, you cannot get an E and are not good enough according to the Swedish school. That is how the children are perceived in the current situation; it is only the reasoning and the theoretical that has a value. It is not reasonable.

And why is it not legally secure? Yes, because it is not the competence but the school choice that determines which grade you get, and it is because of grade inflation.

We should not only talk about independent schools. The Centre Party loves independent schools, and I believe quite a few are aware of this in this chamber. We have received many accusations over time that we are too happy about them, and yes – we are very happy, because they are the ones who ensure that there are still schools in the countryside in so many places, and we are immensely grateful for that. They also create variation in the cities.

The difference between the results on national tests and the grades was previously much clearer in certain types of independent schools. In the current situation, the difference between what one receives in the practical-aesthetic subjects and all other subjects is much larger in some independent schools than in the municipal ones. It is a statement of fact and not something that I judge. That is how it is.

It may be that the children in independent schools are simply much better than others at handicrafts. That can be the case. It is very likely that the children in the independent schools are better at handicrafts, especially as we know that some independent schools do not even have handicraft rooms. They can also be much better at music. There are some schools where all girls get an A in music even though not all girls get it in Adolf Fredriks music school, which is the best music school in Sweden.

It feels like there may be certain systematic effects here that must be looked at and that we must be able to have an honest and intellectual discussion about. This is how it actually looks, and it is neither fair, reasonable, nor legally secure. Therefore, we must have a serious discussion about how we can achieve a more secure grading system and national knowledge assessments that hold up over time. Only then can we evaluate this in a much better way.

It is fantastic that the government is appointing an inquiry now that they are finally going to look at this. It is very good. But let me still say that the only thing we have been told is that all the things that come up time and again as potential contributing causes to grade inflation are apparently not to be looked at. The Moderate Party's representative Josefin Malmqvist said previously that it was fantastic that we knew what is in the inquiry before it has arrived. It is correct that we do not know it. On the other hand, the Minister for Education has said things. The Minister for Education has said that these things are not to be looked at, and that is at least what I am basing the reasoning on.

I think it is a pity that, when these issues exist, we cannot look at how it actually looks and what the consequences of the current grading system are.

What we know, linked to national tests etcetera, is that the government has stated that the national tests in grade 3 shall no longer be digital. This is the only thing we really know at the current moment. I would very much like to have a clarification regarding this from some of the government parties if it is possible to get a reply. It is also possible to answer later. Does this mean that grade 3's national tests shall continue to be handled exactly as they are today? That is what I would very much like to know. It has not been quite clear. It would be very good to know this, because it does have effects.

It was discussed whether it is as big a problem that students in municipal schools receive incorrect grades as it is for students in independent schools. Of course, it is a just as big problem, but it is not as widespread a problem – that is the point. There is not as big a problem with grade inflation in municipal and non-profit schools as in shareholder-owned independent schools. According to the statistics that exist, which we have had access to, there has been such a discrepancy.

When it comes to national tests, the discrepancy was larger in some types of independent schools - not in all types, but in some. It has also occurred in the practical-aesthetic subjects. I mentioned the example from Malmö earlier - approximately half of the independent schools had very high grades in the practical-aesthetic subjects, while around one-tenth of the municipal schools had that. It could be that the children in the independent schools in Malmö are simply five times better in handicraft, music, and home economics than the children in the municipal schools. It is very possible - I cannot say that it is not so - but it still feels like there could also be other explanations.

One must be able to look at this. When the grades are to be investigated now, one should look at the things that we at the current moment can only speculate about. It would be good if we could get answers, because then we can avoid those speculations from the pie-throwing left-wingers that Josefin Malmqvist spoke about. If we can look at these things, we can avoid this – no more pie-throwing left-wingers, just facts. Wouldn't that be great? We can surely agree on this? We broaden the investigation, so we can avoid all that. Wonderful!

In addition to the basic challenges, we in the Center Party see that the international knowledge measurements, such as Pisa, Pirls, and Timss, fulfill an important function in order to be able to follow knowledge over time. We can see that Swedish school - municipal as it is and with many independent schools etcetera - delivers the best knowledge in reading comprehension in the entire EU. That is how it is; this is also a picture that one would like to be remembered.

Swedish school delivers fantastic results but has a huge challenge when it comes to exclusion because Sweden has received many immigrants and because it has been difficult to give them the knowledge they would need in time. We want national knowledge measurements, so that one can see this.

We would also like it to be investigated how Sweden can obtain continuous digital knowledge assessments throughout the children's schooling, so that the children's knowledge development can be monitored.

The reason why grades are important is that they are the ticket forward in the system. But the grades, as they are given today, are in no way valuable when it comes to assessing whether the children reach the knowledge that we would like them to reach. In practice, they do not have that function in the Swedish school in its current state. We should find other things that can help with this, because that is the purpose of the school. The school's purpose is not to minimize children's knowledge to a number. It is not certain that they get the knowledge they need. We must look at continuous digital knowledge measurement to achieve this.

I hope that the fine motions that have come up in the open debate on how we should vote make people curious to vote for them tomorrow. It could mean that one can investigate the whole thing and find ways to reduce the administration that the national tests and other measures actually entail for the teachers. It is therefore very interesting to hear how the government intends to proceed regarding national tests in grade 3 and how they intend to have them moving forward.

With this, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank you for the debate. I hope for some answers from the government.

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Josefin Malmqvist (M)

Mr. Speaker! I understood it ten apostrophes later. I will see if I have time to answer all the questions.

We want to see centrally graded and digitized national tests, but when it comes to the youngest students in the lowest grades and national tests in grade 3, the proposal is to keep them as analog tests and not digitize them. This means that no central grading of these tests will be possible. This is the direction.

We mean that the most important thing is that one gets a measurement point when it comes to knowledge and that this can then be followed over time, as Niels Paarup-Petersen pointed out. We believe this is an important balancing act.

In the lower grades, it is important to learn to write with pen and paper. Speaking of research and evidence regarding tools in school, it is important that in the lower grade levels, one sticks to pen and paper to a greater extent. Therefore, this is the direction.

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Niels Paarup-Petersen (C)

Mr. Speaker! I thank Josefin Malmqvist, who was kind enough to take the floor. Since we were previously told that the entire opposition only engaged in pie-throwing, I am glad that Josefin Malmqvist and I can have a proper discussion. My perception was not that we engaged in that, but that there were concrete issues and an intellectual discussion with the Sverigedemokraterna.

If the national tests for grade 3 are kept as analog tests without central grading, it is - compared to how it was intended - a large and substantial, one could say, increase of the administrative burden on Sweden's grade 3 teachers. Our primary school teachers will have enormously more administration. Right now, the teachers are sitting on their weekends with large piles and going through national tests.

The government has said that they want to reduce the administration for teachers. It takes a huge amount of time. This is something that could be reduced, but it is so important that students do not get the conditions to take the tests digitally. They cannot be taken digitally. Instead, the burden lies on the teachers; it is important to stick to that.

I am not sure that this is a reasonable assessment. I understand that one has to evaluate different things, but I am not sure that this judgment lands correctly in a time when teachers are having an extremely tough time.

The second part concerns the relevance of linking grades in practical-aesthetic subjects to national tests in theoretical subjects. It would be interesting to hear how Josefin Malmqvist and the Moderaterna view that question. Should it be done or not?

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Josefin Malmqvist (M)

Mr. Speaker! As Niels Paarup-Petersen is well aware, we have recently appointed an inquiry to reduce teachers' administrative burden. It concerns a broad review of all the tasks that teachers have today and which take time away from what is actually completely central, namely teaching. I look forward to taking part in the results of the inquiry regarding how we can change the directives and requirements for documentation that exist today for both teachers and principals. The inquiry is, however, looking specifically at teachers. That was one part of Niels Paarup-Petersen's question.

I move on to the second part of the question. From the Moderates' side, we do not see that results in theoretical subjects should be linked to grades in practical subjects. We do not see that there should be any such link. How the design should be carried out can be looked at by an inquiry, but we do not believe that there should be any such link.

We see that a broad review is needed of many issues related to this. Niels Paarup-Petersen was previously involved in objective knowledge assessment and how knowledge development should be measured over time. These are quite interesting questions. The students' grades are not anchored in the national tests. They are not designed to measure knowledge development over time, nor are they designed to measure the individual's knowledge development. There is a fairly extensive problem regarding reliability in assessments, cheating, and so on, which I think is interesting to address in this debate. It would be very interesting to hear what proposals Niels Paarup-Petersen has in this area.

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Niels Paarup-Petersen (C)

Mr. Speaker! I thank Josefin Malmqvist for a good answer. Just as I said to the Sweden Democrats, I appreciate that you say that national tests should not be used to anchor grades in practical-aesthetic subjects. But then we are left without any answer on how we are to stop grade inflation, if it can only lie in practical-aesthetic subjects—if no other answers come. It would therefore have been good to look at something other than just the national tests. I hope that the other government parties can convince the Minister for Education, who has said that the investigation should not look at anything else, that she is wrong. That would be good.

It was very good that the government appointed an inquiry into teachers' administrative burden, and we have previously advocated for such an inquiry. But if the practical decisions here and now go in the opposite direction, that probably carries more weight than any potential future decisions based on an inquiry.

What was clearly stated when this grading system was introduced was that the grades are not intended to function as selection instruments because they will not be equivalent and comparable between schools. Therefore, it would be relevant to look a bit more broadly at how we should proceed. It is not entirely easy. But now we have it this way and must be able to have an intellectual and honest discussion about the fact that we have a challenge in that the grading system does not function for what we are discussing most, namely that it should be used for.

I thank you for a good and open discussion on this; I appreciate that. I hope that we can continue in that manner.

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Mathias Bengtsson (KD)

Mr. Speaker! We are debating the grades and have received somewhat different perspectives on this in the debate. Much has already been said by my colleagues from the government parties and the government base, but the grades are also central as a selection instrument for admission to studies at upper secondary school, college, and university. The fact that they are precisely a selection instrument means that they have a decisive importance for young people's future, and that there are then cases where grades are not fair or equivalent is, of course, bad and deserves to be taken most seriously.

This has major consequences and is problematic for two reasons. Firstly, it is obviously unfair that a student's future dreams can be decided by how the school handles the grading. Secondly, it creates a problem for the student who has a grade that does not correspond to the knowledge level and who gets into an education that requires a knowledge level that the student lacks. Then it can become difficult during the education further ahead.

Mr. Speaker! The National Audit Office notes in its report that the discrepancy between national tests and final grades is large in some cases. In isolated instances, this could be explained by the student having a bad day when a national test was taken, or that the school allocated extra resources after the national tests so that the student managed to raise the result in a short period. More likely, however, is that the student received a higher final grade that does not correspond to the level of knowledge. Since we know that this is the case, this obviously needs to be investigated.

This problem occurs, as is known, in both municipal and independent schools. Let me nevertheless reason a bit regarding freedom of choice, because that is where the debate often lands. One of the explanations for why it looks like this is the free school choice. The idea is that the schools should compete with one another to offer as good knowledge, peace of work, student health, and safety as possible for the students. The slightest tendency for there to be municipal or independent schools that compete by awarding generous joy grades is worrying and needs to be countered.

The solution for the Christian Democrats will never be to remove freedom of choice and the possibility for students to choose their own school. Admittedly, one of the incentives for "joy grades" would disappear if freedom of choice were removed, but it would simultaneously create more problems than it solves.

Mr. Speaker! The solution to the problem is to remove the grading from the competition equation so that only knowledge, security, and study become means of competition. To achieve this, the government is acting in several different ways. It is primarily about linking the grades to the national tests in a clearer way, and a commission will be appointed for this shortly. It is also about the national tests being graded centrally and about reviewing the entire independent school sector and tightening the requirements.

I think that one may also need to consider withdrawing the permit for schools that do not give fair grades. Biases in the system must be corrected. Should we have a system with freedom of choice where unserious actors who mismanage themselves are not allowed to continue operating, regardless of whether they are independent or municipal.

We shall have an order in Sweden where students who are to choose a school do not ask themselves "Where will they give me the highest grades?" but "Where will they give me the best knowledge?". This can be combined. We can have a system that offers freedom of choice where independent actors who contribute positively with peace of mind, safety, and knowledge can remain without it leading to grade inflation. The Government will achieve this.

I vote in favor of the committee's proposal.

(Applause)

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Niels Paarup-Petersen (C)

Mr. Speaker! I thank you for a good speech, and we are in complete agreement that we must defend the freedom of choice.

I ask the Christian Democrats the same question as I have asked the other government parties. Do the Christian Democrats consider it relevant to link grades in practical-aesthetic subjects to national tests in theoretical subjects?

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Mathias Bengtsson (KD)

Mr. Speaker! I thank Niels Paarup-Petersen for the question.

The Christian Democrats are skeptical that a grade in a theoretical subject should affect a grade in a practical-aesthetic subject. However, it is complex because there are signals that higher grades are being given in the subjects that do not have national tests, which contributes to grade inflation. We obviously need to look at this, and I assume that the government's investigation will take this seriously. Since it is a complex problem, it is relevant to investigate, which the government is also doing.

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Niels Paarup-Petersen (C)

Mr. Speaker! It was a very good announcement. It was not a clear no, as I had wished, but sort of a no.

The Christian Democrats assume that the government will investigate alternatives to anchoring everything in national tests. We have received indications from the Minister for Education that they do not want to investigate it, and therefore the question is interesting.

Can I expect the Christian Democrats to ensure that the investigation which is to look at grade inflation will look at something other than just anchoring in national tests?

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Mathias Bengtsson (KD)

Mr. Speaker! The investigation directives are being prepared at this moment, and the investigation will be appointed shortly. We will simply have to see where it lands.

I find it difficult to give any clear and distinct statement, and it is difficult for me to guarantee exactly how it will land, but the starting point is equivalent grading. The starting point is that grade inflation shall be stopped and that grades shall not be a means of competition in the independent school sector. Exactly how it will look, we will have to return to.

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Camilla Hansén (MP)

Mr. Speaker! The National Audit Office's report on the lack of equivalence in grading is important and highly relevant now during the school graduation period. What is the value of the grades one receives in the envelope? Although it may have been a long time since they were received in an envelope. Will the person who has the most right to a place at the next step in the educational chain get that place at the upper secondary school or higher education, or will it be someone with false grades who gets the place?

I would like to clarify one thing that I believe we need to understand. When I and some others in the chamber direct criticism at the market school system, it is about a system that all schools are part of. Marketization affects in different ways, but I have not heard anyone say that they want to abolish free school choice or abolish independent schools. It is slightly implied that that is the case. I think that is quite unnecessary.

However, we know that a large part of the population - regardless of who one votes for or what kind of schools one's children attend - does not want profit distribution to be allowed. From the Green Party's side, we want knowledge to be the driving force for all schools - not to distribute profits.

What several of us are trying to put our finger on is that the marketization of the school affects many parts of the school system, and the grades are one part. In addition to all the functions we hope and believe the grades have, they have become a part of marketing, and this was in any case never the purpose of any grading system.

Grades are important. They must be handled in a legally secure manner; they are, after all, the exercise of public authority. They are the selection system we have chosen for the path forward to upper secondary school and higher education. Grades are expected to fulfill many functions. Sometimes there is an over-reliance on what a grading system can achieve. We know, for example, that it is not particularly good for increasing study motivation. It works quite well for those who have good grades, which is nice, but it can even have the opposite effect for those who have lower grades. It is almost a mockery to subject children and young people to that.

Educational institutions have for quite some time had views on the students' knowledge when they arrive at higher education. Now the educational institutions are speaking out very clearly. I think that is good. This conversation should have started a long time ago, just as high schools should react when students come from primary school with a higher level on their grades than they have in their knowledge. It is no harder than picking up the phone and calling and talking about that we see this, and you must take action on it. It is a collegial action that raises the quality in Swedish school.

I want the focus of students and teachers in school to be knowledge. What we see now are two opposing trends regarding the view on grades. On one hand, we are moving from course grades to subject grades so that teachers and students can have more time and so that the education can be structured with a continuity in the progression. But we also have an opposing trend which is about still linking the grades to individual occasions – perhaps to the entrance exams that educational institutions see themselves forced to consider, or to the national tests, which do occur at a single point in time.

I hope that we will be able to have a broad discussion based on views on knowledge, how school awakens a desire for lifelong learning, and what is important for students and teachers in their everyday lives. It is a rather difficult thing to focus on these tasks while simultaneously discussing grades.

The deliberation was hereby concluded.

(A decision was to be taken on 14 June.)

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