In 2018, the Education Act was changed with the aim of giving the national exams greater importance in grading.

The purpose was to ensure that the correct grade was assigned and to prevent unjustified differences from occurring.

The School Inspectorate has also carried out supervision.

Now an examination by the National Audit Office shows that the measures have not led to the desired result.

- Our summary assessment is that this legislation is too unclear, says Krister Sund, audit director at the National Audit Office and project manager for the review.

- The teachers have difficulty interpreting what it actually means.

Instead, they do as they have always done, so it has not affected the equivalence, he continues.

Big differences between test and grade

According to the review, which has been going on for a year and is based on interviews with teachers and principals in around 20 schools as well as a review of the School Inspectorate's supervision and quality reviews, the change in the School Act "has not clearly affected the differences between the grades and results on the national exams in upper secondary school ".

Even within primary school, the shortcomings are evident.

In many schools, students have received higher grades than can be justified by test results.

And the biggest differences are in the subjects of mathematics and Swedish, where nearly 64 percent who failed the national test in mathematics were given a higher grade by teachers.

For Swedish, the corresponding figure was 55 percent, according to the investigation.

"Pretty serious"

The National Audit Office now recommends that the government set up an investigation to find out how equivalent grading can take place.

The Norwegian School Board has already started work.

But according to Krister Sund, a "substantial overhaul" must be done.

- It is quite serious, the grades fulfill many functions.

On the one hand, they must measure the students' knowledge, on the other hand it is a selection instrument also for higher education or school.

And then the grades can have a decisive effect on whether you get in or not.

So it affects a student's future education and, by extension, even the labor market career, says Krister Sund.