Learner agency is frequently advocated as a basic principle of contemporary language education, involving learner engagement and autonomy. This principle is supported by research in the fields of Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) and formative assessment (FA). These two perspectives may be further linked to models of feedback in the sense that feedback is not only related to feedback on tasks, but also to learning strategies and self-regulation. Related to this, there is evidence that self-assessment (SA) and communication strategies (CSs) have potential for advancing student learning in the language learning classroom. In the national curricula of foreign languages in the Nordic countries, the concepts of learner agency and self-regulated learning are emphasized as important for developing students’ proficiency. However, in the research literature, little attention has been paid to the combined strategies of SRL and agency in relation to learners’ oral skills. In this article, we discuss factors influencing the usefulness and effectiveness of feedback and how SRL and FA, more specifically SA and CSs, may promote oral skills in the foreign language classroom. Finally, we stress the need for more empirical studies, involving teachers and researchers, examining SRL strategies and learner agency in a Nordic school context.

Inte minst genom inflytande från Europarådets Gemensam europeisk referensram förspråk: lärande, undervisning och bedömning, GERS (Council of Europe, 2001) harspråklig kompetens och hur denna lärs in, undervisas och bedöms fått ökaduppmärksamhet av aktörer inom utbildning och bedömning i språk. Att enbedömning är giltig, och därmed också valid, är en del av kvalitetssäkringen vidbedömning och har stor betydelse för om man med trovärdighet ska kunna tolkaoch använda bedömningens resultat för att uttala sig om inlärares språkligaförmåga, till exempel när det gäller att kommunicera på målspråket i skrift. Idenna artikel presenteras ett delresultat från min avhandling om validitet ochskriftlig språkkompetens (Håkansson Ramberg, 2023) där bland annat relationenmellan elevers skriftliga kompetens i tyska på gymnasienivå och en uppfylld B1.2-nivå enligt den europeiska referensramen undersökts. Artikeln fokuserar aspekterav validitet och beaktar särskilt den delaspekt av validitet som knyter an till ettexternt kriterium, så kallad kriterierelaterad validitet. Det handlar i detta fall omatt jämföra resultatet av bedömningar med en uppnådd referensnivå enligt deneuropeiska referensramen. Sammantaget indikerar studiens resultat att detföreligger ett samband mellan bedömningar av skriftlig kompetens i tyska pågymnasienivå och den förväntade referensnivån B1.2 enligt det etableradeeuropeiska ramverket.

Validity is a fundamental aspect of quality within the field of testing and assessment. Despite this fact, little research has been conducted on the validity of written assessment in a Swedish educational context and even less regarding assessment in an additional foreign language. In particular, there is little work on teachers’ scoring and the relation between ratings of students’ performances in upper secondary education and the external reference levels of the CEFR, the widely used framework from Council of Europe.Against this background, the present study was designed with the aim of examining the validity of the assessment of students’ written language proficiency in German at different steps according to the Swedish school system. The focus is on (1) raters’ construct conceptualisation, (2) inter-rater consistency of the Swedish raters, and (3) the relationship between Swedish ratings and ratings at a B1 level of the CEFR. The student data comprise 60 texts written in L2 German by Swedish upper secondary school students in courses aiming for three different steps of the national curriculum. The essays were scored by (a) students’ own teachers, b) external Swedish raters using Swedish national performance standards and (c) external CEFR raters in terms of the B1 level of the CEFR. Analysis of scores and rater comments were based on qualitative and quantitative methods, for example qualitative data analysis (QDA) and descriptive, correlational and reliability statistics. The results were analysed in relation to theoretical concepts of validity and central validation frameworks. The findings show that raters pay attention to a wide range of aspects in students’ written proficiency, although, to some extent, different interpretations of how student texts should be evaluated in relation to the national performance standards and a tendency to comment more on certain aspects could be observed. Analyses of inter-rater consistency indicate that the ability of Swedish raters to rank students’ performances is satisfactory, but that there are challenges in reaching general agreement, especially for intermediate and higher scores. Additionally, the results suggest that a pass level of Tyska 5 at upper secondary school is roughly equivalent to a B1-level of the CEFR. Finally, the thesis highlights the importance of rater training and discussions about assessment as part of strengthening teachers’ professional assessment competence. By exploring validity from different perspectives, the study provides a more complete picture of learner written assessment in an additional foreign language in Sweden and contributes to a deepened conceptual understanding of validity aspects within a Swedish educational context.

Validity is a fundamental aspect of quality within the field of testing and assessment. Despite this fact, little research has been conducted on the validity of written assessment in a Swedish educational context and even less regarding assessment in an additional foreign language. In particular, there is little work on teachers’ scoring and the relation between ratings of students’ performances in upper secondary education and the external reference levels of the CEFR, the widely used framework from Council of Europe.  Against this background, the present study was designed with the aim of examining the validity of the assessment of students’ written language proficiency in German at different steps according to the Swedish school system. The focus is on (1) raters’ construct conceptualisation, (2) inter-rater consistency of the Swedish raters, and (3) the relationship between Swedish ratings and ratings at a B1 level of the CEFR. The student data comprise 60 texts written in L2 German by Swedish upper secondary school students in courses aiming for three different steps of the national curriculum. The essays were scored by (a) students’ own teachers, b) external Swedish raters using Swedish national performance standards and (c) external CEFR raters in terms of the B1 level of the CEFR. Analysis of scores and rater comments were based on qualitative and quantitative methods, for example qualitative data analysis (QDA) and descriptive, correlational and reliability statistics.  The results were analysed in relation to theoretical concepts of validity and central validation frameworks. The findings show that raters pay attention to a wide range of aspects in students’ written proficiency, although, to some extent, different interpretations of how student texts should be evaluated in relation to the national performance standards and a tendency to comment more on certain aspects could be observed. Analyses of inter-rater consistency indicate that the ablitity of Swedish raters to rank students’ performances is satisfactory, but that there are challenges in reaching general agreement, especially for intermediate and higher scores. Additionally, the results suggest that a pass level of Tyska 5 at upper secondary school is roughly equivalent to a B1-level of the CEFR. Finally, the thesis highlights the importance of rater training and discussions about assessment as part of strengthening teachers’ professional assessment competence. By exploring validity from different perspectives, the study provides a more complete picture of learner written assessment in an additional foreign language in Sweden and contributes to a deepened conceptual understanding of validity aspects within a Swedish educational context.