Validity in Measuring Intercultural Competence at the Written Exam in English

English: In this thesis I have explored the validity in measuring pupils’ intercultural competence at the vg1 English written exam. To do this I analysed important steering documents and exam documents in Norwegian education. The steering documents that I have considered are the ENG1-03 and ENG01-04 subject curricula and the 2017 Core Curriculum. The exam documents are the spring 2019 exam questions and preparation booklet, and the examination guide for 2019. I have also conducted semi-structured interviews with three vg1 English teachers to inquire into teachers’ understanding of intercultural competence, and their beliefs on its role in Norwegian education, classroom implementation and assessment. The document analysis shows that intercultural competence is only mentioned once in all of the steering documents. There also seems to be a lack of coherence between the advocacy of intercultural competence in the steering documents and the examination guide. However, the prominence of perspectives of intercultural competence in the 2017 Core Curriculum and the ENG01-04 suggest that there is a heightened focus on intercultural competence in the new curricula. This can potentially affect the assessment validity of intercultural competence as teachers will have access to documents were the concept is more coherently emphasized. The interviews with teachers indicate that it is difficult to ensure validity in measuring pupils’ intercultural competence at the exam because there is a lack of explicit focus in the steering documents and exam documents. They also state that the exam has multiple purposes, and that measuring pupils’ intercultural competence is not necessarily the priority. I discuss the difficulty for teachers in ensuring validity in measuring pupils’ intercultural competence, and the lack of coherence in how intercultural competence is advocated, emphasized and expressed in the various steering documents and exam documents. I have included the 2017 Core Curriculum and the ENG01-04 subject curriculum to have a forward-looking perspective in my thesis. The thesis is a contribution to the on-going pedagogic discussion regarding the implementation of the new curricula