This paper will discuss the proposed reintroducing of a final degree in upper secondary school. In a public government inquiry that was released in March 2008 a proposal about reintroducing a final degree in upper secondary school was presented. A final degree has not been a part of the upper secondary school science 1968. Why was the system with a final degree abounded and why do the government want to reintroduce it?

Research in pedagogy has through the years presented numbers of theories about assessment. In last decades a great part of the discussion has been focused on formative assessment. In formative assessment the assessment is used as a pedagogy tool. The purpose is to help the student develop their learning process and to learn to work independently. The contrary to formative assessment is assessment which only purpose is to summarise and control the level of knowledge a student possesses.

The public government inquiry that led to abolish of a final degree in upper secondary school in 1968 shared many thoughts with theories about formative assessment. Forty years later the government has grown sick of all the formative assessment, which they think has led to a “muddled” school. The public government inquiry presented in 2008 wants to reintroduce a final degree and create a school where the student’s knowledge is orderly controlled and summarised.