DN Debate. We'll tighten security around the national tests

The national tests is under a lot of pressure. The purpose of the tests is to contribute to a fair and equal assessment and grading. The teacher may thus be a valuable tool in the difficult art to assess and to grade. However, we can note that this objective is being eroded. The last few years has been cheating, and unauthorized dissemination of national test accelerated.

the rules for how the samples should be handled . , But the current laws and rules will help little if not society at large to take responsibility. In addition to the proper management of the schools need to Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram and other stakeholders to act and ban users who are selling and spreading the sample. The national agency for education has made a number of polisanmälningar that has been done then the crime can be justified. All in all, this creates a situation where children and young people can smygfotografera or steal the sample and then completely open, spread, or try to sell the material which you unlawfully have come across. Teachers and authorities know what's happening but so far has not been able to intervene.

A sample that is known in advance also means that the data in the sample can not be reused in the new test. In addition to the frustration and stress among teachers and students, costing it a huge amount of money.

Now, approximately 100,000 students in the 9th grade, the oral part of the national tests. In total, close to one million exams each year. The national tests are an important element when the teachers should put the grades on the students ' knowledge. Then in the autumn it is also framskrivet that the result should in particular be taken into account in the grading.

Tests to be constructed by the university on behalf of the Swedish national agency for Education. University provkonstruktörer are experts at creating high-quality and reliable test based on it which should be examined in the course and ämnesplanerna. In the working process takes place utprövningar of 200-1000 students, which also means that the issues of construction and betygsgränserna between elevsvaren, can reach a quality and security as a common test has been difficult to cope with.

thus, It is the high quality of the samples and a majority of the teachers think that they are an important tool for assessing the students ' knowledge even if many teachers think that it generates an administrative burden. In the subjects and courses in which they are implemented, however, the teacher finished the test with high quality and thereby saving time because they do not themselves need to devise your own test to the same extent to assess the students ' knowledge.

Last school year, the spread Betkanyon of 13 samples for niondeklassare or high school students in advance. An extremely small number of pupils smygfotograferar, or steal the sample and spread them on the network, and thus creating uncertainty and frustration for all other students. A sample that is known in advance also means that the data in the sample can not be reused in the new test. In addition to the frustration and stress among teachers and students, costing it a huge amount of money.

the national agency for Education considers that the situation is serious. We have, therefore, faced with this school year, decided on further improvements:

• Campaign of the samples may be postponed . This is to minimize the time the samples are kept at the schools.

• Answer key will be sent out in the post and reaching the schools first on the day of exams or the day after.

• Shipment with a national sample shall, as a rule, does not open until at provdagens the morning n. The rest of the time should provpaketen be locked up.

• Time of when the tests starts have been synchronized and the possibility to shift the examination date has been limited.

Furthermore, the national agency for Education has a good partnership with the schools Inspectorate, which expands its mission at the examination of the schools and the principals to review schools ' handling of the national sample.

However, our assessment is that this is not enough. It is enough that one of the over 2000 schools which ordered the tests, shortcomings in its management. A sample can easily end up in the wrong hands. But it is the large-scale circulation that is the big problem. To address this need the owner of the social media to take their responsibility. Support and help is needed from the police department. The case of the large-scale dissemination as we know it, has been made possible by the students spreads the sample in advance via Snapchat, Facebook or Instagram. We have also seen examples of people who sell the test via anonymous accounts on for example Instagram.

We believe that the owners of these platforms must take responsibility and shut down these accounts.

We have in several cases been reported to the police accounts, which sells national sample, but the police has, so far, despite the fact that we left a solid material on what's been stolen or smygfotograferats, chosen to put down förundersökningarna. One reason they indicated is that they can not find a suitable legal classification of the offence. We will therefore draw the government's attention on this problem and bring our requests regarding changes to the law. This is to either be able to prosecute the people who spread it and sells the national sample, or at least stop the spread.

We have investigated this and come to the conclusion that, unfortunately, it would not reduce the risk of proliferation. The risk that the files end up on the wrong track or spreads in connection with school printing, the samples are way too big.

Our assessment is therefore that there is no safer system available at the moment.

the Year 2022, the national tests can be digital. One reason is that digitisation takes time is that the digital infrastructure in the country's schools need to be equal and so it is not in the day. The digitization contributes to a reduction in administration for teachers and other staff, but the experiences of our neighbours also say that the risk of spread will decrease thanks to the digitization.

But for the national tests to give teachers pre-assessment and grading until the samples are digitized 2022 need the Education support from the community at large. The spread must be stopped. To succeed you need to be responsible for the social media act. Cheating should never be profitable – it must have consequences for those who make profit through the spread and sell the national sample.

so that the police can act, and a willingness to co-operation between education authorities, police authorities and companies that own social media platforms.