The Norwegian Directorate of Education is preparing to try out several alternatives to the current school examination system, amid growing calls for the tests to be scrapped altogether.
Director for Upper Secondary Education at the Directorate, Per Kristian Larsen-Evjen said he would initiate research on how examinations worked in the Norwegian school system.
This follows the end-of-year examinations being cancelled for the third year in a row due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the high level of home-schooling.
Assessment Researcher at the University of Southeast Norway, Tony Burner believes the pandemic has made it possible to see that there is no need for examinations at all.
“Many teachers say they got more time for teaching and mid-term assessment after exams were cancelled, and many students have experienced less stress,” Professor Burner said.
However, the Norwegian Teachers’ Association is sceptical – its leader, Helle Christin Nyhuus believes examinations are an important part of a comprehensive assessment system.
Meanwhile, teachers in Oslo are worried about whether they will be able to take care of an influx of Ukrainian students.
Immigrant-dense districts east of Oslo were particularly hard hit by the pandemic, and schools are still struggling to follow up on vulnerable children.
After Oslo was asked to receive 2,000 Ukrainian refugees from the war with Russia, teachers raised concerns about whether they would have sufficient resources to care for the refugee children, many of whom might be traumatised and in need of special attention.
“Learning from the pandemic should be a factor when one plans for the schools to receive families and children on the run,” one teacher said.
Oslo, 2 May 2022
