Swedish education reinforces ‘all students are created equal’

When a curriculum includes the words “test free” and “no homework,” and applying to college only involves the click of a button, 10 years of school suddenly doesn’t seem so exhausting. In Sweden, a country where the “must-perform-better-than-neighbor” syndrome is essentially obsolete in comparison to the U.S., education focuses almost entirely on individual improvement.

This unconventional yet simple approach to education clearly pays off; the country boasts a literacy rate 16 percent higher than that of the U.S. Despite its small population of 9.5 million, Sweden even ranked above the U.S. in mathematics in the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), an international evaluation of 15-year-olds on their academic knowledge.

What makes this small country succeed? The answer lies in Sweden’s focus on equality instead of competition.  

Senior Sara Pettersson, who moved from Sweden to the U.S. three years ago, said grades in Sweden rely less on numbers and more on content.

“You basically get a grade on your overall appearance in the class,” Pettersson said. “It's kind of the same way teachers grade essays here: They grade the essay and look for the things that would make it an A or B. Basically, nothing that you do goes into a system.”

Characterized by the “IVG-MG” system, Swedish education aims to grade students based on the their achievements in class, rather than their performance on tests. MVG stands for “pass with special distinction,” VG stands for “pass with distinction,” G stands for “pass” and IG means “fail.” This four-category system clarifies the distinctions between grades and turns the focus away from numbers and percentages.

Additionally, teachers do not administer tests until the eighth grade; homework is also rare because teachers prefer classwork instead.

“School in America is tougher,” junior Eric Cagenius, who emigrated from Sweden in 2010, said. “[There is] much more homework. Swedish school is more laid back and [there] is not so much pressure.”

Furthermore, all students take an equal number of the identical courses (a shocking total of 12 different classes per year); honors and AP classes are not offered. There is also no such thing as a “better” school, ensuring that all students receive the same education regardless of their socioeconomic status. To prevent economic status from becoming a hindrance to education, school is completely free.

Swedish students graduate high school in ninth grade, when they must also select their major. At that point, they receive their first “real” standardized test, the Nation Test, which they must pass to accelerate into college.

“Some people turn out to be smarter others, but that's usually something that you don't know before you choose your major after ninth grade,” Pettersson said.

Pettersson also claimed that close student-teacher relationships help the students receive more help when needed.

“Nothing ever makes you feel like you can't do it in Sweden,” said Pettersson. “If the teacher doesn’t think that you're doing very well, then they will tell you so in the meeting that they have with you and your parents every two months, and they will tell you what you have to do to succeed in the class. No one really fails a class.”

Swedish schools also do not have extracurricular sports or clubs.

“If you want to do a sport, you need to do it outside of school. It works out pretty well, and most people do at least one sport because they don't have homework or any tests to study for,” Pettersson said.

Most shocking is Sweden’s system of applying to college, which forgoes the arduous American process of writing personal statements and acquiring letters of recommendation in favor of a much more expedient process.

According to Pettersson, students in Sweden simply log onto a website set up by the school administration, where the total points gained from a student’s ninth-grade grades are tallied. Each MVG is 20 points, VG is 15 points, G is 10 points, and an IG is 0 points. The website then lists which schools the student qualifies for, the student selects as many schools as he or she wants to apply to, and that ends the process. 

“Most people get their first choice unless the school already has too many students. And that's how simple it is,” Pettersson said.

These regulations enforce the Swedish government’s goals of equality in education.

“In Sweden no one was better than another person, which I think is pretty good, because it doesn't make anyone seem like they are less worthy than anyone else,” Pettersson said.