Regulation in Practice: Standards and Novice Language Teachers’ Perspectives on Summative Assessment in Sweden

Developing summative assessment literacy for valid instruction is a qualification requirement for language teachers in Sweden. Yet novice teachers may be unprepared for how to implement regulations in practice. They may even experience a reality shock when facing large classes in which knowledge levels and motivation vary substantially or when adjusting to entrenched assessment cultures in schools. Previous research has measured summative assessment literacy with several theoretical criteria, but no studies have focused on the alignment between regulations and teachers’ perspectives on summative assessment in Sweden. Hence, this investigation addressed 15 novice language teachers’ experiences from on-campus courses, teaching practice and current workplaces. Data were collected from graduates of a Swedish university, who are working at schools in eastern central Sweden. In view of regulations and standards, the findings were then analyzed. Deliberative curriculum theory and teacher cognition constituted the conceptual framework, while constructivist grounded theory provided a methodology for analyzing the qualitative data produced. The findings show that instruction was inadequate regarding aspects such as deliberation and test construction in teacher education. The novice language teachers appreciated teaching practice. However, they argued that the quality of mentoring could vary considerably and recommended that courses devoted to assessment for bridging theory, regulations, recommendations and practice as well as stricter, structured guidelines for teaching practice should be implemented. The main conclusion is that criterion-referenced standards require early timing and ample space for instruction devoted to summative assessment in teacher education.