Marks and national tests, lower secondary school

Updated: 9 November 2023

Next update: Not yet determined

Average overall achievement mark in mathematics

2023

3.7

Average overall archivement marks and score points¹
	2023	2023
Both sexes	50	50	50	3.7	4.3	4.0
Boys	51	51	49	3.6	4.1	3.7
Girls	48	50	50	3.8	4.5	4.3
¹Data for average overall archivement marks are publised in August, while data for national tests are published in November.

Selected tables and charts from this statistics

Table 1Average lower secondary school points, by gender, county and parents' educational attainment level

Average lower secondary school points, by gender, county and parents' educational attainment level¹
	All pupils	All levels of education	Parents' educational attainment level
	2023
	All pupils	All levels of education	Basic school or no completed education	Upper secondary education	Tertiary education, 4 years or less	Tertiary education, more than 4 years	Unknown
All pupils	60 052	42.4	36.2	39.6	43.6	46.8	35.5
Boys	30 824	40.5	34.5	37.6	41.5	45.1	34.0
Girls	29 228	44.5	38.0	41.7	45.7	48.6	37.3

Viken	14 837	42.4	35.9	39.8	43.6	46.4	35.3
Oslo	6 332	44.5	37.9	40.8	45.0	48.4	36.4
Innlandet	3 855	41.9	35.8	39.3	43.7	46.8	35.8
Vestfold og Telemark	4 668	41.5	35.0	39.0	43.3	45.9	34.2
Agder	3 672	41.5	35.9	38.8	43.1	46.0	33.4
Rogaland	5 842	42.5	36.8	39.7	43.5	46.4	37.3
Vestland	7 263	42.8	35.8	39.9	43.7	47.0	38.1
Møre og Romsdal	3 153	42.1	36.0	40.2	43.2	46.1	33.6
Trøndelag - Trööndelage	5 144	42.1	35.7	39.0	43.1	46.7	34.1
Nordland - Nordlánnda	2 645	42.1	36.7	39.7	43.7	46.3	37.7
Troms og Finnmark - Romsa ja Finnmárku	2 641	41.5	36.3	39.1	42.5	45.6	34.2
¹0 points are not included
Due to the government's decision to cancel exams in lower secondary school, lower secondary school points in 2020 and 2021 are only based on overall achievement marks, and are therefore not comparable with lower secondary school points from other school years.

Explanation of symbols

Source

StatBank source table 07495

Table 2Average overall achievement marks, by gender and parents' educational attainment level

Average overall achievement marks, by gender and parents' educational attainment level
	All pupils	Boys	Girls	Parents' educational attainment level
	2023
	All pupils	Boys	Girls	Basic school or no completed education	Upper secondary education	Tertiary education, 4 years or less	Tertiary education, more than 4 years	Unknown
English	4.3	4.1	4.5	3.7	4.0	4.4	4.8	3.5
Arts and crafts	4.5	4.1	4.8	4.0	4.3	4.6	4.8	4.0
Physical education	4.7	4.8	4.7	4.2	4.5	4.9	5.0	4.1
Mathematics	3.7	3.6	3.8	2.9	3.3	3.8	4.3	3.1
Food and health	4.6	4.3	4.9	4.1	4.4	4.7	4.9	4.0
Music	4.5	4.3	4.7	3.9	4.3	4.6	4.9	3.8
Natural Sciences	4.2	4.0	4.4	3.5	3.9	4.3	4.7	3.4
First choice form of Norwegian	4.0	3.7	4.3	3.3	3.7	4.1	4.4	3.0
Second choice form of Norwegian	3.9	3.6	4.1	3.3	3.5	3.9	4.2	3.2
Spoken Norwegian	4.3	4.1	4.6	3.7	4.0	4.4	4.8	3.4
Christianity, religion, philosophy and ethics	4.3	4.0	4.6	3.7	4.0	4.4	4.8	3.5
Social Sciences	4.3	4.2	4.5	3.6	4.0	4.5	4.9	3.5

Explanation of symbols

Source

StatBank source table 07496

Table 3Distribution of pupils, by mastering levels in national tests in 5th grade, by gender and parents' educational attainment level. Per cent

Distribution of pupils, by mastering levels in national tests in 5th grade, by gender and parents' educational attainment level. Per cent
	Mastering level English			Mastering level reading Norwegian			Mastering level Mathematics
	2023
	1	2	3	1	2	3	1	2	3
Both boys and girls
All educational levels	25.4	50.0	24.7	25.1	48.7	26.3	26.2	49.3	24.4
Basic school or no completed education	27.1	55.9	17.0	45.5	46.1	8.4	50.6	40.2	9.2
Upper secondary education	27.9	52.6	19.4	33.8	50.8	15.4	34.8	49.3	15.9
Tertiary education	23.8	48.4	27.8	18.5	48.4	33.1	19.5	50.7	29.8
Unknown	37.3	43.5	19.1	56.9	33.2	10.0	42.6	39.5	18.0
Boys
All educational levels	22.7	52.1	25.1	28.5	47.4	24.1	21.8	47.9	30.3
Basic school or no completed education	28.2	56.5	15.4	49.9	42.8	7.3	44.2	43.2	12.6
Upper secondary education	25.6	54.7	19.7	37.8	47.7	14.4	29.3	50.4	20.3
Tertiary education	20.6	50.8	28.6	21.8	48.1	30.2	15.9	47.6	36.5
Unknown	36.7	44.3	19.0	58.3	32.5	9.2	35.7	41.1	23.2
Girls
All educational levels	28.0	47.8	24.2	21.6	49.9	28.5	30.7	50.8	18.5
Basic school or no completed education	26.1	55.4	18.5	41.2	49.4	9.4	57.1	37.0	5.9
Upper secondary education	30.3	50.5	19.1	29.7	53.9	16.3	40.4	48.2	11.4
Tertiary education	27.1	45.9	27.0	15.2	48.7	36.0	23.2	53.9	22.9
Unknown	38.0	42.7	19.3	55.6	33.8	10.7	49.6	37.8	12.6

Explanation of symbols

Source

StatBank source table 07161

Table 4Distribution of pupils, by mastering levels in national tests in 8th grade, by gender and parents' educational attainment level. Per cent

Distribution of pupils, by mastering levels in national tests in 8th grade, by gender and parents' educational attainment level. Per cent
	Mastering level English					Mastering level reading Norwegian					Mastering level Mathematics
	2023
	1	2	3	4	5	1	2	3	4	5	1	2	3	4	5
Both boys and girls
All educational levels	10.3	17.2	42.2	20.1	10.1	12.5	22.1	37.5	19.6	8.4	12.6	21.4	37.7	19.4	8.8
Basic school or no completed education	20.9	25.2	38.6	11.3	4.0	29.9	32.9	28.5	7.5	1.3	30.6	32.4	28.5	6.5	1.9
Upper secondary education	14.0	22.2	43.4	15.1	5.3	17.1	29.2	37.8	12.6	3.2	17.5	28.4	37.7	12.8	3.6
Tertiary education	6.7	14.1	42.6	23.6	13.1	7.6	17.4	38.9	24.4	11.7	7.9	17.0	39.1	24.0	12.0
Unknown	30.9	21.0	30.0	11.3	6.8	40.9	32.3	19.1	5.5	2.2	26.6	26.9	28.2	13.4	4.8
Boys
All educational levels	9.8	17.7	42.1	20.6	9.9	15.6	24.2	35.7	17.6	7.0	10.6	18.5	36.9	22.2	11.7
Basic school or no completed education	20.8	26.0	39.0	10.7	3.5	35.1	33.8	24.3	6.0	0.9	26.3	31.5	31.4	8.4	2.4
Upper secondary education	13.4	22.6	43.8	15.1	5.1	21.3	31.6	34.3	10.4	2.3	15.2	25.1	38.8	15.7	5.1
Tertiary education	6.3	14.3	42.2	24.4	12.8	10.1	19.6	38.1	22.3	9.9	6.4	13.9	36.9	26.9	15.8
Unknown	33.6	23.5	27.0	10.7	5.1	44.7	32.6	16.0	5.1	1.6	22.5	26.8	29.4	15.2	6.0
Girls
All educational levels	10.7	16.8	42.4	19.6	10.4	9.2	19.9	39.4	21.6	9.8	14.7	24.5	38.5	16.5	5.7
Basic school or no completed education	21.1	24.4	38.1	11.9	4.5	24.8	32.0	32.7	8.9	1.6	34.9	33.4	25.7	4.7	1.3
Upper secondary education	14.7	21.7	42.9	15.1	5.6	12.8	26.7	41.5	14.9	4.1	19.9	31.7	36.5	9.9	2.1
Tertiary education	7.1	13.8	43.0	22.8	13.3	5.1	15.2	39.8	26.5	13.5	9.6	20.2	41.3	21.0	7.9
Unknown	27.8	18.3	33.4	11.8	8.7	36.7	32.0	22.6	5.8	2.9	31.3	27.1	26.9	11.3	3.5

Explanation of symbols

Source

StatBank source table 07161

Table 5Distribution of pupils, by mastering levels in national tests in 8th grade, by gender and immigration category. Per cent

Distribution of pupils, by mastering levels in national tests in 8th grade, by gender and immigration category. Per cent
	Mastering level English					Mastering level reading Norwegian					Mastering level Mathematics
	2023
	1	2	3	4	5	1	2	3	4	5	1	2	3	4	5
Both boys and girls
Immigrants	19.3	19.2	36.5	15.7	9.3	28.3	29.5	28.0	10.2	4.0	23.1	27.4	30.9	12.6	6.1
Norwegian-born to immigrant parents	9.1	17.9	43.3	20.5	9.1	18.1	28.7	34.9	13.8	4.5	18.4	24.7	35.3	14.9	6.7
Other pupils	9.5	17.0	42.7	20.5	10.4	10.2	20.5	38.8	21.2	9.3	10.9	20.4	38.7	20.7	9.3
Boys
Immigrants	19.9	21.3	35.8	14.4	8.5	32.8	30.1	24.6	9.1	3.3	19.5	25.5	32.2	15.0	7.8
Norwegian-born to immigrant parents	10.3	19.3	43.2	19.3	8.0	22.0	31.2	31.6	11.8	3.4	15.6	21.9	36.1	17.6	8.8
Other pupils	8.8	17.1	42.5	21.4	10.2	13.2	22.7	37.2	19.1	7.8	9.1	17.4	37.4	23.5	12.5
Girls
Immigrants	18.7	17.1	37.2	17.1	10.0	23.6	28.9	31.5	11.4	4.7	26.8	29.3	29.6	10.0	4.2
Norwegian-born to immigrant parents	7.9	16.6	43.5	21.7	10.4	14.0	26.1	38.3	15.9	5.6	21.4	27.7	34.4	12.1	4.4
Other pupils	10.2	16.8	42.9	19.6	10.5	7.2	18.3	40.3	23.3	10.9	12.7	23.6	39.9	17.7	6.1

Explanation of symbols

Source

StatBank source table 09818

Table 6Distribution of pupils, by mastering levels in national tests in 5th grade, by gender and immigration category. Per cent

Distribution of pupils, by mastering levels in national tests in 5th grade, by gender and immigration category. Per cent
	Mastering level English			Mastering level reading Norwegian			Mastering Mathematics
	2023
	1	2	3	1	2	3	1	2	3
Both boys and girls
Immigrants	27.9	49.2	22.9	44.9	42.9	12.2	42.0	40.5	17.6
Norwegian-born to immigrant parents	17.4	55.1	27.5	35.7	49.0	15.3	37.6	44.4	17.9
Other pupils	26.4	49.2	24.4	22.1	49.0	28.9	23.3	50.8	25.9
Boys
Immigrants	30.2	48.2	21.5	48.4	40.9	10.7	35.4	41.5	23.1
Norwegian-born to immigrant parents	18.9	56.3	24.8	39.2	46.8	14.0	31.7	45.5	22.8
Other pupils	22.8	51.8	25.5	25.6	47.9	26.5	19.4	48.7	31.9
Girls
Immigrants	25.7	50.1	24.3	41.6	44.8	13.7	48.6	39.4	12.0
Norwegian-born to immigrant parents	16.0	53.9	30.1	32.3	51.2	16.5	43.6	43.3	13.1
Other pupils	30.1	46.6	23.3	18.5	50.1	31.4	27.4	52.9	19.8

Explanation of symbols

Source

StatBank source table 09818

More figures from this statistics

See complete overview in Statbank (19)

About the statistics

The statistics contain results from national tests as well as marks upon completion of compulsory education. National tests assess the pupils’ skills in reading, mathematics and English. The statistics also contain data on overall achievement marks, examination marks and lower secondary school points in the 10th grade.

Definitions

Definitions of the main concepts and variables

School county

Based on the school's address per 1.10 of the specific school year.

Ownership

Schools are either privately owned or public schools (i.e., owned by the state, municipalities or counties).

Marks, lower secondary school

Overall achievement mark

The overall achievement mark in each subject is based on a broad evaluation of the pupil’s competence in the subject.

Marks are awarded on a scale from 1 to 6, where mark 6 indicates that the pupil holds exceptionally high competence, and 1 indicates that the pupil has attained little competence in the subject.

Examination mark

The examination marks are based on single tests and are included on the school-leaving certificate awarded to all pupils when they leave the 10-year compulsory school. Normally, pupils are tested by a written examination in Norwegian, English or mathematics, and by oral examination in one subject. The scale used is identical to the one applied for overall achievement marks.

Lower secondary school points

Lower secondary school points are a combined measurement for all marks. The lower secondary school point score summarizes the pupil’s results in all the different subjects and is part of the admission criteria for upper secondary school.

School points are calculated by adding up each individual mark and dividing the sum by the number of marks. This average, with two decimals, is multiplied by 10.

If the pupil has attained marks in less than half of his/her subjects, the lower secondary school point score is set to zero. In these statistics, pupils with zero school points are excluded.

National tests

Mastering levels

The mastering levels follow the guidelines given by the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training.

There are three levels for 5th grade and five levels for 8th and 9th grade. The pupils are placed at the different levels based on the sum of their test scores.

Score points

In addition to mastering levels, the results can be measured in score points where the average in the scale is set at 50, with standard deviation 10.

The Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training has developed a common scale that describes the skills of the pupils with the same numbers, even though the pupils' results are from different tests.

As of 2022, the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training has developed a new method for calculation of score points (see "Comparability over time and space" under the section "Production" for more information).

Standard classifications

Parents’ highest level of education is derived from register information in The National Education Database (NUDB).

Immigration category is coded according to Standard for immigration category 2008 . The term other pupils comprise the pupils in immigration categories A, D, E, F and G.

Grouping of countries is coded according to SSB's alternative grouping of countries:

Group 1: EU/EEA, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Group 2: Asia, Africa, Latin-America, Oceania except Australia and New Zealand, and Europe except EU/EEA.

The centrality of pupils' school municipality is coded according to the definitions in Centrality 2020.

Administrative information

Name and topic

Name: Marks and national tests, lower secondary school
Topic: Education

Next update

Not yet determined

Responsible division

Division for Education and Culture Statistics

Regional level

National and county level.

Statistics on school and municipal level are available from the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training.

Frequency and timeliness

Annual.

International reporting

Not relevant.

Microdata

Collected and revised data are stored securely by Statistics Norway in compliance with applicable legislation on data processing.

Statistics Norway can grant access to the source data (de-identified or anonymised microdata) on which the statistics are based, for researchers and public authorities for the purposes of preparing statistical results and analyses. Access can be granted upon application and subject to conditions. Refer to the details about this at Access to data from Statistics Norway.

Background

Background and purpose

From December 2021, the statistics for National Tests and marks upon completion of compulsory education in Norway have been merged into one statistic, Marks and national tests, lower secondary school.

Marks, lower secondary school

Overall achievement marks and examination marks aim to provide information about the pupils' competence upon completion of compulsory education in Norway (10th grade in the lower secondary school). The purpose of the statistics is to provide an overview of the average level and distribution of marks in various subjects, and to assess variations in marks across groups of pupils categorised by characteristics such as gender, parental level of education, immigration category and school county.

Statistics on marks from lower secondary school are used for quality improvement and development purposes locally (schools, municipalities) as well as at the national level (Ministry and Directorate).

National tests

The purpose of national tests is to assess the pupils' skills in reading and math and in parts of the subject English. The tests are carried out in the autumn on the 5th, 8th and 9th grade.

National tests in the 5th and 8th grade have been conducted annually since 2007. Since autumn 2010, national tests have been carried out in reading and math in 9th grade.

Starting in 2010, both the tests in mathematics and reading English are conducted electronically.

Users and applications

Important users of the education statistics are public administration, special interest organisations, the media, researchers, business and industry. Key users are the Ministry of Education and Research and the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training.

Schools, municipalities and the national authorities use lower secondary school grades and results from national tests to improve the quality of education. The grades from primary and lower secondary school are also used as a basis for admission to upper secondary education.

Equal treatment of users

No external users have access to statistics before they are released at 8 a.m. on ssb.no after at least three months’ advance notice in the release calendar. This is one of the most important principles in Statistics Norway for ensuring the equal treatment of users.

Coherence with other statistics

The statistics can be viewed in connection with education statistics covering pupils in primary and lower secondary schools.

There are some variations between the results in these statistics and the one published by Udir because the selection criteria are different.

Legal authority

The statistics are developed, produced and disseminated pursuant to Act no. 32 of 21 June 2019 relating to official statistics and Statistics Norway (the Statistics Act).

EEA reference

Not relevant.

Production

Population

Marks, lower secondary school

The statistics cover overall achievement marks and examination marks in all main subjects and lower secondary school points (combined measurement for all marks) awarded upon completion of lower secondary school in Norway. External candidates and pupils in Steiner schools, Norwegian schools abroad and special schools are not included in the statistics. A pupil who has a school point score set to zero is not included in the statistics.

National tests

National tests are conducted in 5th and 8th grade in primary and lower secondary schools. The tests are obligatory for all pupils at these grades. Each school can give exemptions according to specified conditions.

The statistics include pupils in 5th and 8th grade who have completed national tests in English, reading and mathematics. Pupils who are exempted or who have not participated in the tests are not included.

Statistics about exemption and non-participation in the national tests are available from the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training (in Norwegian only).

Data sources and sampling

Marks from lower secondary schools are reported from the schools to the counties' own administrative data system for upper secondary education, VIGO (marks from lower secondary schools are used in upper secondary enrolment procedures). The results from the national tests are collected through the test administration system (PAS), which is owned by the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training.

Collection of data, editing and estimations

Collection of data

Data for marks, lower secondary school is collected from administrative registers from the counties' main enrolment system, VIGO. Data from National Tests are collected from the test administration system (PAS).

Editing

Editing is defined here as checking, examining and amending data.

The data are subject to various controls such as deletion of duplicates, comparisons with former data sets, a control of correct and valid values for each variable. All Personal ID-numbers are checked for errors and subsequently pseudonymized.

Estimations

We calculate average grades in the different subjects by adding together the value of all grades in a subject and dividing by the number of students who have a grade in that subject.

We calculate the proportion of pupils per grade by dividing the number of pupils with a given grade in the subject by the number of pupils in total who have received a grade in the subject.

Primary school points are calculated by summing up the value of all grades, and then dividing by the number of grades. This average, with two decimal places, is multiplied by 10.

The statistics for each national test (the three subjects) are based on calculating simple distributions of pupils across the various mastering levels.

Seasonal adjustment

Not relevant.

Confidentiality

Interviewers and everyone who works at Statistics Norway have a duty of confidentiality. Statistics Norway has its own data protection officer.

Statistics Norway does not publish figures where there is a risk of identifying individual data about persons or households [enter the correct unit here, where applicable].

The ‘[suppression, rounding up/down, perturbation]¹’ method is used in these statistics to ensure this.

More information can be found on Statistics Norway’s website under Methods in official statistics, in the ‘Confidentiality’ section.

The following criteria are applied in the statistics on marks, lower secondary school:

Distributions are not published for a group of pupils if there are less than five pupils with a single mark and the total number of pupils in the group is less than 30.
Distributions are not published for a group of pupils if all these pupils have obtained the same mark.
Average marks based on fewer than ten observations are not published.

Comparability over time and space

Marks, lower secondary school

Due to the Knowledge Promotion reform introduced in 10th grade in the academic year 2007-2008, there is not a direct correspondence with subjects prior to the reform, but most subjects are very similar. One should therefore be cautious when comparing marks prior to and after the introduction of the Knowledge Promotion reform.

The calculation of lower secondary school points has changed over time as a result of the Knowledge Promotion reform, and comparisons should therefore not be made between school points prior to and after the academic year 2007-2008.

At county or national level there are limited variations in average marks and distributions from one year to the next, whereas longitudinal shifts for small sub-groups of the pupils will be closely linked to random variations in the mass of pupils from one year to the next.

When comparing average results across counties, it is important to consider geographical variations in the composition of the population. When comparing results between small groups of pupils one should also consider the impact a few single pupils may have on the group averages/distributions.

When comparing marks with results from national tests in 8th grade one should keep in mind that the competencies covered by the national tests do not directly overlap those in the lower secondary curriculum for a given subject.

Due to the government's decision to cancel exams in lower secondary school, lower secondary school points in 2020 are only based on overall achievement marks and are therefore not comparable with lower secondary school points from other school years.

National tests

For the period 2007-2013, the score thresholds for mastering levels were determined using a normal distribution for each year. This means that the results at the national level cannot be compared from year to year.

National tests in English for 5th grade were canceled in 2011. Therefore, there are no results from this test for that year.

Starting from 2014, score points were introduced with the intention of measuring development over time. These score points form the basis for the categorization of mastering levels. The method for calculating score points for 2014-2021 has led to an underestimation of the development over time, making it impossible to compare published figures for this period.

An educational reform in 2020 came into effect starting from the school year 2021/2022, which has affected national tests. The English tests now include a new listening section, and the math tests contain fewer tasks than before. As a result, the 2021 results are not directly comparable to previous years.

Starting from 2022, the measurement of development over time has been reinstated. Therefore, the results from 2022 onwards cannot be directly compared to previous years. The new method will capture smaller changes at an earlier stage, and there is an expectation of slightly larger variations in the national average in the future.

In the fall of 2022, many teachers went on strike, and as a result, several schools did not conduct national tests that year. Consequently, fewer students than before took the national tests in 2022.

Accuracy and reliability

Sources of error and uncertainty

When the data is compiled from administrative registers, typical errors such as measurement, non-response and sampling errors do not occur in the same way as when collecting information compiled by forms. The central source of uncertainty and errors in such withdrawals is whether data is correctly registered or if the extraction is correctly specified. If there is misinterpretation or a lack of understanding of the definitions in the database, bias due to definitions will affect the data.

Even though the statistics are not based on samples, one should be careful when comparing results based on small groups.

Revision

Not relevant.