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The Swedish science curriculum in compulsory school got a new component in the reform 2011 (Skolverket, 2011a). The new component consists of required communications skills that students should show in classroom discussions. In the work with national tests we did a try-out of a possible test item that could be aiming at those skills. The item consisted of two parts, the first was that students should use a number of recommended internet links to find information of the main topic in the item, namely if Sweden should continue to use nuclear energy. The second part consisted of a chat discussion between small groups of students that were done in a database environment where students should argue pros and cons the question. This pilot-test found that students were capable to use computers to search information and to discuss arguments with each other in a chat room. However, the number of students in the pilot test was small and the test item needed strongly development to fit the test frames to adjust to 35 000 students taking a written paper-and-pen test.

This paper deals with teachers’ statements about assessing students’ results from items with non-traditional science content in the national science assessments in Sweden. Non-traditional science content in this case is items that concerns social and scientific issues (SSI). The content deals with use of science in society. This content has emerged in the curriculum in several countries in an effort to improve students’ interest for science, to implement meaningfulness in learning and train students to learn science for adults use (Sadler, Barab, & Scott, 2007; Sadler & Zeidler, 2009; Dana L.  Zeidler, Sadler, Applebaum, & Callahan, 2009; Dana L. Zeidler, Sadler, Simmons, & Howes, 2005). Sweden has shown descending results in international studies, particularly PISA (Skolverket, 2013) so voices are raised how to improve teaching. Curriculum reform is a common way to change premises in school (Fensham, 2008). Swedish students get accurate results from PISA on items concerning traditional curriculum content, but items with non-traditional curriculum content show lower students’ results (Skolverket, 2010). When looking into teachers’ statements of test items with unfamiliar content that mirrors the curriculum content the question raises; what do teachers think of SSI content? In teacher surveys attached to the tests more than half of answering teachers state that they use SSI in their own tests (Åström, 2013). This study focuses on what teacher write in own words about test items.

1) what do teachers find troublesome concerning social and scientific issuescontent in national tests?

2) what expectations and apprehensions do teachers have to SSI items?

3) do teachers comments concerning SSI content in tests develop between years?

Socio-scientific issues are part of the Swedish curriculum since 1994. Revisions of the science syllabi 2000 and 2011 stress this part of the science curriculum. Starting with national science tests in year 2009 this was considered as one crucial part in constructing items. This presentation considers collected statements from teachers giving feed-back on the tests in a web based formula during the years 2009, 2010, 2011. Socio-scientific issues are one of two most commented areas of test items from the teachers. The research question was to find what teachers’ state they have different challenges when assessing students’ answers on socio-scientific issues on the national tests in biology, chemistry and physics in year 9 in compulsory school. Teachers were requested to answer a survey with questions about the test after scoring students answers. Questions dealt with for instant if they found the standard settings sufficiently and if they found the test aligned to the syllabus. The most common survey item form was multiple choice questions but there were also some possibilities to personal statements were teachers could write succeeding text to their own choice. There are approximately 800 biology, physics and chemistry teachers that answered the surveys each spring. Between 2 and 11 percent of teachers in the years 2009, 2010 and 2011 had some comment on the socio-scientific issues, depending on what test (biology, physics or chemistry) they had assessed students’ answers on the different years. A majority of teachers state that they use socio-scientific issues in teaching and in teacher constructed tests. However teachers are insecure in how to judge students’ answers in the national tests. Possible problems found in teachers statements about items are presented and discussed.

The aim of this study was to describe how a sample of Grade 9 pupils experienced the first high-stakes national tests in the science subjects that were administered in Swedish schools in 2010. A sample of students completed a questionnaire which asked for test perceptions in terms of perceived importance, motivation, effort and anxiety. The questionnaire also contained items asking for how the pupils prepared for the test, how often they have tests in school and if they are familiar with the learning targets. A corresponding questionnaire was used in the national test context in 2009 and where applicable, results are compared.

The results show that, in general, the pupils perceived the national test as difficult but important. A majority of the pupils further reported that they were motivated to do their best on the test and that they invested a fair amount of effort when completing test items. However, many pupils also reported test anxiety. Almost all pupils report having enough time to complete the test, and approximately half of the sampled students reported that items in the national test were easy to understand and fairly interesting, however not similar to the questions they usually have in school tests. The students at the national test in 2010 perceived the test more important and reported a higher level of motivation and effort –and test anxiety - than the students taking the national test in 2009. The stakes of the test also was higher in 2010. In their answers to a free response questionnaire item, many pupils commented on that the test was difficult, many pupils also perceived the test as “different”. A fair amount of pupils also reported that they found the test “fun”. Even if the pupils perceived the test as important, as the result had consequences, a fair number of pupils found national tests in the science subject unnecessary. Pupils taking the chemistry test were a bit more skeptical than pupils taking the physics test or the biology test but overall, the differences between the subjects were small.

 This study investigates the relationship between student achievement in science and students positive attitude towards science according to the results collected in TIMSS 2007. Four countries with some similarities and differences in the school system and science education were selected. The students’ results have a strong correlation to the index PATS in all four countries, but there are some differences between Sweden in particular to the other three countries. In Sweden the students have answered questions particularly to Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Geography and the other countries questions to science as one subject. The conclusions from the study is that the differences in TIMSS points when students’ PATS is regresses against students results as plausible values in science compared to the countries mean is that this measure in Sweden is approximate half a standard deviation in TIMSS points. Differences in students’ PATS regresses against students results as plausible values in science compared to the countries mean for the three other countries in this study are approximate half of the same measure of Swedish students, and even lower for Norway. Some tentative explanations for this difference are discussed in this paper, with focus of countries difference of curriculum structure, assessment habits and school culture.

In 2009, national tests in biology, chemistry and physics were administered for the first time to Grade 9 pupils in Swedish compulsory school. This report presents descriptive results from a questionnaire that was administered to a sample of students taking these national tests. The main purpose of the questionnaire study was to investigate how these tests were perceived by the pupils: how they experienced the test and the test situation, whether they found the test important and whether they felt motivated to do their best on the test. The questionnaire also contained items asking for pupil attitudes towards the subject tested, as well as items asking for how pupils work with the respective subjects in the classroom. Results show that pupils in general seemed positive towards the national test although many pupils found the national test different from tests they usually have in school. A majority of the pupils further reported that they perceived the test as an important test and that they were rather motivated to do their best on the test. Still, a fair amount of pupils reported that they could have tried harder on the test. The students also reported rather positive attitudes towards the subjects tested, particularly Biology seems well liked by the students. The chemistry subject, however, seem less well-liked than the other subjects and the pupils taking the chemistry test to a higher degree reported that the test did not feel important, that test items were difficult to understand, and that the test items were different from their regular test. Pupils also report that they do not have chemistry tests very frequently, but this is true also for Biology and Physics. Last, the ways the pupils report that they work with the subjects on a daily basis are in agreement with reports obtained from international comparative studies in these subjects.

Den här tentativa studien undersöker hur experter, väl insatta i den svenska debatten om integrerad NO uppfattar vad integrerad NO är, hur den tillämpas och vilka skäl som finns för att undervisa NO integrerat istället för att undervisa ämnesuppdelat. Diskussionen om integrerad eller ämnesuppdelad NO hade en kulmen på 1980-talet i Sverige som gav upphov till två varianter att undervisa NO på i grundskolan, antingen som ett ämne eller som tre ämnen, biologi, kemi och fysik. Dessa varianter finns för närvarande som två likvärdiga sätt att gradera betyg på. Nu är det aktuellt att ta bort möjligheten att sätta NO-betyg och i stället endast biologi-, fysik- och kemibetyg, vilket gör det intressant att undersöka hur idén om vad integrerad och ämnesuppdelad NO-undervisning har för likheter och skillnader. Undersökningen är genomförd som en Delphistudie, där informanterna har värderat 30 påståenden om integrerad och ämnesuppdelad undervisning. Svaren sammanställdes med medelvärden och medianer och presenterades för informanterna i en andra enkätomgång. Informanterna erbjöds möjlighet att ändra sina svar efter att ha tagit del av centralmått på värderingar av påståendena beräknat från samtliga svaranden. Resultatet av den första undersökningsomgången redovisas i tabell där centralmått på informanternas sammanlagda värdering redovisas. Informanternas svar jämförs med den teori som ursprungligen använts för att konstruera frågorna och diskuteras. Även metodiska frågor i samband med undersökningen diskuteras.