Schools — official time series

What does the data show?

Objective observations — not interpretations

• The share of pupils eligible for a vocational upper-secondary programme after grade 9 was between 82.5 % and 86.2 % in school years 2015/16–2024/25 (Skolverket, table 1C). In 2024/25 it was 87.5 % among pupils with a Swedish background and 35.6 % among newly arrived pupils (arrived during grades 6–9).
• PISA showed a decline 2018→2022 across all three domains, after the 2012–2018 recovery. In PISA 2025 (published 8 September 2026) reading fell to 466 and mathematics to 464 points — the lowest recorded for Sweden — while science (485) did not change significantly. All three are at the OECD average level.
• The gap between pupils with and without foreign background is substantial in both grades and national tests. Parental education, years in Swedish school, school choice and school-level composition each account for a share of the gap. No single factor is sufficient.
• Grades and knowledge measurements partly measure different things. Skolverket and IFAU have documented growing grade inflation during the 2010s — the drift between average national test scores and average final grades — most pronounced in private (‘friskolor’) schools.
• School segregation has grown since the 1990s. Skolverket, IFAU and ESO point to three interacting drivers: residential segregation, the free school-choice system, and the concentration of newly arrived pupils in specific schools.

Definitions

How the numbers are counted — and what they do not cover

Merit score (‘meritvärde’)

The sum of a pupil's 17 best grades in grade 9, where A=20, B=17.5, C=15, D=12.5, E=10, F=0. Maximum 340 points. Used for admission to upper secondary school.The A–F system replaced MVG/VG/G/IG in autumn 2011. Pre-/post-reform comparisons are only approximate.

Eligibility for upper secondary school

Eligibility for at least one vocational programme requires a pass (E or higher) in Swedish/Swedish as a second language, English and mathematics, plus five other subjects. University-preparatory programmes require 8–9 further subjects depending on the track.

Final grade vs. national test

The final grade is set by the teacher and takes all evidence during the school year into account. The national test is a single centrally set examination in one subject. Skolverket compares the two to detect systematic drift (‘grade inflation’).

PISA

OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment. Measures 15-year-olds' ability to apply knowledge in reading, mathematics and science. Conducted every three years on a sample of about 6,000 Swedish pupils.PISA measures applied competency, not curriculum coverage. TIMSS and PIRLS align more closely with curricula.

TIMSS

IEA's Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. Measures maths and science in grades 4 and 8, every four years.

PIRLS

IEA's Progress in International Reading Literacy Study. Measures grade 4 reading, every five years. Sweden's 2021 result was the weakest since the measurement began in 2001.

Equivalence (‘likvärdighet’)

In the Education Act: that education shall be equivalent regardless of where in the country it is provided. Skolverket operationalises this as the between-school variation after controlling for pupil composition — not as all pupils reaching identical outcomes.

School segregation

The unequal distribution of pupils of different backgrounds (socio-economic and/or migration background) across schools. Skolverket reports both variation in composition and variation in mean outcomes.

Compensatory mandate

The Education Act's requirement that the school system compensate for unequal starting positions. Operationalised via socio-economic resource allocation among other tools.

Pupil with foreign background (SCB)

A pupil who is foreign-born, or Swedish-born with two foreign-born parents. This is SCB's population-wide definition.

Newly arrived pupil (Skolverket)

A pupil formerly resident abroad, now resident in Sweden, who began Swedish schooling later than the autumn term of the calendar year they turned seven, and who has been in Swedish schools for less than four school years.This is a legal definition (Education Act 3:12a). After four years a pupil is no longer counted statistically as ‘newly arrived’, regardless of actual language proficiency.

Grade inflation

A systematic rise in final grades without a corresponding rise in the underlying measured competency (e.g. via national tests or PISA). Skolverket has documented inflation at both school and organiser level.

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to what is most often discussed