Analysing validity : The case of Swedish national tests in year 6 science

The purpose of this article is to analyse and discuss standardized tests in biology, physics and chemistry with a special focus on their content validity. In the article we describe and discuss three different tensions between the Swedish curricula and standardized tests in science: (1) Curricular intentions and assessment choices, (2) The ‘knowledge requirements’ specified in the curriculum and the marking scheme used in the assessment and (3) The intention of the evaluation system and its actual result. These tensions have consequences for the validity of the tests. Hence, it is necessary to regard these tests as only one of many resources teachers can use in their teaching and assessment practices