The aim of this study is twofold:

1. to investigate whether assessment practice in the science subjects in the Danish grade 8 and 9 (year 14-16) is in accordance with the test format used in the PISA 2006 Science test
2. to characterise the present assessment practice in the science subjects with a view to qualify a development of this practice.

Based on two focus group interviews with science teachers and a nationwide, representative survey involving 1159 teachers teaching science in year 8 and 9 in 2005/2006, the short answer to the first question is YES. The assessment practice in science in the Danish lower secondary school is to a large degree in accordance with the PISA test format. Individual, written tests are the most used test format in the science subjects and 75 % of the teachers indicate to test the PISA competencies regularly. Teachers typically include PISA relevant contexts in their assessments and the teachers seem to weight the balance between open/closed answer formats in accordance to the PISA weighting. The Danish science teachers also give a moderate emphasis to the students’ use of correct technical language – though a heavier weight on this aspect would be more in accordance with the relatively rigid demand on this in the PISA score handbook.

In the light of these results, it is thought-provoking that the teachers only express moderate confidence in having prepared the students adequately for the PISA test. An explanation could the lack of evidence in our study for any ‘teaching to the test’ or rehearsal of PISA-like test items (which the concealment of most of the PISA items makes impossible). The teachers do not teach in order to enhance a PISA performance. They teach for more varied goals and they simply use a much broader palette of assessment tools than the PISA formats – things this study clearly shows. PISA has a relatively little impact on the science teaching in Denmark - or had in 2005/2006, a situation that seems to change thanks to the increasing attention politicians put to PISA ranking.

We have found the typical science teacher to hold a broad repertoire of active assessment forms, with a combination of individual written tests and not-binding talks with the whole class as the dominant form.

Most of the teachers express a student oriented aim with their assessments. They have a marked focus on learning and learning potential in their assessments with as well formative as summative approaches, and they evaluate both during and after the teaching sequences. They often make the criteria for the assessment open for the students, and the students always receive feedback on the tests and assessments.

The study did not uncover any patterns in assessment and evaluation practice due to gender or science subject. Two third of the teachers answer ‘no’ to whether the school has ‘a common attitude toward assessment’ which indicates that an assessment culture, if any, is more a national phenomenon than a local.