OECD Reviews of Evaluation and Assessment in Education: Denmark 2011

Abstract

The vast majority of Danish students follow compulsory education in public schools and municipalities are responsible for their qualityWhile the Ministry of Education sets the legal framework for compulsory education providers and the overall objectives for compulsory education, the decentralised Danish system places the major responsibility for quality assurance with the providers. For public schools (the Folkeskole), the 98 municipalities are responsible for the overall quality of their schools and for setting local objectives and conditions, including the goals and scope for school activities, as well as the supervision of the Folkeskole. For private schools, parent-elected boards are responsible for school quality, in particular for ensuring that educational content matches academic standards in the Folkeskole, plus they are supervised by the Ministry of Education. Political urgency to improve student learning outcomes in compulsory education and proposal for reformThe Danish Government's competitiveness strategy, in tandem with political and public debate on the 'mediocre' performance of Danish students on international assessments, has increased policy focus on improving student learning outcomes. While Denmark is proud of international evidence that its students are leaders in terms of civic knowledge, recent results from the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA 2009) confirmed Denmark's average academic performance at the end of compulsory education and, importantly, a shortage of Danish students at the highest performance levels. Largely influenced by a review of the Folkeskole commissioned by the Prime Minister in early 2010, the government proposes a reform aiming to strengthen academic performance by giving more freedom to schools in return for an increased focus on results, in particular, the publication of national test results for schools. An increased focus on evaluation, assessment and accountability since 2006, including new national bodies and quality assurance systemsThe OECD in 2004 emphasised the importance of establishing an evaluation culture (following its review of the Folkeskole) and the revised 2006 Folkeskole Act aimed to stimulate this and to introduce an element of accountability to compulsory education providers. The raft of new national measures included the requirement for municipalities to draft and publish annual quality reports on the schools in their jurisdiction, the ASSESSMENT AND CONCLUSIONS -9 OECD REVIEWS OF EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT IN EDUCATION: DENMARK © OECD 2011 Students experience a wide range of assessment methods in their classrooms, but criticise the final examinations in Form 9Teachers and students report using an admirable mix of different assessment methods. As such, there is very strong potential for effective formative assessment practice, i.e. the use of frequent assessments to identify learning needs and adapt teaching. However, the reported lack of clarity of the Common Objectives makes it difficult for teachers and schools to tran...

Conclusions and recommendations

“…The risk is that this instrument may remain limited to teachers' call for greater student effort. Valuable examples of approaches with greater potential to generate student progress are the experiences of Denmark and Sweden with individual student plans containing detailed and specific recommendations for each student (Shewbridge et al, 2011;Nusche et al, 2011 3. However, it should be noted that the analysis in this report refers only to ENLACE at both the primary and lower secondary levels.…”

A Study of Teacher Training in the United States and Europe

“…After each interview, the student teacher needs to develop a self-assessment document of his training course. The criteria for the assessment of teacher trainees are summarized in the list of reference skills (Shewbridge, Ehren, Santiago, & Tamassia, 2012): § Communicating with internal and external school partners § Constructing one's own professional project § Being familiar with the institutional framework of the educational system § Monitoring the learning activities reflecting student diversity § Adjusting learning in a formative aspect § Using information and communications technology § Exploring school and socio-cultural data with respect to students § Assessing and evaluating student knowledge and know-how in view of certification § Defining the psycho-pedagogical and disciplinary knowledge § Assisting students in becoming independent and building their own personal projects § Constantly reflecting actively with respect to practice § Participating actively in school development § Assisting the student to become independent in school and socio-cultural skills.…”

Student Standardised Testing

“…Delvaux and Mangez identify the use of indicators and benchmarks in governing the supra-national European education system (Delvaux and Mangez, 2008 cited in Shewbridge, forthcoming). Australia's National Assessment Program in Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN), measures student results against national standards and Denmark's national tests monitor progress against the national Common Objectives (Santiago et al, 2011;Shewbridge et al, 2011). Campbell and Levin cite the Canadian government's broader movement to advance the use evidence-based decision making as a critical driver behind Canada's student assessment practices, including standardised testing (2008).…”

“…In this way, national tests that are used to monitor and evaluate the education system are national, complementary efforts to international surveys. In Denmark, for example, the Ministry of Education states that the national test has two purposes: monitor school performance and provide diagnostic information about areas for students' improvement (Shewbridge et al, 2011). In Australia, the NAPLAN test purpose is to compare student results with national minimum standards established for each year level in areas such as literacy and numeracy (Santiago et al, 2011).…”

“…The delay in results makes it difficult for teachers to use results to inform planning in the school year (Santiago et al, 2011). In the case of Denmark, the use of ICT in testing allows for teachers to receive rapid feedback of test results, which in turn encourages the use of results to improve teaching and learning (Shewbridge et al, 2011). As noted in Shewbridge et al (2011), the rapid turnaround of test results in Denmark, "…is in strong contrasts to several national test systems where educators receive student test results several months after the test was administered."…”