According to DR, after years of work, the government will present its proposal for a new rating system on Thursday, with Minister for Children and Education Matthias Tesfaye and Minister for Education and Research Kristina Egeland presenting the new assessment system later on Thursday.
The government plans to eliminate the possibility for schoolchildren and students to receive a grade with a negative mark in front of it, and is therefore ready to submit its proposal for a new assessment system to replace the current 7-point assessment system, so that the grades become 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12.
The government's proposal is scheduled to be presented at a press conference on Thursday, followed by a call for political negotiations on the proposal.
Under the government's proposal, there will no longer be a grade called -3, but the lowest grade in the new scale will be zero, so that failing grades are 0 and 1, while the lowest passing grade remains 2. The reason for removing the negative grade is that it may lead to a disproportionate reduction in students' grades.
It promotes social differences
According to DR, the government will also take further steps on the scale to reduce the large gap between scores in the middle. This was recommended by both an expert group and the welfare authority, which concluded that there was a significant difference between scores 4 and 7, and between scores 7 and 10.
Furthermore, an analysis conducted by the Danish Chamber of Commerce last year showed that the current rating scale reinforces social inequalities.
The analysis concludes that the seven-step scale gives an extra bonus to girls, ethnic Danes, and children of academics, while giving an “extra push down” to boys, non-ethnic Danes, and children of unskilled workers.
This effect is mainly due to the large jumps between steps in the middle of the scale.
According to DR, the government will propose an eight-point scale, so that scores can be given as 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12.
The required score to pass the exam under the new assessment system will remain 2.
12 with an extra star
At the highest level of the scale, the government also proposes awarding a grade of 12 with an additional star for exceptional effort, similar to the grade of 13 that can currently be awarded for exceptional performance. However, the 13 grade will be eliminated to accommodate students wishing to pursue their studies abroad, as some prestigious universities only accept students with the highest grades. The 13 grade has created a problem for students who already achieved a perfect 12, as universities abroad have interpreted the final grade as 13, not 12, thus causing unnecessary complications. In the new proposal, the additional star on top of the 12 grade will simply recognize the student's exceptional effort and will not carry any weight in calculating the student's GPA.
The government will also completely overhaul the assessment system, as recommended by the Welfare Committee. The current system assesses students based on their shortcomings rather than their perfection, fostering a culture of infallibility, which the committee believes is detrimental to the well-being of children and young people.
Therefore, the government will reflect its thinking.
According to information from “DR”, the government plans to gradually implement the new assessment system, starting with primary and secondary education from the school year that begins in August 2030.
Work on changing the evaluation system has been ongoing for many years, and five years have passed since a group of experts proposed changing the system.
