Our test development process
We spend about three years working on each test, two years before they are carried out in schools and then another year analyzing the results.
1. Task development and assessment criteria
Throughout the year, we work out new tasks and assignments that match different parts of the knowledge requirement. During certain periods, for example before major trials, this is our main focus. Everyone who works with this is or has been a teacher in year 9. An important part of this process is to determine which assessment criteria that are relevant for the specific task.
2. Pre-testing trials
We strive to pre-test a lot of tasks for each part of the knowledge requirement and analyze the students' reactions to different formats and content. The material we produce cannot be assessed in terms of quality before students have tried it! We then make a selection of which tasks to continue developing. In major trials, we randomly select schools throughout the country. For smaller trials, we use the teachers / schools with whom we have already established contact or new teachers / schools who have registered an interest in participating via the website or survey.
3. Developing assessment instructions
Once we have seen how students respond to the tasks we choose to continue working with, it is relevant to proceed with the assessment instructions. Based on the student answers, we often find additional and different qualities compared to what we initially thought. The tasks often need to be adjusted to become more precise and in some cases information is added.
4. Analysis of tasks and assessment instructions
When the task and the assessment instructions have been processed after a trial, the data goes out for pre-testing again. After the last trial we find the student answers that come with the assessment instruction for each task.
After the last pre-testing trial, we engage a large number of teachers who come to the University of Gothenburg to both assess the tasks and develop the assessment instructions.
5. Composition of the national test
Each task that is judged to be relevant for future national tests has been pre-tested on several occasions. Through these trials, our analysis and various statistical methods we have received a lot of information about the task. Once we have chosen the tasks that are to be included in the national test, we again engage teachers who help us set the grading requirements.
6. Completing the materials
The last thing that happens before we leave the material to the National Agency for Education who will pass it on to print, is that we develop work with associated material such as the teacher information pamphlet. A few of our employees also work with the layout of the materials.
7. Processing and analysis
When the national test is completed by the students and the answers have been assessed, we collect around 600 tests. The tests and the results as well as the teacher surveys are carefully processed and analyzed. The experiences and opinions received can be used in developing tests in the years to come.
That teachers report their results on our website is very important to us. While reporting results teachers can get their test grades calculated digitally.
We always have three parallel work processes going:
We process and analyze the test that was conducted in the schools during the year, conduct pre-testing trials and write assessment instructions for next year's exams and produce tasks next year's test.